Book Notes: September 22, 2021 - Leah Atwood Part 4

 Welcome back! Today I want to share two reviews of a couple of Leah Atwood's mail order bride novellas. I'll read almost any kind of romance novel. I think the mail order angle, while it's been done quite a lot over the years, presents a lot of varying options when it comes to writing a fiction book. But sometimes, I feel authors of today try to insert many modern thought patterns and actions which wouldn't have been followed in the time of the old west...at least, not by upstanding, law abiding citizens. Could it have happened? Perhaps. But if it's not likely, and the hero/heroine is portrayed as a person of high moral character, i.e. a good person, then their behavior should follow standards of the time which pointed to good behavior. Whether we like or agree with the way things were, an author can hardly call their work 'historical' if it's clearly functioning in 'altiverse' territory. That's one of the things I love about Leah's historical books. Her characters follow norms for the time. Even if they question those norms, they still follow the moral high road. It really is all about the details when it comes to a historical novel of any kind. If you're an author, and you want to change up the historical accounts a bit, just go ahead and label your book as historical altiverse material and we sticklers will be glad and thankful!

You'll find these books listed as the Mail-Order Matches series. On to the reviews!

Book Review: A  Man to be Proud Of (Mail-Order Matches) by Leah Atwood

 

You can see my star rating above. Leah asked that I refrain from writing reviews because of what I mentioned in part one of this series of book reviews. My feelings were not hurt and I respect her for actually communicating with me on the topic. I will say I truly enjoyed this very short book. It's sweet. She's tackled the matter of prejudice and inter-racial marrying in the old west in a positive way and maintained the integrity of inspirational romance while doing so. I certainly didn't mind any technical discrepancies I encountered along the way. Overall, the story flowed well and the characters were interesting. I actually would love reading this story in a longer form. I hope you'll give it a try. I've linked the photo to the book's Goodreads page so you can check it out for yourself. 

Book Review: The Most Wonderful Bride of the Year by Leah Atwood

The Most Wonderful Bride of the Year by Leah Atwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Short but Sweet

For a romance novella, this story had all the details needed to really make it feel complete. That's a big problem with a lot of shorter books I come across. I'm so glad this one was different.
There's a peaceful but hard-working and considerate hero, a strong but down-on-her-luck heroine, a sweet and mischievous aunt, and an HEA. The story is clean and inspirational, and I enjoyed seeing the characters pray and ask forgiveness when they hurt someone.
If you're looking for a short book to cozy up with which will also warm your heart, give this one a try!

View all my reviews

I read this book a few months ago, before Leah communicated her worries to me about my written reviews. So I can at least share this one with you. :) Her books really do leave you feeling smiley at the end. 

 Thanks for stopping by to check out these beautiful stories by a wonderful independent author. I hope you'll give them a try. If you enjoy them as much as I do, I hope you'll pass the word along to your own friends and family. 

Until next time...