The Unexpected Wife
by Mary Burton
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Description
He could never love again of that, Matthias Barrington was certain, despite the well-intentioned meddling of his neighbors. But now they'd sent him a special delivery in the form of the very comely Miss Abigail Smyth, who'd stepped off the stagecoach and announced that he needed a wife--and she was just the woman! Mail-order bride Abby Smyth just wanted a place to belong--preferably at rancher Matthias Barrington's side, making a home for his motherless boys. Ever practical, she knew love show more wasn't necessary, really. Yet the more she learned of this decent, honorable man, the more she knew the only place she wanted was one securely in his heart. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I really enjoy a good mail order bride book and this one delivered. Matthias Barrington, widowed father of 2, finds himself in a pickle when townsfolk secretly order him mail order bride. Abby Smyth stepped off the stage coach to learn she'd run from a life she didn't want to a man that didn't want her! Abby convinces him he needs a wife and sets about making his house a home...but convincing Matthias to open his heart to love would prove to be harder than she'd expected. Great read!
This one is a western historical. I have never tried Burton before but I was very impressed. Must find something else by her. (Grade: B+)
Pretty good mail order bride story. They didn't get married until almost the end though and I prefer when it is about 2 strangers making a marriage work.
I loved this story. As a fan of the mail-order bride genre, I thought this story was really well done. I read it in one day; couldn't put it down.
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Author Information
54+ Works 3,989 Members
Mary Burton was born in the U.S. and earned an English degree from Virginia¿s Hollins University. After a decade of working in marketing and sales, Mary Burton became convinced she could write and sell one of her many stories. Burton left the marketing profession and devoted all her spare time to writing a novel. Soon after, she sold her first show more manuscript to Harlequin Historicals. Since that initial sale, MB had written twelve historical romances for Harlequin Historicals, four short romantic suspenses for Silhouette Romantic Suspense and a non-fiction book The Insider¿s Guide to Direct Marketing. Her first single title romantic suspense for Zebra I¿m Watching You is a December 2007 release. In 2005, The Unexpected Wife was a finalist Romance Writers of America¿s RITA contest and Wise Moves was 2006 nominee for the Romantic Times¿ Critics Choice Award. I¿m Watching You received critical acclaim from New York Times Best Selling author Carla Neggers. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Harlequin Historical (708)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Una esposa por encargo
- Original title
- The Unexpected Wife
- Original publication date
- 2004-06
- People/Characters
- Matthias Barrington; Abby Smyth; Quinn Barrington; Tommy Barrington; Hilda Marie Clements; Holden McGowan (show all 7); Frank Trotter
- Important places
- San Francisco, California, USA; Crickhollow, Montana, USA
- Dedication
- For Mike and Nancy, the Montana cowboy and the Portuguese bride.
- First words
- Hilda Marie Clements held open the door to her mercantile, as two men with low-crowned hats and upturned collars filed through.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)A fine couple indeed.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 54
- Popularity
- 562,991
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.86)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
