Losing her parents and all their wealth in a fire, Henrietta "Hetty" Wentworth and her siblings are split up and put into an orphanage. Her elder sister and two brothers escape leaving Hetty to care for her twin sister and a young sister. Attacked by Indians while traveling by wagon from Cheyenne to Butte, Montana, Hetty is seriously injured with an arrow and left to die in the wagon, her twin has escaped to seek help and her youngest sister is taken by the Indians.

Mrs. Lucille Templeton, traveling with two children, has agreed to become a mail order bride to Karl Norwood who is soon traveling to his home in Bitterroot, Montana to work in his brother's logging operation. The Chinaman, Mr. Bao Lin, has been charged with accompanying his intended so they can marry before leaving on their hard trip. The children are not Mrs. Templeton's as Karl has been told, as well as being told their ages are much younger than they are. Their mother has died and Grace (13) invented this scheme to get a real family for her and her brother, Griffin (11). Being a shrew, Mrs. Templeton is lazy and selfish while mean to the children. When coming upon the deserted wagon, Hetty is found near dead. Traveling now with her rescuers, Hetty defends the children which results in Mrs. Templeton's death. Suggested by Bao, Hetty takes her place as the children's mother in order to provide a home for them all. Being a virgin reveals she is lying to Karl but will not sway from her original story to protect the children other than they are not hers. As time goes forward, Hetty begins to fall in love with the plain but gentle man she has married, and prays their lies will not tear her new family apart.

MONTANA BRIDE is a book that completely drew me in from page one. The story is terrific and portrays the life of the oxen and wagon days and the hardships those families traveling in the wilderness were faced with. I have not had the pleasure of reading/reviewing any books by this author previously, but I am extremely anxious to do so now. I was so caught up in the story I had to read the whole thing in one day. My heart went out to the characters and the hardships they had to endure. It was very easy to relate to each and every one in this story. MONTANA BRIDE is a meaningful account of what it must have been like to live during this era of our past.

Book Summary

A DESPERATE DECEPTION
THE PROMISE OF FOREVER

When Karl Norwood’s mail-order bride meets an untimely demise on the way to the Montana Territory, Hetty Wentworth steps in to take her place. Hetty has no idea how she’s going to pretend to be all the things she isn’t—including the mother of two kids. She only knows her deception is necessary if she’s going to save two orphans from the awful fate she suffered as a child.

Karl smells a rat when a much younger woman than he was expecting arrives with two children who look nothing like her. But his mail-order bride is so beautiful, he doesn’t object—until he realizes that his charming new wife has been lying . . . about everything. Can a woman forced to keep secrets and a man hindered by distrust ever hope to find happily ever after in each other’s arms?