A RELUCTANT BRIDE (Bride Ships #1) by Jody Hedlund [Giveaway]

My thoughts:  Jody Hedlund has begun the new Bride Series with an in depth look at the poverty and tragedies that existed in London during 1862. There was the wealthy class and there was the poor. The poor who lived desperate lives without adequate clothing, food, shelter.

Mercer Wilkins was one of the poor. Her family lived crammed into a slum. At age 10 the children were often thrust out of the home and onto the streets to make it on their own or they had to go live in the "workhouse" where they were systematically starved and worked to death.

Then Mercy had the opportunity to board one of the Bride Ships and leave London and go to a new country, the new colonies of British Columbia on the Western side of what is now Canada. The story of the trip aboard the aging ship is a compelling read. The characters, the circumstances, the storms, the conditions all beautifully fleshed out in words that imprint themselves firmly in the reader's mind for their haunting clarity and desperate cry to be heard.

But the story doesn't end on board the ship at sea, it continues after they land in Columbia and the young women are exposed to the cheers and leers of the hundreds of waiting men who want a bride. Today we can hardly comprehend the situation with which these women were faced.

Again, Jody Hedlund makes history and specific parts of it come alive. Imprints the people and their situations firmly in our hearts and minds. She shows us the humanity of the characters. The good guys and those whose personalities leave much to be desired. She weaves a gentle romance into this beautiful story showing us that the heart can often win out and love can bloom no matter how fierce the storm of life into which we are thrust.

I totally enjoyed reading A RELUCTANT BRIDE and can highly recommend it.

About the book: Living in London's poorest slum, Mercy Wilkins has little hope of a better life. When she's offered an opportunity to join a bride ship sailing to British Columbia, she agrees. After witnessing so much painful heartache and loss in the slums, the bride ship is her only prospect to escape a bleak future, not only for herself but, she hopes, someday for her sister.

Wealthy and titled Joseph Colville leaves home and takes to the sea in order to escape the pain of losing his family. As ship's surgeon, he's in charge of the passengers' welfare aboard the Tynemouth, including sixty brides-to-be. He has no immediate intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, the two must fight against a forbidden love.

With hundreds of single men congregating on the shore eager to claim a bride from the Tynemouth, will Mercy and Joseph lose their chance at true love, or will they be able to overcome the obstacles that threaten to keep them apart?

GIVEAWAY

Begins July 7

Ends July 30 at 12:01 a.m. EDT

Open to USA addresses only

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DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Any opinions expressed are mine and are freely given.