The Telegraph Proposal (A Montana Brides Romance)
A la The Shop Around the Corner, Yancey Palmer and Hale Adams begin to fall in love via correspondence in 1888 Helena, Montana. Since the matrimonial agency has disguised their identities, they don’t know they are writing to each other. In real life, lawyer Hale resents Yancey for thwarting his courtship of her sister, though he reluctantly accepts Yancey’s help planning his campaign for mayor because of her superior social skills. Hale’s uncle Jonas, a judge, is revealed early as the villain of the piece, running a counterfeiting operation to raise money for his own campaign for senator. Will Hale and Yancey uncover Jonas’s dark deeds? And will they reconcile their personas from their letters with their real-life selves?
I struggled to get through this book because it is loaded with backstory and minor characters from previous volumes in the Montana Brides series. I had trouble keeping the relationships and past histories straight. I did enjoy Hale and Yancey’s on-again, off-again courtship, which I thought realistic—instant falling-in-love happens rarely, and most couples need time to work out their differences before reaching the happy ending. Recommended to inspirational fiction fans, but read the previous volumes first.
