A Bride in Store
Mail-order bride Eliza Cantrell has a talent for storekeeping in 1881 Kansas. But will her fiancé Axel still want her when she arrives penniless and wounded after her train is robbed? Axel is strangely missing, but his partner in the store, Will Stanton, has had some medical experience. He stitches Eliza’s face and helps her find a place to live. Eliza longs to help Will in return, as his merchant skills are a bit lacking. Will believes storekeeping is a lesser evil than trying to become a full-fledged doctor, because he thinks his medical mistakes caused his little sister’s illness. Then Axel reappears, and Eliza prepares to marry him, until a shocking secret is revealed at the altar.
Will and Eliza are interesting characters, and I liked learning about 1880s storekeeping. Yet the book would be better if less time had been spent on Will’s and Eliza’s continuous heart-burnings about why they are not worthy of each other. Some tension between a central couple in an inspirational romance is good, but there was about 50 pages too much of it, dragging the story to a halt in places. Jagears includes a discussion guide tied to specific Bible verses.
