Deeply Devoted: A Novel [Paperback]

I can't remember the last time I stayed up into the wee hours of the night to finish a book. I could NOT go to bed last night until I had read the last page and I started in the afternoon. You know it's a fantastic book to hold my attention for over 300 pages, make me skip dinner, and then make me unable to rest until I finished to whole thing. I think it was about 2AM by the time I went to bed. This story was awesome! It started out sweet like any other Christian book but kept intensifying with each chapter. Important elements of the story slowly trickled out over time and made it impossible to put down.

I had not read any books by Maggie Brendan before and figured this would be like any other typical Christian prairie romance, but I decided to give it a try anyway. Boy, was I wrong about that! It was anything but typical. I am so glad I joined the blog tour for this book because this is one of the few Christian fiction titles available that deals with mail order bride issues that doesn't make you wait for the entire book while they "get acquainted," if you know what I mean. I was thrilled about that. I always figured in real life it didn't work that way, only in Christian books, LOL! And unlike many novels that deal with secrets, this one had situations that were believable and worked for me. I absolutely loved the characters. All of them. Even the meddling mother/mother-in-law.

This novel is not only incredibly romantic with a hero that is swoon-worthy, but it makes you think about communication in marriage and makes you want to be a better spouse. Seriously. I loved Peter. Absolutely adored him. And when he got upset I understood it. Rather than getting ticked off at him I just hurt for him. Same for Catherine. She wasn't a petty wife with dumb issues that are supposed to carry an entire story. She was like a real person to me. I loved her and her sisters. I especially loved the scenes with her and Peter and their coming together as husband and wife. Tastefully done, yet enthralling at the same time.

I wish all Christian historicals were this yummy and inspirational. I think more people would switch over from secular fiction if they found more books like these on the inspy shelves. The scriptures all fit perfectly, too, and there was nothing sappy about the faith element. It wasn't heavy-handed, but was clearly present. I can't say enough good things about the book. The writing was stellar, too. I highly recommend it. It's making my best fiction list for this year!

This spring I read a beautiful mail-order bride story by Catherine Richmond (Spring for Susannah) and I was blown away and figured it would be a long time before I read another on par with it. This fall Maggie Brendan has once again proven that mail-order bride stories can be fresh and exciting. It just goes to show that even if you think there can't possibly be anything that hasn't been written before in a romance the right person with the right kind of talent may come along and blow that thought out of the water. Ms. Brendan is definitely one of those talents.

Catharine Olsen leaves the tragedy of her past behind her as she sails to America to meet her husband Peter Andersen little does he know that Catharine brings more baggage than just her mother's Blue Willow china. Both want their relationship to work but Peter's nosey mother, Clara will go to any length to prove that Catharine has ulterior motives when it comes to marriage. Secrets kept and a drought and pestilence threat could prove to be the straw that breaks their tenuous romance in two.

From the first page I was captivated. I loved seeing a real romance develop between two people who first fell in love through letters. It seems in most mail-order bride tales the love story unfolds gradually and by the end they're married (predictable) but not so with this book. Ms. Brendan does not shy away from issues like love and intimacy. Everything is tastefully done and not offensive in any way and the story just gets better and better.

The secondary characters are equally as impressive as the main characters. Catharine's little sisters, the nearly grown Greta and the precocious Anna definitely cause their fair share of problems but they support their eldest sibling as any sister would. I'm really looking forward to reading more of Anna and Greta in this series. It will be especially interesting to see what happens between Greta and her beau (who I don't like very much). Don't even get me started on Clara Andersen, oy vey that woman most definitely fits the meddling mother-in-law mold, however she does gain your sympathy by the conclusion of the book.

As far as romance goes Deeply Devoted is one of my favorites this year. If I hadn't already promised this book to someone else it would be going on my keeper shelf. Maggie Brendan has definitely outdone herself with this book, it is by far my favorite of hers to date. If you only read a few romances this year make sure Deeply Devoted is one of them.

*Thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy*

I really don't think I am a romance reader anymore. While I was never a huge fan of the genre, I found most Christian historical romances enjoyable in the past. Lately though, I feel like the stories are making me jaded. I'm not enjoying them the way I used to. Unfortunately this book falls into that category.

I usually like stories about mail order brides. I find the concept fascinating and terrifying for the women who went through this process. This is actually one of the few foreign mail order brides that I've read in Christian fiction so I found the twist to be unique. Not only did Catharine have to adjust living with someone she never met but she also had to adapt to a new country as well.

However, I never once clicked with Peter or Catharine. I think it all started when it's made known immediately that Catharine never told Peter that her sisters were coming with her to live with them. She says that she did it because she was afraid he'd say no, but you know what? He had every right to say no! All of a sudden now he's suppose to provide for 2 additional people that he had no idea about? What if he couldn't afford to keep them? She just didn't think and it really made me irritated and not a good way for me to get into the book. This is just one of the many secrets that the couple keeps from each other. Throw in a mother in law who is a big snoop and you have a recipe for trouble. I kept wishing that someone would just say something but no. The whole story revolves around people not telling the truth, the other party finding out the truth but not telling the other person they know the truth and everyone pretending everything's ok on the outside.

I also got very agitated at an exchange between the couple. Catharine is asking Peter about the soldiers in the area. Peter tells her "don't worry your pretty little head" about them. Instead of being insulted or offended by this comment, she is FLATTERED because she thinks he's telling her she's pretty! I was seriously disgusted by the way she is portrayed here and I asked others how they would feel and they all felt the same way I did. I can only guess that the author is trying to show Catharine as having low self esteem or something like that because otherwise this just seems that all anyone cares about is appearances and not smarts.

I did appreciate the presence of divorce during the time period and involving Christians to show that sometimes it is necessary. The author does also show the research that she did extensively in her notes at the end of the book. I did find it interesting that Peter's mother has secrets as well and is not the uppity woman she tries to be. I feel like there will be more to the sisters' stories in the future because I did not feel like I got to know them very much in this story. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be reading it after the way I felt with this book. I do think however that most fans of mail order brides and Christian historical fiction will enjoy this book.

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