Love gets a little messy in Maggie Brendan's new historical romance, Twice Promised. Greta Olsen is mourning the loss of her fiance, Bryan Gifford. Her heart far from mended, still, she can't help but respond to an ad for a mail-order bride. After some correspondence, she decides to take a chance on Jess Gifford. On the way to Central City, Colorado, she meets another woman, Cora Johnson, who is running away from her disapproving family. (They can't accept her faith and her new calling.) The two become friendly only to learn that they've both been lied to by the same man. Zach Gifford thinks his brother, Jess, should get married. So he places an ad in his brother's name and corresponds with two women arranging for both to come. An arrangement is reached that they will both meet Jess, and that they will both work in Jess' store until a decision has been made. (He'll either like one of them and want to marry or won't. There are plenty of other single men in town OR they can go back home.) So what happens when a hasty suggestion from Granny interferes with the natural progression of true love?
The relationships in this book are messy, in my opinion. Deciding on a whim based on who picks up what pattern of tea cup and letting that be the sole factor in who officially courts one another is silly. Within a few days, Zach clearly prefers Cora to Greta and Jess clearly prefers Greta to Cora, yet no one is honest because they don't want to break hearts or engagements. That doesn't stop Cora and Zach from kissing each other, or Jess and Greta either. Messy, messy, messy. It's predictable in that you know all will be righted by the end, but, in my opinion, it doesn't get cleared up quick enough.
But while I may think it's a little too messy, I did enjoy it to some extent. I definitely liked Greta and enjoyed getting to know her better.
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
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