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To Love a Stranger
Colleen Cobble
•°o•:*:•.Diverting,
but feels rushed .•:*:• o°•
April 1868
Bessie Randall is age twenty-six from a prestigious family
in Boston. She is the older, plainer and
quieter sister to Lenore, who is beautiful, and toast of the town at age twenty-one. On a whim, Lorna has decided to correspond
with a handsome soldier, from Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, who is interested
in marriage. She thought nothing would come of it, but the letters continued
over six months. She had used her older
sister’s name, knowing her parents would never approve of her writing. When he asked for a marriage by proxy, it
sounded exciting, so she just did it.
Then she met Richard and changed her mind. She tells her sister, “I know
you would like Jasper. And you’d make a much better soldier’s wife than I would”. Bessie feels both betrayed, and bound to a
promise made in her name. Fearing her
sister may even go to jail, she agrees to follow through on the marriage.
Jasper is smitten with the beautiful photo of Lenore, who he
thinks is “his” Bessie, and feels connected to her through their many
letters. Knowing she craves adventure,
he intends to surprise her with the fact his regiment is being reassigned to the
untamed land of Arizona, filled with Indians, and other dangers. When the real Bessie arrives, he feels duped
and betrayed. Bessie prays he will
accept her and not send her packing. He has little choice when his timetable
gets moved up. Either try to deal with
the situation along the way, or leave her behind, legally married to him. They decide to wait until they get to Phoenix
to figure out the best course. Along the
way, Bessie finds an Indian baby, destined to die in the dessert. They immediately help care for the baby, and
Jasper discovers there may be more to this tiny waif of a woman than he
originally thought. They encounter
hardships together, and walk on eggshells with each other, constantly assuming
and reevaluating things in their minds, as they muddle through their new
relationship. They finally agree to use
the Bible as a road map for love, and try to figure out God’s direction for
that. FAVORITE QUOTE: The Lord called me
as His own when I was ten years old. I
will do my best to raise my daughter in the ways of Jesus as we travel among my
people to tell them of His love.” Thomas, Ch. 15
Because this book is only 224 pages, it felt quite rushed to
me. I would have liked things to develop
at a more realistic pace. It is well
written, but also lacked the mystery element this author is usually famous
for. It is a nice diversion, and I
easily read it in one evening. I also
noticed more than one cover. I liked the
one featured on NetGalley, but I did not care for the one I saw on Christian
Book Discounters, which appears dated.
I recommend this book as a light read, and appreciate
receiving an advance eCopy through NetGalley. My opinion is my own.
HHHH (4
stars)
224 Pages
Thomas Nelson Publ., scheduled for release June 19, 2016
Read: 4/20/2016
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