Because this story addressed a subject that is rarely a topic in romance novels -- prejudice against different peoples -- originally, I felt the book deserved 5 stars. However, there were some problems with the plot.
In desperation, Thad MacAllister has sent for a mail-order bride. As a symbol of his neediness, he ordered one from San Francisco, not the East (as most prospective husbands seemed to do). His first wife has been dead barely a year but Thad has a growing boy and ranch problems aplenty. He decided to plant wheat (no one in Oregon grew it at the time) and things are dicey. Because he was in such a hurry, Thad didn't pay too much attention to the particulars about his mail-order bride. Yes, she is 1/2 Scot, but the other half is Chinese.
Leah Cameron, a new immigrant (her father was a Scot minister serving in China who fell in love with a Chinese woman, they married and had Leah). Leah is bilingual, intelligent and used to prejudice. Leah was never accepted in China because of her Demon Father (white parent). Leah's parents have died and she was almost trapped in a San Francisco brothel run by Chinese. She has no where to go if Thad rejects her.
The hostility starts as soon as Leah arrives in Smoke River -- and it escalates until Thad's ranch is the only place Leah is safe. Although Thad is shocked by Leah's ethnicity, he marries her and promptly leaves her to her own devices. Thad agonizes over the fact that he is still in love with his first wife and feels conflicted about marrying again. He returns to his non-attending ways with his son. He shuts out Leah as well. Before long, it begins to look like Thad just needed a housekeeper and a babysitter. I don't think Thad thought that way but that is the way he comes across. At the end, Leah tries to couch Thad's worry over his wheat in symbolism, but it really doesn't fly (in MHO).
Although conflicted by the plot holes, I still believe that this novel deserves 4 stars for addressing an important issue in American life.
In desperation, Thad MacAllister has sent for a mail-order bride. As a symbol of his neediness, he ordered one from San Francisco, not the East (as most prospective husbands seemed to do). His first wife has been dead barely a year but Thad has a growing boy and ranch problems aplenty. He decided to plant wheat (no one in Oregon grew it at the time) and things are dicey. Because he was in such a hurry, Thad didn't pay too much attention to the particulars about his mail-order bride. Yes, she is 1/2 Scot, but the other half is Chinese.
Leah Cameron, a new immigrant (her father was a Scot minister serving in China who fell in love with a Chinese woman, they married and had Leah). Leah is bilingual, intelligent and used to prejudice. Leah was never accepted in China because of her Demon Father (white parent). Leah's parents have died and she was almost trapped in a San Francisco brothel run by Chinese. She has no where to go if Thad rejects her.
The hostility starts as soon as Leah arrives in Smoke River -- and it escalates until Thad's ranch is the only place Leah is safe. Although Thad is shocked by Leah's ethnicity, he marries her and promptly leaves her to her own devices. Thad agonizes over the fact that he is still in love with his first wife and feels conflicted about marrying again. He returns to his non-attending ways with his son. He shuts out Leah as well. Before long, it begins to look like Thad just needed a housekeeper and a babysitter. I don't think Thad thought that way but that is the way he comes across. At the end, Leah tries to couch Thad's worry over his wheat in symbolism, but it really doesn't fly (in MHO).
Although conflicted by the plot holes, I still believe that this novel deserves 4 stars for addressing an important issue in American life.
Lula C. (lilliebrooke) -
MAIL-ORDER MARRIAGE
It's whispered in Smoke River that single father Thad MacAllister is a few quarters short of a dollar: his ambitious plans for his farm are downright crazy and his young son is heading off the rails. This family needs a woman's touch!
But the arrival of Leah Cameron, Thad's mail-order bride, causes a ripple of disapproval. Oregon is a far cry from China, and to make her dream of family come true, Leah will have to win over the townsfolkand unlock the secrets of her husband's shattered heart.
It's whispered in Smoke River that single father Thad MacAllister is a few quarters short of a dollar: his ambitious plans for his farm are downright crazy and his young son is heading off the rails. This family needs a woman's touch!
But the arrival of Leah Cameron, Thad's mail-order bride, causes a ripple of disapproval. Oregon is a far cry from China, and to make her dream of family come true, Leah will have to win over the townsfolkand unlock the secrets of her husband's shattered heart.
