Book Review: A Bride of Convenience by Jody Hedlund

About the Book:

After Heartbreaking Loss, a Marriage of Convenience Holds More Appeal than Ever Before.

There is nothing left to keep Zoe Hart in England. Unemployed and struggling with grief, she decides to leave her bleak life behind her and emigrate on a bride ship to British Columbia--the place her brother fled to when falsely accused of a drastic crime.

Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned native baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe--one of the newly arrived bride-ship women--to care for the orphan. When Abe is forced to choose between following the strict rules laid down by his bishop and listening to God's nudges to care for his people, he is left at a crossroads.

Determined to find her brother and to give the baby a home, Zoe rashly accepts a marriage proposal from a man who promises both. But Abe knows the man's unsavory reputation. Intent on protecting Zoe and wounded by his own failed engagement, Abe impulsively offers his own hand instead. They hastily marry, but both soon realize the marriage of convenience they imagined is not so convenient after all.

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My Thoughts:

A Bride of Convenience stands as the third novel in The Bride Ships series by Jody Hedlund, but can be read as a stand-alone. The story immediately drew me into Zoe’s world and I didn’t want to set the book down. I liked the plot’s pace with its superb mixture of action and internal reflection by the characters. The novel was a quick read for me despite its substantial length.

Zoe, the leading lady in A Bride of Convenience, possesses admirable boldness and a protective mama heart. She accepted needy children and loved them as her own. As for Abe, I admired his heart to serve God and the people around him. I liked that Zoe and Abe complemented each other well and could do more good together than separately. Although their romance had less tension and swoony moments than I expected, I still rooted for them to get together and enjoyed watching their relationship grow. 

While A Bride of Convenience held a few laugh-out-loud moments, it also explored important themes. An embedded theme about finding God’s will and trusting him to work things out laced throughout the story, but I especially liked how it played out in the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed A Bride of Convenience by Jody Hedlund and I look forward to reading the next book in this series. Four stars!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.