Cranes Bride (Wild Rose Country, #1) by Linda Ford

Cranes Bride (Wild Rose Country, #1) Reviews

• 
  Rebekah Morris

  2.5 stars
  I went into this book cautiously since I'd never read this author and wasn't sure what the romance would be like. I did enjoy the characters, though some things seemed a bit strange. The fact that both children seemed to completely or almost completely recover from abusive situations in a day was a little hard to swallow. I was impressed by the Christianity portrayed in the story–the fact that the Bible was read, that prayers were made, that God's love and forgiveness were both talked about–all being woven in and not dumped in the reader's lap.
  
  The reason I didn't rate it higher were a couple of things.
  1. The 10-year-old boy being undressed by his sister in the creek and talking about the marks of abuse on him.
  2. This one was my biggest problem. Crane was the main character and after he got married he wanted to kiss his bride. No problem there, but he didn't do it. And his desires and such got stronger and stronger, though he kept telling himself to take things slow. It grew in descriptions as well and feelings were described when they touched and such. It got to be too much for me. Also there was a night alone together. (I don't care that they were married, I didn't want to be there.) It didn't go into detail but it sure made me wonder if it was going to. And then it left things easy to imagine what happened the next morning. Not something I care to read about.
  3. The ending was a bit abrupt.
  
  Because of those things, I probably won't be reading this again. I might try another by this author though.
• 
  Birgit

  An absolutely charming story, a little bit naive perhaps regarding the characters and the storytelling, but oh so heartwarming, amusing - this book just made me feel good while reading it!
  Byler Crane, heading west to start a new life, and realises he wants a wife to share it as well. No romance or passion, mind you. He puts an advert in a shop in a little town he passes, and find Maggie, who agrees to marry him.
  Crane soon finds he's in over his head with spunky and not-afraid-of-anything Maggie, and before much longer, the little twosome is increased by two children Maggie rescues. The story tells the events on their way west, the dangers and people they meet, and how everyone in the little group learns to trust each other, and trust in God again. And perhaps Crane was a bit hasty with his "no romance and no passion"?
  An utterly delightful little gem of a book, told with a lot of humour, and compassion - as I said, a feel-good-story!
• 
  Jeffrey

  A frontier romance taking place in Canada with Biblical overtones. The hero and heroine, just married, (Crane and Maggie) are so admirable in the pursuit of a homestead near Calgary. Along their way they pick up a foundling (Betsy) and miraculously find Maggie's lost 10 year old brother (Ted) A great page-turning read full of adventure, danger and fledgling love.
• 
  Angie Bradee

  Good book
  
  I like that this book is clean romance novel. It’s a pretty good read, it kept my attention, I could read it again.
• 
  Cindy Cooke

  Reads like true circumstances in the old West
  
  I have really enjoyed this book. The characters are believable, as they tried to make the best possible choices on their journey across Canada to build a new life for themselves. Hard times make people stronger or break them. Two strong survivors decide to join their lives for convenience, with no thought of anything more than building a homestead. They don't even know each other. Crane's notice on the general store notices board listed 'a God-fearing' woman' as one of his prerequisites for his wife. The dirty, smelly woman who came into the store, read the paper and asked the store proprietor who posted the ad was definitely not what he thought he was looking for, but after a bath in the river, they were married. On the way out of town, Maggie, Crane's bride, rescued a tiny little girl from a brutish man and Crane instantly became a father, even though he knew nothing of how to be one. Later, Maggie found another abused child, and their ramshackle family grew to four. Along the way, the couple was reminded of the roots instilled by their godly mothers, and a yearning to return to that lifestyle began to grow in their hearts. Their lives were changed, and more questions than answers served to pull the whole family together through the evenings around the campfires spent reading the old family Bible Crane carried in his saddlebag. As they journeyed across the Canadian wilderness, accidents and illness went with them, each incident cementing the new family together and bringing each member to knowledge that GOD loved them and had a plan for their futures.
  This was an excellent book. I received it in a giveaway from Goodreads, and I am leaving my review so others will also enjoy the journey of Crane and his bride. Thanks for an excellent read, Ms Ford.
• 
  Helen

  E-Reader. Romance
  
  Byler Crane, a/k/a: Crane, lives in Canada and he decides to go west to Calgary.  He stops in a small General Store, buy more supplies.  
  
  There's a board on the wall, he asks for a small piece of paper & to borrow a pencil.  He writes looking for a God loving woman, to marry, inquire here.  While he's looking for more supplies, a woman comes in, tears down his post & asked the clerk who the man is who posted it.  The clerk pointed to the side of the store. He looked like a cowboy boots & a hat. 
  
  She approached Crane & asks if needed a woman to marry him. Her name is Maggie Malone.  They find a preacher who married them.
  
  Be buys a gentle mare horse, saddle & more feed.  And tells her to buy whatever she'd need on the trail.
  
  Before they are even out the town, Maggie stops her horse, slides off, and runs towards, a small girl, who hollered he's not my Pa, help!  The man really big, but she pulls out a pistol & orders him to let go the girl. Maggie shot the man in his foot, shot hat off his head.  She grabbed the girl and they rode as fast as they could to get away.  Her name is Betsy, 3-4 years old.
  
  They stop by a pig farm to buy some pork & eggs.  Just before they leave, she runs towards a young boy who is in muck feeding the hogs.  She goes into the muck, grabs the boys by his shoulders, it's me Teddy your sister Maggie. The farmer comes out with a double shotgun.  Crane decided to try & talk the man & paid him $20 for the brother, 7- 8 years old.
  
  Now they need another horse, saddle & others supplies for the trail.
  
  There is so much more to this story you need to read this book!
  
  It's a good read!  Enjoy!
  
  
• 
  Anna Marie

  Byler Crane's had enough of the hired cowboy life, and is headed West to claim land and have a life of his own. But along the way, he realizes getting himself a wife while there were still sizeable towns would be a good idea.
  
  He has NO idea what he's in for. The girl who answers his ad for a 'god-fearing woman' is Maggie, a spitfire and crack-shot who goes after anyone abusing children. Thus, he finds himself 'pa' to a child a mere hour after he's wed! More, Maggie finds her brother (who'd been sold by her drunk pa) being abused at a farm they pass, and she goes in to rescue him, too!
  
  Can Crane get them across the territories and to the Rockies in one piece? Can he find faith, love, and family in this rag-tag group?
  
  The book is choc-full of adventure: bullies, landslides, drought, near-drownings, bad company, good company, runaway spooked horses... it's a wild ride, but clean, fun, and tender-hearted. I own and LOVE this book.
• 
  Lisa Montgomery

  I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. The absurdities were both amusing and compelling at the same time.
  However, I felt the book became too "preachy" in the latter chapters. It lost the spark that made it unique in the inspirational romance genre.
  I do not know whether this is true for everyone, but on my Kindle eBook, the sentences run together because there is no space after the end punctuation. Words are sometimes divided in odd places; for example, on one page the word "himself" looked life this:
  himsel-
  f
  The book opens with the tag line of "Canadian Western Territories, 1888, but within the story, it says, their wedding date was "May 10, 1890." Which is it??? That's two years apart. They get married in chapter one.
• 
  Marie

  An American early settler/western with a difference. Refreshing humour with some gripping serious moments tells of a young man heading to Canada to carve out a new life. He finds a wife in a very unusual & sudden manner. On their way, they adopt a foundling child and miraculously find a long-lost brother and take on a baby. Of course, they encounter floods, robbers and wild animals as most the pilgrims did. They make some friends, who travel part of the way with them, but then sadly leave the trail when they find suitable land. It is a page-turner, but a relaxing, easy read. It certainly will have wide appeal from teens to elderly.
• 
  Judy

  Maggie and Crane 💞
  
  Sweet, adventurous story. Blyler Crane marries Maggie within minutes of meeting her and they start their journey west to settle. During their travels, they rescue a little girl Betsy and then stumble across Maggie’s long lost little brother, Ted.
  
  I enjoyed reading of their adventures while traveling. Crane was not the best communicator or the brightest bulb on the block regarding women, though. He was pretty dense at times! Thankfully, his eyes were opened at the end.
• 
  Ogz

  It was a clean beautiful read of love and God. Byler had been wounded by his past and refused making promises because of that. He meets Maggie who hadn’t had a good home after her Mum past.
  Their marriage leads them to two more people. They all share a life of distrust and unhappiness about their past.
  In their journey west to Canada, they find God through situations surrounding their journey.
  
  It was a clean and sweet story but that’s it. It’s a 3.5 stars really.
• 
  Vi

  Inspiring historical Christian adventure. Crane is seeking a new
  life, a new home in the West and a wife. He found his wife, Maggie, and before their journey West started their family had grown! Good writing, characters and inspiration. Plenty of love, but the book ended before romance began. Good quick read
• 
  Robyn Echols

  Lovely Romance
  
  I enjoyed this lovely Christian romance about a man who prepares to move west to start a new life and decides he needs a wife. He ended up with more than he bargained for. Great characters, and some heartwarming scenes sprinkled with some tense moments. A great read.
• 
  Denise Troutman

  Precious
  
  I liked this book so much I read it again. It is about broken people who find each other and begin a life of healing their hurts and others hurts along the way. I didn’t realize until I was almost to the end for the second time that this story mirrored my own life in many ways. Definitely a keeper, to be read again.