The Bride Fair: Amazon.ca: Cheryl Reavis: Books

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5 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a Terrific Find . . . 4 Big Stars!, Jan 19 2009

By

MaryGrace Meloche (Ontario, Canada.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bride Fair (Paperback)

A bargain bin, an unknown author, and a total surprise! Cheryl Reavis is a new author to me, but after reading THE BRIDE FAIR, I will now add her to my "hunt down" author list.

Mini Synopsis:
In the south, the war had been costly, it had taken Maria Markham's two brothers and fiancé, but Maria was a survivor. She was also a dutiful daughter. If not for her father, she would never have met the new commanding officer at the train station. The Commander of the Reconstruction troops was not someone she wanted to keep company with! Colonel Maxwell Woodard had been in Salisbury, North Carolina before . . . courtesy of the Confederate Civil War prison system. Those painful memories were vivid, ugly and bitter. And now he vowed he would not allow a southern woman to disarm him with her sad eyes, thin body, or insolent attitude. In this occupied town, he was the commanding officer and this dignified, proud woman would get used to this fact . . . quickly! The enemy in him wished to annoy her; the gentlemen in him wanted to help her; but the man in him needed to love her.

Reviewer's Comments:
Cleverly, Cheryl Reavis pushes the political hatred into the background and moves the romance front and center. Slowly she unwraps the love story, which allows her reader to savor its delicate growth. Cheryl Reavis has written a caring tale full of hope and new beginnings. So why the slip in the rating, because VAGUELY at times, I felt shortchanged - details seemed neglected - would they appear answered, if I had read the parent book, THE PRISONER? Still, don't miss THE BRIDE FAIR; Reavis' lovely tale will be remembered long after the final page is turned.

Grade: B+
Status: page turner
Sensuality: warm

MaryGrace Meloche.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing would ever be the same..., Mar 6 2004

By

Anza Carrillo "heavenlyanza" (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bride Fair (Paperback)

Maria Markham was a spunky Southern lady who had survived the Civil War, and now was surviving the Union occupation of her state, as well. Sometimes it was difficult, though, with the Union commander of the town staying in her own house. The new commander of the town, Colonel Max Woodard, seemed a bit different from the previous commander, though; and sometimes Maria was disarmed by his kindness toward his vanquished foes. There are secrets, however, that Maria is determined to keep to herself - and no matter how different Max appears to be, she can't share them with anyone.

Colonel Max Woodard was once a prisoner at a squallid prison camp located in the area; now he was the commander of the entire town. Despite his bitter memories of the place, he is determined to act in a fair manner, even when Maria seems intent to keep him at a distance or openly snub him. Could they learn to love one another, or would any feelings they had toward each other be denied because of their pasts?

This book was an okay book, but I wasn't particularly thrilled with it, either. Maria is nothing short of confusing, and once things are revealed later in the book, I was even more confused. I can't give away what I'm talking about, though; suffice to say that her feelings seemed to wax hot one moment and cold another. She also never really gave Max a chance most of the time; instead of getting to know him a little, she would avoid him as much as possible or snub him when she got the opportunity to do so. Max showed her several kindnesses early on, but that didn't matter to her.

Max's character was obviously very impacted by his stay in a prison camp, but that really wasn't discussed much. I don't know if it was discussed in Ms. Reavis' prequel to this book (The Prisoner) or not, but it would have really helped me if she had fleshed that part of Max's character out a bit.

Really, this whole book seemed a bit blah to me, and it never really got me too interested in it. It's an okay read, but I doubt I'll read it again.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Aftermath of war, Nov 23 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bride Fair (Paperback)

A description of the plot is on this book's Amazon page. A fine sequel to THE PRISONER. There is a nice steady buildup of story and characters. An overview of what it must/might have been like in the south after the Civil War. I liked both main characters, and the author does a great job in making the reader feel concerned about them. The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is for two reasons. First, I felt that as this story occurs just 3 years after the end of the war, there just wasn't enough tension or hate. Yes there were fires and animosity between the army and townspeople, but you never really felt threatened. Second, there was no reference I remember reading about the ex-slaves. Where did they go? What happened to them? Had any come back?

There is an author note on the last page about the prison in NC. I was hoping for information about the number of southern women who actually did marry northern soldiers. There were so many deaths amoung the men in this war, that if the southern women were getting married, that meant that the northern women weren't. All in all though, a fine story.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
Finally a sequal to the amazing Civil War historical "The Prisoner." Another wonderful book featuring characters you like and a love story with a powerful conflict. Read more

Published on May 2 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Another outstanding book from Cheryl Reavis
Cheryl Reavis has become an auto-buy author for me. Whether she's writing contemporary or historical romance, she writes deftly, with skill, compassion and wisdom. Read more

Published on May 1 2002 by Katy Cooper