A Bride of Convenience

Author: Jody Hedlund
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Bride Ships #3
Release Date: June 30, 2020

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.

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Reviewer: Adriann Harris

Jody Hedlund is a true master storyteller artfully drawing her readers into a story with her profound prose. In A Bride of Convenience, book three in The Bride Ship Series, she gave us Pastor Abe’s story. I loved that Pastor Abraham Merivale was based on Vancouver Island's actual pastor to the miners then.  

Pastor Abe, is loved and confident when leading his flock, meek when facing Bishop Hills, and totally naive when it comes to love and Zoe. Zoe, an outspoken, compassionate, tender-hearted soul who wears her heart on her sleeve, arrives from the cotton manufacturing district of Manchester, England, on the Robert Lowe. They meet at a time of sorrow, both repressing their attraction. Two souls are bound by God in marriage due to a misunderstanding. Can they? Will they? Do they join their hearts?

A Bride of Convenience will grip your heartstrings from the very first chapter and not let go even after reading the last word. This book can be read as a stand-alone. However, I recommend reading the series in order as it makes each story more enjoyable.

I received a complimentary copy (or ARC) of this book from the author/publisher. I was under no obligation to write a review, and all opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

I have really enjoyed The Bride Ship series by Jody Hedlund. Like the other books before it, A Bride of Convenience kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning. I could not put this one down!

It was interesting to see how Zoe, a former mill worker and Abe, a pastor, would get along after they agreed to marry. While their marriage was based on a miscommunication on both their parts, it was an intriguing concept. Zoe was full of doubt about her worthiness as a person, let alone a wife. And Abe was more worried about his ministry, what his Bishop would say and do and his parishioner's needs, then his new wife. Add to that mix an abandoned infant, a lost brother, a jilted man who wants revenge, and you can see why I couldn't put this book down.

I loved how insightful Zoe was regarding how God leads us. 

"What if God's the one who calls us? What if He's the one who gives us our ministry?"

This spoke to me because as life plays out before us, we can often be blinded to what God is doing. We want to go here, but God wants us to go there and finally, our eyes are opened, and we "see the light." Both Zoe and Abe needed each other for God's plan to work out, and it was a beautiful plan indeed.

I highly recommend this entire series, and I look forward to the fourth book. 

I received this book courtesy of Bethany House and NetGalley, for my honest review.

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