A Bride at Last by Melissa Jagears

Two strangers are drawn together in A Bride at Last through one woman and her child.

About A Bride at Last

Abandoned by his mail-order bride, Silas Jonesey has fought a battle to recover from a pattern of poor choices. Now his prayers have finally come true and his estranged wife has contacted him with her whereabouts.

Kate Dawson was supposed to be a mail-order bride, but upon realizing she had been deceived about her intended groom, she’s now settled into life as a schoolteacher. When the mother of a student passes away, Kate assumes she will take on care of nine-year-old Anthony – until two men suddenly show up in town, both claiming to be the boy’s father.

Silas can see Anthony loves Kate, so he enlists her help in reaching out to the boy and attempting to prove his paternity to the court. When a common interest in Anthony leads to an interest in each other and Silas and Kate begin to think they can overcome their rocky start, neither is prepared for the secrets and past hurts that have yet to come to light. Can Silas, Kate, and Anthony’s wounded souls bind them together or will all that stands between them leave them lonely forever?

My Thoughts

Whenever I read a historical novel, I always feel how shocking the norms were during these time periods especially in North America. The concept of mail-order bride can be mind blowing and the same goes for the many children that were orphaned or left to survive on their own. Kate Dawson is an incredibly strong woman for the time period she lives in. She has been hurt, taken advantage of but still manages to push ahead. Her job as a teacher helps her to protect ‘her’ children and guide them. She becomes extremely attached to Anthony who has been abused by his ‘father’.

When a new man comes to claim Anthony as his own, both Kate and Anthony are forced to struggle to put Anthony’s safety and well being first. When bribes were the norm, his fate could be decided by who has more money. It broke my heart.

When Kate and Silas begin to realize they may have feelings for each other or at least try to help each other move past their own hurts, it is heart warming. Both of them have been hurt so badly in the past, that you want to see them happy but their wounds are still so fresh!

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour Page. You can purchase a copy here.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Melissa Jagears, an ESL teacher by trade and the author of A Bride for Keeps and A Bride in Store, is a stay-at-home mother on a tiny Kansas farm with a fixer-upper house. She’s a member of ACFW and CROWN fiction marketing, and her passion is to help Christian believers mature in their faith and judge rightly. You can connect with her online and on Facebook.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.