Book Review Monday: A Bride For All Seasons, Part One

This last week (or so) I've been reading a collection of novellas called "A Bride For All Seasons", written by Margaret Brownley, Debra Clopton, Mary Connealy, and Robin Lee Hatcher.

This is a bit of a longer book, so I'm going to interview it in halves, two novellas at a time. 

Here's the back cover copy from Amazon (just of the two I'm reviewing today).

"It all started with an ad in a mail-order bride catalogue . . .
This charming bouquet of novellas introduces you to four Hitching Post Mail-Order Bride Catalogue prospects in the year 1870, all eager for second chances . . . and hungry for happiness. Year in, year out, they’ll learn that love often comes in unexpected packages.
“And then Came Spring” by Margaret Brownley
Mary-Jo has traveled halfway across the country to meet her match, arriving just in time for his funeral. Returning home seems like her only option until her would-be brother-in-law proposes a more daring idea.
“An Ever After Summer” by Debra Clopton
Ellie had no idea she’s not what Matthew ordered. And what’s wrong with being a “Bible thumper” anyway? She’s determined to show him she’s tougher than she looks—and just the girl he needs."

First off, here's what I thought of "And then Came Spring" by Margaret Brownley. 

It was a great little story that I really enjoyed reading. Mary-Jo arrived in town and waited, and waited, and waited for her husband-to-be to show up. He doesn't. Instead, she ends up barging in on his funeral. 

She decides she must return home, but is deterred by her would-be son--and her brother-in-law. They convince her to stay for at least a while before returning home, and Mary-Jo becomes attached to the young boy and the man who would have been her brother-in-law.

A very nice novella.

Next, here's what I thought of "An Ever After Summer" by Debra Clopton.

I've never read anything by this author before, but I did enjoy reading this. My one small complaint is that the author seemed to really liked her exclamation points. She seemed to use them far too much to the point where they got a little distracting, but that is the only fault I found, and a small one at that. This is about Ellie, who answers a call for a mail-order bride, and turns out to not be what her would-be husband wants. The man at the "Hitching Post" newspaper likes to switch things up and brides and husbands aren't ever quite what the other thought. Matthew marries her, however, because he needs a mother for his baby girl, Sophie. The two end up spending more time together than Matthew planned, and Ellie might become more than just a "hired hand" for cleaning and taking care of the baby.

I enjoyed reading this.

So, there you have it, this is my review of the first half of this lovely book. I can't wait to share the rest. 

What do you think of novellas? Have read or written one before?