Bannon's Brides by Loretta C. Rogers

 Bannon's Brides by Loretta C. Rogers

Blurb:

Jail or prostitution?
Fiona Quinn chooses neither. On a wagon train bound for Oregon , the newly-contracted mail-order bride braves rattlesnakes, Indians, and depraved buffalo hunters who kidnap her. But nothing tests her mettle like Cordell Bannon, the wagon master poised to steal her heart.

Cordell Bannon signed a contract to safely deliver thirty mail-order brides to their husbands. Yet one bride stirs his emotions, threatening his oath of celibacy and making him choose between his job and his passion. Can he stand by as she marries another, or will he claim her as his bride?

I've read and thoroughly enjoyed other books by Loretta C. Rogers but unfortunately, this one was just too foreseeable. I liked it well enough and I worried and cried over those women who didn't make it and I was upset with our hero but the end was very much what I had expected. Sure, I was still upset but ...

On the whole, it was a rather harsh reminder what life was like in those times. Cordell and Isaiah were good men trying to protect the women in their care but they knew exactly what they did when they brought ten more than necessary because far too many of those women never reached Oregon and the men they were promised to.

Of course, it was also another harsh reminder of the vulnerability of women in those times. Without a husband, they had no rights - and when they were married, well, they still had no rights but hopefully a good husband to protect them.
A well-written story with very likable characters, Bannon's Brides is a nice read even though it couldn't completely captivate me.

 ★★★★