A Noble Groom
Ratings2
Average rating2.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating2.5
2014 Carol Award Winner for Historical Romance Michigan, 1880 Annalisa Werner's hope for a fairy tale love is over. Her husband failed her in every way and now his death has left her with few options to save the family farm. She needs a plentiful harvest. That, and a husband to help bring it in. Someone strong, dependable. That'll be enough. A marriage for love...that's something she's given up on. So her father sends a letter to his brother in the Old Country, asking him to find Annalisa a groom. Then a man appears: Carl Richards, from their home country of Germany and a former schoolteacher--or so he says. He's looking for work and will serve on the farm until her husband arrives. With time running out, she accepts his help, but there's more to this man than he's admitting. He's also gentle, kind, charming--unlike any man she's ever known. But even as Carl is shining light into the darkness of her heart, she knows her true groom may arrive any day. "Swiftly becoming a well-known contender in the world of Christian historical fiction, Hedlund skillfully taps into her own German heritage to develop this tale of Old World romance and masked identity set against the backdrop of a nineteenth-century German American community." -- Booklist
Featured Series
3 primary booksMichigan Brides is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2009 with contributions by Jody Hedlund.
Reviews with the most likes.
I love it when books cover unusual settings and unique relationships in tales that other authors haven't already done over and over again. This story is of the Germans settling in Michigan and the hurdles they had to overcome.
The hero, Carl, is a German nobleman's son who has to flee Germany incognito after he is suspected of a crime. However, the Michigan community where he goes for shelter has reason to hate Carl's father with a deadly hate, so he must keep his identity just as much a secret there...and has to buck up and learn to do a man's work in the fields, which to say the least is not easy. (A novel hero's dilemma that definitely intrigued me!) I loved how he has such a simple faith in God and, even when discouraged, knows where to turn for help. This fella becomes a truly admirable man as he grows under adverse situations.
I also loved Annalisa and her daughters. What a sweet picture of devoted motherhood.
This was a trifle heavy on the romance, as opposed to the historical aspect, which dropped it down a notch for me. And I didn't like the scene where she's tempted to compromise herself with Carl so he'll be forced to marry her. Though she makes the right decision, I didn't enjoy reading about it.
