Grace’s Hope (Journey to Freedom #1)

Grace Tupper’s husband stole her daughter and abandoned her to life alone. Unable to track her child, and now a widow, Grace agrees to become a mail-order bride to start again. Arriving in Freedom, Colorado Grace discovers her bid at a new life might provide her more choices than she expected, and that dreams do sometimes come true. Sheriff Colt Matthews has no desire to marry again after his wife’s death left him and his young daughter alone. Grace Tupper could be the answer to his daughter’s needs, but is he willing to trust himself with marriage again or will choosing marriage cost him more than he is willing to give?

A cute historical/western romance with a few Christian elements, “Grace’s Hope” is the first book in the Journey to Freedom series. The machinations bringing Grace to town, and the circumstances around Colt’s daughter add some interesting elements to the plot while providing room for Grace and Colt to recover from failed marriages. However, the romance between them is slow to start and comes together more through determination than steam. Still, any fan of mail-order bride books will find all the delightful ups and downs of marrying a stranger during the 1800s present, but with a few surprises in store, and each of the common elements nicely done making this a nice and quick-paced fluffy read overall.

Sarah E Bradley