A Bridge Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist

Lady Constance Morrow could not help herself. She just had to say goodbye to her beloved uncle Skelly. He was arrested and put upon a ship bound for the Virginia colonies and she might never see him again. But even as he growled at her to get off the ship, the captain laid ahold of her and Constance found herself kidnapped and also heading to America to be sold as a tobacco bride along with many other woman who were English prisoners. No amount of insisting she was a Lady, daughter of an Earl, changed her fate. Drew O'Connor is a tobacco farmer in West Virginia. He isn't looking for a bride, he just wants someone who can cook and clean and tend to his home and baby sister. But as circumstances work out he ends up with a bride, non other than one who insists she is not a prisoner of England come to be a bride but one Lady Constance Morrow. Thinking she can be his servant until he can figure out whether she is telling the truth or not, Drew takes her to his tobacco farm only to find out she has no idea how to cook, hasn't a clue about gardening and horror of horrors, she would rather work on mathematical equations than clean. She is educated which is not a good thing in Drew's eyes and mixed with her stubborn personality, it can only lead to trouble. Maybe the best thing to be done is to ship this woman back where she came from. 

 I picked this book up after trying a couple of other reads for this month's challenge that just turned out to be too heavy for the head space I was in. I wanted something lighter and easy. This book turned out to be perfect for that. It is historical fiction based on the historical facts of many Virginia tobacco farmers purchasing brides from England for 120 pounds of tobacco. The practice helped the men stay in the colonies, build homes and start families thereby helping the colonies survive and because the brides came from England it helped ensure England's continued presence in the Virginia colonies. When not enough brides were found to meet the need, the Crown resorted to sending prisoners and unethical captains would kidnap young women. The author was also able to weave into the story two major historical battles between Powhatans and the settlers in 1622 and 1644 respectively. I enjoyed this historical story. The author's character development was good as Constance grew to love the land she had inadvertently been taken to. Of course there is the romantic tension building between Constance and Drew throughout the story as well the mandatory assumptions and miscalculations of feelings that come with a romance story of this kind. I have to say towards the end though I was getting a bit tired of these assumptions and decisions being made out of  them instead of honest communication in the story but I did enjoy the read overall for what it was and the humor that would surface occasionally throughout the story. It was the lighter read I was needing.

         

Rating 8.5/10

Reading Challenge Goals Met:  December "Read Your Shelf" prompt:  A book with mostly white on the cover (yes I know, the dress looks yellow but I'm counting it as a wedding gown so I'm calling it as white with the yellow coming from lighting.  🤷).