Melissa Jagears

In Pretending to Wed, we revisit our friends Jacob and Annie, Spencer, Celia, Leah, and other townspeople from the first Frontier Vows story, Romancing the Bride. If you read my review of ROB, you'll remember I loved these characters!

I enjoyed getting to know Nolan, the amputee rancher hero this time around, and Corinne, the laundress and inventor incognito.

This is a fun, quirky marriage of convenience story that looks at its own trope with a bit of a smirk, hence the first lines:
“This show more couldn’t be happening. Not unless he’d stumbled into one of those silly romance novels his aunt used to read.”
A very cute lampshade in my opinion.

The characters begin the story convinced they’re doing their future spouse a favor by staying single. When circumstances press them into desperate situations, they agree to marry one another as a business-only partnership to achieve their career goals. But when unexpected romance blossoms, past hurts, physical disabilities, and fears of failure hinder their growth in their relationship to the Lord and to each other. Through the story, they learn to overcome the spiritual, physical, and emotional handicaps that keep them from becoming who God wants them to be.

Like all of Jagears’ books, this story carries a message that will resonate with readers. In a world that interchanges the phrase “diamond ring” with “miracle happy pill,” this book shows us that marriage takes work, communication, commitment, resilience, faith, sacrifice, lots of gratitude, and good counsel.

Our generation says, “Physical intimacy now, marriage later…maybe…but if we don’t like how things go, we’ll split.” This book gives us a carefully handled illustration that reminds us “trying out” intimacy before marriage doesn’t guarantee compatibility. Without the commitment of marriage, how many would stick around and work through the difficult things that cause dissatisfaction in relationships?

If you like to be warned about romance-y stuff: there’s romance-y stuff. This is a Christian romance novel. But this story isn't sappy, it's the opposite of sappy. It's smart, and serious, and straightforward and real, but at the same time, fun. For those who would prefer to know, the story takes on discreet conversations about complications with married intimacy. But Jagears handles the subject matter very delicately and closes the door before any real-time scene treads into the more private aspects of marriage. Kristi Ann Hunter's story, An Uncommon Courtship, approaches a slightly similar topic, but not the same, and the stories are vastly different.

With almost every Jagears book I review, I mention how much her writing reminds me of Lori Wick, the writer that got me hooked on Christian fiction. This story, in some ways, put me in mind of Megan and Bracken's relationship from Wick's book The Knight and the Dove. Melissa’s characters, dialogue, spiritual insight, and delightful “living room” voice keep me coming back for more of her stories. I look forward to reading more from her Frontier Vows series. show less

As an enthusiast of the marriage of convenience trope, I do believe this is one of the sweetest renderings I've ever read. I love to ponder unique reasons people might have married without affection in times past and delight to see strangers choose love over self-preservation as they give of themselves to make things work.

This story takes a realistic look at the struggles of a destitute widow and the kind, practical marshal who marries her to save her ranch. In this partnership, the marshal show more takes on a needy family he has the means to care for and a choice piece of property which reminds him him of the reason he came west. But when the ranch they married for is suddenly taken away, awkwardness ensues. Cattle rustlers, grieving children, and a sooner-than-expected attraction clutter this new marriage relationship now balancing on a wobbly foundation.

I sympathized with Annie as she struggled to preserve her family dynamic after the loss of a spouse and many buried children and make room in her heart for a new husband as society tells her she's too soon a widow. Jacob (steadfast, wise, sacrificial, distracted-grin-inducing, wish-he-weren't-fiction Jacob) is a fixer. He tries to discern God's leading in his life, tries to do his best in a demeaning, title-only marshal job, tries to fix his crumbling relationship with his best friend, tries to settle into his new role as father and husband, tries to woo his grieving wife, and tries to catch cattle rustlers before he finally learns to trust God's timing in situations he can't seem to change. And Celia...I know Celia. I believe we all have had Celias in our life, and even displayed Celia's flaws in some stage of our character development--desperation to avoid change and fighting to create her own security. Her difficult arc is the novel's concrete foundation, the dark sky from which glows all the celestial, heart-warming moments of this story. Then there is smallest of this make-shift family and possibly my favorite character, Spencer, full of hugs and sunshine, mischief and sticky buns.

Through the years I have read every Melissa Jagears book I could get my hands on, and this is my new favorite. True-to-life characters are the shining glory of this novel and a trademark Melissa Jagears carries beautifully. As I've mentioned in other reviews of her books, her immersive, heart-deep writing style calls to mind the tried-and-trusted work of one of my favorite novelists, Lori Wick.


While all the characters are flawed in their own way, I cheered them along as they faced emotional struggles, family conflict, marital issues, delinquent juveniles, dangerous cattle rustlers, and political corruption.

Themes of loneliness, societal pressures, blended families, grief, and loss were portrayed in touching, relatable ways. Now I'm counting the days until I hear what's next in the Frontier Vows series.


*I received a copy of this book from the author. The opinions expressed are my own. This book earned every star. show less

I adored everything about this story. What happens when you take two people who decide to marry for a business deal ? It’s not everyday that Corinne gets a proposal but I think she needed a way to save her health and business. I can’t imagine doing laundry by hand much less doing it to make a living. My heart went out to Corinne as her hands started to cramp up the more she worked.
Nolan has not had an easy time running the ranch since he lost a leg but he is determined to keep going. A show more will that has a specific clause directed at Nolan finds him scrambling to find a wife. It’s the perfect match as Nolan wants to keep the ranch and Corinne needs stability. What could possibly go wrong? I had to laugh as I witnessed the marriage between two unlikely people. Corinne is not one who shows affection and you can feel her uneasiness as they start their new lives together.
The author does a great job of making the time period realistic. I did enjoy learning about Corinne’s past and how it still affects her today. She hasn’t been the person that others think highly of. In fact her job as a laundress was thought to be looked down on. I wanted to scream when customers would come in demanding things and making Corinne feel unworthy.
Nolan was someone I really liked because he has a good heart. The author shows how a person who is handicapped can be productive at a job like everyone else. Going into the marriage Corinne and Nolan both believe they can make it work. What was special about the story was the unique and cleaver ideas that Corinne had to improve products. The author explains in her notes how she did a lot of research to make this part of the story authentic. I loved reading how excited Corinne was knowing she was capable of developing new products that would not only make money but give her confidence.
I won’t tell you anymore about the story because I want readers to experience the trials and triumphs this couple goes through. God never abandoned them and showed them how a Godly marriage looked liked. Will two people looking for trust, confidence and a marriage of convenience find love?
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. show less

Two stubborn hearts determined never to marry find themselves making the business deal of a lifetime when they agree to a marriage of convenience.

Engaging, with strong protagonists that you can't help but cheer for throughout. I loved Corinne's innovative spirit, and her passion for creating things to improve the lives of herself and others. I admired her strong work ethic, and related to how hard it is to be the one asking for help. I loved how her situation gave her the opportunity to show more befriend other women, as there are so many terrific supporting characters many of whom are familiar faces from the previous book in the series.

Nolan is one of my favorite heroes, he is noble, and he can match Corinne in stubbornness. They have terrific chemistry, I loved how he stood up for her, and was determined to always stand by her and support her in her interests.

Overall, this was a fantastic story, the characters blew me away, there was terrific romantic tension and relationship building. I loved the fantastic friends that they both had, as well as how Corinne and Nolan's relationship grew throughout the book, as they came to respect each other. Engaging and well written, I had a hard time putting it down. I went into this book having not already read the first book in the series, and I had no problem just jumping in, but I did notice that if you haven't read the first book yet, then there are some spoilers, but it didn't detract from me wanting to read Annie and Jacob's story--like right now. Highly enjoyable read, that handles delicate topics well with faith centered answers, and a satisfying ending. Definitely recommend!

*This book does talk tactfully and honestly about the more physical side of marriage, so maybe wouldn't recommend for younger readers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. show less