This is one of the most enjoyable novellas I have read in awhile. It is about four different women, living in Kansas in the 1880's and how they all find love and marriage, sometimes not in that order. I love stories about mail order brides, so the first story, "Stranger's Bride" was my favorite. Sara escapes an abusive stepfather to marry a man who is marrying to please his Father and keep his land. Can love grow, when both parties are marrying for the wrong reasons?

In "Never a Bride" Jane feels she will never marry as she doesn't see herself beautiful on the outside. When she offers to help out her sister's new brother-in-law for a few weeks on his farm, she doesn't understand how she can both be terribly irritated by a man one minutes, and feel other emotions the next. But Luke is getting over a love he has lost, and it takes him awhile to see the diamond in the rough right there in front of him.

In "Bittersweet Bride" is took awhile for me to grow to like Mara, but she truly did change from being a stuck up wealthy snob, to a caring and loving individual. It was a good testimony to what God can do and does in the life of a person who acknowledges Him as Savior. But can Clay forgive her when he learns of her deceit? I had to laugh at times in this story, because Mara has a lot of things to learn about being a "farm girl".

Finally, in "His Brother's Bride" I was not expecting this story to start out the way it did. But watching Emily and Cade fall in love was very endearing. I must say Emily's failure to be honest and upfront with Cade did grow weary and you just wanted her to 'come clean' with the guy.

All in all I enjoyed my time on the Kansas prairie, watching these women trust God to "orchestrate their lives and loves". The author did a great job of keeping your interest and also of tying in these stories in a small way to each other. If you want to get away to Kansas and enjoy a good romance, then you will find yourself glad you picked up this novella to read. ( )

The thing that I really enjoyed about this collection of stories is that it really read like one BIG story. The storyline from the previous story carries over to the next. It makes it a very satisfying read. You really feel like you are in Cedar Springs, Kansas and walk away feeling these people are your friends. ( )

Stranger's Bride*
Never a Bride**
Bittersweet Bride*
His Brother's Bride* ( )