This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
When the West was wild and man’s law favored the few…
These extraordinary women could be found…in the heart of an outlaw.
When three young children show up on outlaw Tait Trinity’s doorstep, he knows he can’t help them—a wanted man has no business raising kids. And yet he can’t bring himself to turn them away. At a loss, he sends for the mail order bride he’d been writing to, hoping the demure dressmaker will be the answer to his prayers.
Melanie Dunbar is nothing like the bride Tait was expecting. She’s rough and tumble…and hiding an ulterior motive. Dangerous men have taken her sister hostage, and if Melanie wants to see her alive, she’ll have to betray her new husband. There’s only one problem—the more time she spends with Tait, the more she comes to care for him. Yet as the noose begins to tighten, Melanie will have to make a terrible choice: save her sister…or the man she loves.
My Review
First Impressions
The Mail Order Bride’s Secret is book three in the Mail Order Brides series by Linda Broday. I somehow have missed some books by this author and in general I truly do love her work. I have been meaning to get back to this series though, I ended up loving the first book, so I was really was looking forward to this one even though after reading the blurb of it I was a bit nervous on how the heroine would be handled. But I have to say that I became very impressed with how Linda Broday wrote this story and the way in which the romance was developed and the gritty feel of a western it was delivered in. Linda Broday always knows how to write a solid western. And I also was impressed with how she “handled” the secret that the heroine has, it was done better than I thought it would be.
Summary
The gist of the story is that our hero and heroine, Trait Trinity and Melanie Dunbar, have been exchanging letters in hopes of getting married. They were matched by a ex outlaw who wanted to bring couples together that had skirted the law but had hearts of gold. Trait is a outlaw, and has been known to steal money on trains. Then we have Melanie who with her sister and father work gambling tables. Trait hates his past and what he had to do, but the money he gained from his theft he has tried for good and to help others. Then Trait’s sister and brother in law are murdered with three children he is now in charge of. Then we have Melanie, who has been captured along with her sister for the crime of her father who abandoned them. A corrupt judge, has given her a deal, if she can get the money from Trait and bring Trait to him, her sister and herself will be cleared of all charges. Her sister is sick and she knows she won’t last in prison. But when Melanie and Trait get married, a instant chemistry builds and they also discover a sweet strong love, but is it going to be enough to survive the secret that Malanie is keeping from Trait?
What I Loved
I was so hooked into the way that the romance actually developed between these two. I also was thrilled to see the way that the family really comes together. From the beginning you really feel for the heroine and what she feels she has to do. I did have some issues with what led up to that, but I did like that she does come clean with Trait. Most times its the truth coming out before they tell the big secret, so I was impressed that the author didn’t drag it out until the end AND that the heroine came clean on her own. I really enjoyed the “family” aspect of the story. We have these three orphans, who are just babies and so scared and in need of love. They have had this trauma of losing their parents in such a horrific way, There are some fun times that happened including the kids putting a “circus” together for the town. We also see some old favorites from the Legend family that come into play with this story. There is quite a big climax and I was really impressed with how gritty the end of the story was built into. Linda Broday really worked her talent there. But we do have some pretty dark villains that come into play, and it really slides into home how dangerous the “wild west” can be.
What I Struggled With
The only aspect that I really struggled with was the heroine and it’s what keeps this book from being a higher rating, everything else I fell in love with. I just didn’t like how long the heroine kept the secret from Trait, it went on way too long. I just wasn’t a fan with how the heroine was a bit manipulative and especially when see that Trait had 3 kids that needed him, I just didn’t understand her motivations in not telling him the truth earlier. And it just rubbed me the wrong way the way in which the heroine went about certain actions.
The Narration
I really enjoyed the narration, I think that this heroine does a solid job with Linda Broday’s work, she isn’t too good sped up too quickly and the most you can comfortably listen to at is between 1.4-1.5 but I normally listen at that speed, but those that like faster might struggle. I did enjoy the way that she brought in the various levels of emotion into the story. She has such a lovely voice and quickly draws you into it.
Overall View
I found The Mail Order Bride’s Secret to be a powderkeg of a western romance and really brings together the feelings of hope and family. There is a sense of thrill and adventure mixed in with intrigue and some well-brushed villains that compound into a solid win of a read!
Book Details
Title: Mail Order Bride’s Secret
Author: Linda Broday
Genre: Historical Romance
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Length: 11 Hours and 22 Mins
About the Narrators
After ten years of being on the “other side of the business” as a franchised talent agent, Meghan Kelly decided to pursue her own performance aspirations. She now works full-time as a narrator, voice-over artist, and singer. Meghan, a proud member of SAG/AFTRA, is a versatile actress who draws from a huge emotional pool to bring a variety of characters to life in the 300-plus titles she has narrated. She specializes in bringing the emotional truth to every story. Meghan’s sound: She can be warm and friendly, young and sassy, flighty and ditsy, mature and professional, and of course sultry and sexy! She is very good with taking direction and doing a read several different ways.
Book Links
Amazon| Barnes & Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| Storygraph| Literal Club| Audible| Anyplay
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 4
Story Itself: 4
Character Development: 3.5
Writing Style: 4
World Building 3.5
Feels + The Romantic Heart 4
Pacing 4
Plot 4
Narration= 4
Cover Art 4
Ending 4.5
Book Ratings
Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering cup of tea—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin’ by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Outlaw Mail Order Brides
The Outlaw’s Mail Order Bride-Pub 2019 #1 in the Series
Saving the Mail Order Bride-Pub 2019 #2 in the Series
The Mail Order Bride’s Secret-Pub 2020 #3 in the Series
Once Upon A Mail Order Bride-Pub 2020 #4 in the Series
About The Author
I’m a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical western romance. I live in the Texas Panhandle on land they call the Llano Estacado where the Native Americans and Comancheros once roamed and I can often hear their voices whispering in the wind. History is thick here with the ghosts of the people who settled this land. I love writing western historical romance and can’t imagine doing anything else. I love a man in a Stetson and tight pants. Oh man! Those cowboys sure make my heart beat faster.
Holding on to a secret like that would be hard for me to like the heroine too.
I enjoyed this series. Its been a while since I read this one, but I struggled with the secrets a bit, too. I did love seeing her fall for those kids as well as the hero. 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever read a Western romance but this one sounds so good! I’m adding it to my list!
What an interesting premise of how the couple came together, and how their pasts aren’t all bright and shiny. I think the heroine’s manipulation would have annoyed me, too, but it still sounds like a worthwhile read.