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Book Review of Short Straw Bride (Harlequin Historical, No 339)

Short Straw Bride (Harlequin Historical, No 339)
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If you are looking for a light-hearted story with lots of humor, this is it. The MacLain brothers are tired of living in squalor with terrible food. Their ranch is successful but they have been unsuccessful in finding a housekeeper who would keep them clean and fed. Difficult times call for extreme measures. The guys draw straws to determine which will bite the bullet and marry. The elder brother, Luke, loses the draw and starts looking around for a likely marriage partner. They cause a near-circus at church the next Sunday. Both men are attractive and successful.

Luke's eye falls on the non-descript niece of one of the town's bankers. When he gets an invitation to the William's house, he finds that Eleanor is a modern-day Cinder-girl, the workhorse of the house - a disliked niece, who was tolerated by the parents and their favored daughter. When Luke finds out Eleanor is unappreciated and a hard worker, he is prompted to ask for her hand (in marriage) in two weeks. Luke thinks he's got a quiet, biddable woman. She is thankful to escape the William's household.

However, trouble is coming. The MacLains and the other cowboys eat like pigs. When Eleanor overhears that she was chosen by a short straw, she blows a fuse. The rest of the book is about how Luke and Eleanor resolve their differences. It takes a bit too long to resolve but the chuckles along the way made up for much of the excess. The pages fly by as the reader enjoys the humor and pathos.


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