Colonial Christmas Brides: Jamestown's Bride Ship/Angel of Jamestown/Raven's Christmas/Broken Hearts (Inspirational Christmas Romance Collection)

Lauralee Bliss & Irene B. Brand
Barbour Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9781597898171
Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (11/07)


“Colonial Christmas Brides” contains a collection of four historical romance novellas set in early colonial times.  Each novella tells of hardship and loss in the wilderness of the new land, reliance on faith in God to provide direction and hope, and the joy that comes with celebration. 

‘Jamestown’s Bride Ship’ carries the reader aboard a ship of brides meant for the early settlers, sent to build and sustain community in Jamestown, Virginia Colony, during the 1620s.  Susanna, not one of the intended brides, has been sent to America by her Grandmother to live with her aunt.  Determined to reboard the ship back to England, Susanna seeks only to regain her strength after the long journey.  That is until she finds herself in the arms of Joshua Deane.  Joshua, having lost a wife and child in a native uprising while he was away overnight, has no intention of sacrificing another family to the rigors of colonial life.  Drawn to Susanna, Joshua turns to God for guidance.  Will he find his answer in time?  Without Joshua, Susanna has little to stay for in Jamestown. 
 
‘Angel of Jamestown’ opens in Jamestown, Virginia Colony, 1676 with Paul Dodson reliving the fire that consumed his home and livelihood as a blacksmith.  Angry at being left with nothing and no means to rebuild, Paul is ready to fight for the Governor’s attention, even at the price of death.  “What else have I to live for anyway?  You might as well have my life, too, for I have nothing else.”  It is then that a beautiful woman comes and saves him, leading him away from his battle, and reminding him to have faith in God.  This “angel” continues to help him rebuild his life, through tools, clothes, and kindness.  Determined to identify the woman and seek her reason for rescuing him, he begins to unravel the mystery of her identity.  When he finally finds her and begins to spend time with her he finds himself falling in love.  While her status is far above his, could she love him for whom he is, and is he brave enough to find out?

‘Raven’s Christmas’ takes the reader to Williamsburg, Virginia Colony, in 1757 where Raven, aged twenty, finds herself with the horrible decision of marrying a man she doesn’t love, and is fifty-years her senior, or risk losing her cherished family home to her wretched uncle.  It is not until Andrew Faulkner, a musician and actor, comes to Williamsburg that Raven begins to pray for the ability to marry the man she loves.  The only way that can happen is through the return of her Uncle William, a man that has been missing for several months and presumed dead.

 ‘Broken Hearts’ finds a heartbroken Mary Farthington, recently widowed when her husband was murdered in Williamsburg (1775), mistaken for one who summoned the militia to fight the governor.  Left with a fatherless little girl, Mary is determined to have a doll made from the doll head that survived her husband’s death.  She brings the doll to a local craftsman who agrees to fashion a wooden body for the doll.  Mary finds herself drawn back to the shop, and soon their friendship begins to grow.  Just as thoughts of marriage begin to materialize she hears news that she is in danger and that John, the craftsman’s, has ties to her husband’s death.  Mary, feeling heartbroken and betrayed begins to pack up her daughter and flee the plantation.  Suddenly remembering the precious doll, she realizes she must face John and arms herself for the confrontation.

“Colonial Christmas Brides” provides four heartwarming historical romance novellas to set your heart and soul in the mood for the holidays.  Lauralee Bliss and Irene B. Brand have mastered the task of developing heartfelt characters, stories of deep faith, and the magic of Christmas festivities. 

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