"A Bride of Convenience" by Jody Hedlund -- Book Review

About the Book

Unemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime.

Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe, one of the newly arrived bride-ship women, to care for the infant. While there, he's devastated by the news from his fiancee in England that she's marrying another man.

With mounting pressure to find the baby a home, Zoe accepts a proposal from a miner of questionable character after he promises to help her locate her brother. Intent on protecting Zoe and frustrated by his failed engagement, Abe offers his own hand as groom. After a hasty wedding, they soon realize their marriage of convenience is not so convenient after all.

My Thoughts

"A Bride of Convenience" is the third book in the Bride Ships series. I think it does okay as a standalone book. There are characters mentioned from the first two books, but I don't think you would be terribly lost if you didn't read the other books first. (I still recommend reading books in order, though). I found the book to be well written and easy to read. The biblical faith element was well done and woven through the story. The characters desired to do God's will. The book doesn't include physical intimacy other than kissing, but there are mentions of "manly urges", "inflamed desires", and the like along with the kisses being "passionate". The characters are married at this point, so it is not indecent for them to kiss passionately. I look forward to reading the last book in this series and other books by Jody Hedlund.



About the Author 

Jody Hedlund is the author of over twenty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award.

Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).

When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.


"A Bride of Convenience" is available in paperback:

• Series: The Bride Ships (Book 3)
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers; 6/1 edition (June 30, 2020)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764232975
• ISBN-13: 978-0764232978
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches

and in Kindle edition:

• File Size: 8498 KB
• Print Length: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (June 30, 2020)
• Publication Date: June 30, 2020
• Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0821PQM6T

I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received for my review.