In Want of a Wife

Spoiler alert...................................................

Spoiler alert...........................................................................
I like Jo Goodman's writing style and I've read about seven of her books.  I don't think I'll read any more though.  Out of the seven I've read four of them have a child molesting theme in them.  This book of a mail order bride was really excellent .   I just don't think that the hero being molested by his stepmother added anything to the story.  In fact it was a distraction.   It seems however to be a fixation to this writer.  In----  If His Kiss Is Wicked--also by JG--- it is germane to the plot.  But that was more of a mystery-romance. And a really great one.   However i see it cropping up in all her books now.   We all know this happens.     It's probably happened to someone you know.  It is extremely sad.  But reading historical romance is about escapism.   To be honest even when I read crime and mystery this is a subject I usually pass.  Children being hurt is not a fun read for me .  
It was still a good story.   Even the secondary characters are well written.   Well worth 4 stars.  
To answer the other reviewer question --the prologue explains why she decides to become a mail order bride.  It also explains the length she goes to to raise a small nest egg it case it doesn't work out for her.  Unfortunately that backfires for her.    

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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IN WANT OF A WIFE by Jo Goodman is another interesting Western H

IN WANT OF A WIFE by Jo Goodman is another interesting Western Historical Romance set in 1891 Bitter Springs, Wyoming. #3 in the "Bitter Springs" series, but can be read as a stand alone. A marriage-of- convenience love story.

Meet, Jane Middlebourn, a mail-order bride and Rancher Morgan Longstreet, who wishes a wife and partner to help him work his ranch, the Morning Star. Jane goes to Wyoming with a hopeful heart, Morgan, enters this marriage with a she is not the one, but a fragile young woman. Boy, is he in for a rude awakening!

Fast paced and filled with secrets, struggles, finding love and an HEA. Just the right mixture of romance, adventure and passion. Ms. Goodman is a wonderful storyteller who brings the Western frontier to life, with her engaging and enduring characters. An enjoyable read! Received for an honest review from the publisher.

RATING: 4

HEAT RATING: MILD

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, courtesy of My Book Addiction and More

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Highly recommended

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Jo Goodman never fails to delight.

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Author Jo Goodman brings readers another story from Bitter Sprin

Author Jo Goodman brings readers another story from Bitter Springs with her latest book, In Want of a Wife. Goodman is able to take a Western theme and turn it into just about anything she wants. With this book, she takes a reoccurring theme in Western romance, the mail order bride and adds to it child exploitation, to create a story that is multi-layered while still being romantic. Readers who are looking for a good cowboy romance, this book is that and a lot more. Jane is a sassy East Coast girl and Morgan is a Wyoming cowboy looking for a wife. It's an explosive combination. 

What I liked:

With any Jo Goodman book, especially her western historicals, readers know they will get good quality writing and engaging characters. I think I like Goodman's westerns best because she is able to capture not only the customs and traditions of the times, but also the heart of people who lived them. She gets into character so well and readers are drawn right along with her. Her character's speech patterns and mannerisms are authentic and that adds so much to the overall feel of the book. In Western writing of any kind atmosphere is key and Goodman has got it down to a science.

I always appreciate an author that takes the time to get a little more in depth when it comes to romance than just boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after. Goodman's books don't tend to be that straightforward. With any good book, there is conflict and with In Want of a Wife, the conflict is two-fold. When Jane and Morgan meet for the first time, she is coming to him as a mail-order-bride, but she isn't exactly what he was expecting. Morgan has some demons of his own to face in this book and that struggle it what made this one so interesting. Between both those issues, Goodman has conflict galore, and for whatever reason it works with this book. I liked all the secrets and the situations that brought these two characters closer and made their relationship grow.

Child molestation and exploitation isn't often something you find in western romance. It is a theme that Goodman has used in several of her other books as well. In this book I think it was handled with respect for it's devastation and in way that showed recovery is possible. I think that needs to be central when writing about this subject. Yes, it is a horrible thing, but those who have suffered it's consequences can move forward and find love and happiness and Goodman portrayed that well. 

What I didn't like:

The romance between Jane and Morgan is slow building and romantic but there were times when I felt they were pushing the boundaries of where they were in the relationship. Moving a little too quickly and sometimes not quick enough. The pacing was a just a little off, but it wasn't a big issue. It was still a very well written love story.

Bottom Line:

Goodman's western romances may not be for the readers who want their HEA's all tied with a bow. I liked the complexity of Jane and Morgan's relationship and how their pasts did not keep them from having a wonderful future together. I want my character's to earn their HEA and Goodman sees to it that they do.

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Anonymous

I have no idea what the prologue had to do with the story

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