Deeply Devoted by Maggie Brendan ~ review

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Revell (September 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800734629
• ISBN-13: 978-0800734626

Review copy provided by the publisher

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About the book:

When Catharine Olsen leaves Holland for America as a mail-order bride, she brings along some extra baggage: two sisters, her mother's set of Blue Willow china, and a tragic past. When she arrives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, she promptly marries Peter Andersen and dreams of starting life over in this rugged land. Peter is kind and patient with Catharine and accommodating to her sisters. His mother, however, is not. When she begins a campaign to sabotage Peter's marriage, Catharine is distraught, worried that her secret past will be discovered. Will her life end up as nothing but broken pieces? Or will these trials make her stronger?

Readers will love negotiating the clash of cultures and class as a highborn European and a Western wheat farmer learn to love one another and trust God with both the past and the future.


My take on this book:
One of my favorite types of read is christian historical fiction, and "Deeply Devoted" certainly fit the bill. Set in the west (Cheyenne Territory, Wyoming) during 1887. Catharine Olsen sails to America from Holland to meet her future husband, Peter Anderson, a farmer she has been corresponding with by mail. She hopes that he will be understanding of the fact that she isn't traveling alone, instead she is bringing her two younger sisters Anna and Greta along as well. Peter is surprised at the fact that Catharine has brought her sisters along, but he marries her anyway, realizing that he will now have three additional people to support. Not only did she keep her sisters arrival a secret but there are other things in her past that she didn't reveal, for fear he wouldn't have married her. When someone starts meddling Catharine fears her past will be revealed, can a marriage with so many secrets survive?


There were a couple of things that made this mail order bride story stand out for me, the first was the fact that Catharine was from another country, and the second thing was that she had two sisters in tow. A fast moving story that pulled me in from the first pages. I became interested in knowing the secrets that Catharine was hiding, and I couldn't help but wonder if the marriage would survive. I found the characters quite enjoyable and thought Catharine really tried her best to become a farmers wife. Interesting secondary characters really added to the story.The author's notes at the end of the story were quite interesting, and added to the story for me.
If your a fan of historical romance set in the west your going to enjoy this one.There is a christian theme of forgiveness woven into the story  but I felt like it was done well,never coming off as preachy. "Deeply Devoted" is the first book in The Blue Willow Bride series, and I for one am anxious to read the next book in the series. 




"Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."