Product Description When Lady Constance Morrow finds herself held against her will aboard a ship bound for the American colonies?a ship filled with "tobacco brides" and felons?she is quite sure that as soon as she arrives she will find a reasonable man who will believe her father is an earl and send her back on the next ship to England. Instead she meets Drew O?Connor, a determined Colonial farmer who is nearly as headstrong as she is. Drew wins Constance as his bride but soon realizes he has taken on much more than he bargained for
A Bride Most Begrudging 2010-08-10 LTS220 (Illinois) Not my favorite Deeanne Gist book but it was also her first (so they got better!) I had a hard time with the first half of the book but the second half was better.
Rating:
4/5
I enjoyed it! 2010-08-04 Judith C. Latham (Raleigh NC USA) I've devoured all of Deeanne Gist's books on my Kindle...except for Deep in the Heart. . . . which isn't available yet. As a 6o-plus-year-old woman of the world, I thought I'd outgrown romance novels decades ago, however I must say I found all of Ms. Gist's books well done, very interesting and great fun. I'm looking forward to Deep In the Heart.
Rating:
5/5
Very good book! 2010-07-30 Tasha Cantrell (CALERA, OK, US) I loved this book! I do believe Deanne Gist has become my favorite Christian Fiction writer! I recommend this book to anyone!
Rating:
4/5
Nothing is Resolved 2010-07-27 M. Dougherty (NH, USA) Though I didn't like it as much as The Measure of a Lady, I enjoyed A Bride Most Begrudging.
1640s is just a little too early for my taste - men were just a little too uncouth - America just a little too rugged.
That being said, the book was enjoyable. Very easy to read. I read it in about 4 days, which for me, is kind of amazing.
My dislikes are:
I cannot forgive the male protagonist, Drew, for his disgusting chauvinism. It's a historical novel, so I was expecting it on some level. But generally it gets tossed out as the male comes to understand the beauty and wonder of a woman, her intelligence and tenacity. Drew never learns this. He remains, even at the end of the novel, a chauvinistic clueless man. He begrudgingly allows his wife to continue learning and to teach other young women, but only because of a "deal" he made with God. He only ever "comes to love" his wife when her life is in danger. And this is the biggest problem with the novel: none of the issues that lie between the two main characters are ever resolved; they're simply put away because 'more distressing' problems arise. Someone falls ill, Indians attack, someone leaves on a ship, etc.
The character of Josh remains completely unresolved. What a bummer! He was such a spectacular, and I mean SPECTACULAR, secondary character (you don't get those that often in books like these), and he had such amazing potential, and *thwump* NOTHING. Such a disappointment.
I detest books that deliberately try to make the reader cry for no reason. I call them Nicholas Sparks novels. There is a point in this book that the reader is clearly meant to cry about, but I just got furious. There was NO point to it (the problem is later remedied, having thrown the readers for a 'clever' loop) because it did not advance the plot or characterizations in any way.
At the end of the book, I found myself wondering why Constance even liked Drew. He was such a jerk to her, and she just took it like a meek kitten, praying, "Please Lord, let this be the day." Not my style, sorry. He never apologizes, never excuses his behavior. Nothing is resolved.
Surprisingly, these things don't really ruin the book. I closed the book thinking, "Well, I guess in 1640 it could've gone something like that." I will still read more of Gist's novels, though I hope she sticks to a time period later than colonial America. I wouldn't call it her strong suit.
Rating:
3/5
The book was lacking 2010-07-13 bookaddict (Upland, CA) I was enjoying this book but didn't find enough tension between the main characters. One minute she wants him the next minute she doesn't. That's not tension. Then when they finally do come together the author just glosses over their moment. One minute they are getting ready for their honeymoon evening and the next they are waking up in the morning. I would have liked to have some passion. Other than that I did enjoy the story.
