To Love a Stranger - Colleen Coble

 To Love a Stranger by Colleen Coble

Blurb:

Bessie Randall had no intention of moving to Wyoming. But could the life she would never choose be better than the one she had planned?
Bessie is shocked when she finds out that her sister Lenore has used her name to correspond with a soldier she's never met—and that she's actually married the man by proxy with Bessie's name. And if Bessie contests it, her sister could go to jail for forgery. Bessie has always felt responsible for her younger sister, and she believes she has no choice but to do the honorable thing and travel west to meet up with Jasper Mendenhall.
With his sister Jessica's reprimand about marrying sight-unseen still ringing in his ears, Jasper is shocked when he meets the stagecoach. The little wren who meets him is not the beauty whose picture he holds in his hand. Jasper plans to annul the marriage and send Bessie back to Boston. She's a city girl and he's not sure she could even survive—much less be happy—at Fort Bowie.
But Jasper's orders to return to Fort Bowie are moved up, and he has no choice but to take Bessie with him. To his surprise, he finds much to like in the quiet young woman: things like humor and grit. But even those qualities may not be enough as the Apaches move in, determined to eradicate the fort in their midst. Can God mend their hearts together in spite of the circumstances?

I hadn't realized when I downloaded this book that it is an inspirational romance. The hero and the heroine regularly read their bible and their belief is a fundamental part of their beings so if you don't enjoy books where religion is an important part this might not be the right book for you.

Apart from that I liked the story even though I'm starting to get a bit frustrated with all these men who know that for some mysterious reason they'll never be able to love their wife. Talk about being dramatic...*roll*

Bessie is a very sweet but determined girl who has been living in the shadow of her younger sister for ages and who takes this chance to build the life she always dreamed of. Okay, it is not exactly the life she dreamed of, her idea of the ideal life didn't really include scorpions, poisonous spiders, snakes and all those lovelies especially not in her house but...well, some girls know how to deliver a mighty whop with their broom, just saying! And obviously her idea of a perfect life never included to find out by chance that her sister had her married by proxy to some man Bessie had never heard of. But sometimes all those things that we never wanted turn out to be just perfect. It takes a bit longer for Jasper to realize that Bessie is the right woman for him but in the end....well, all's well that ends well, isn't it?


I liked the book and its story but Jasper's struggle to trust and to love sometimes is a bit too much. Nevertheless I like Jasper and Bessie a lot, especially Bessie with her kind heart and her determination but Jasper is a really nice guy as well.

★★★