The Bride Backfire (Prairie Promises Series #2)

Good story

Vengeance and forgiveness are the themes in this book and I enjoyed it. 2nd book in the series - needs to be read in order.

Wonderful Book

Great series, just wish each one was longer - lol too quick a read!

The Bride Backfire was really a fun book!

I enjoyed Opal tremendously. She was such an optimistic person - not so much that you're nauseous. She listened to the preacher and really did her best to pray and put his words into practice. Opal was a wonderful portrait of a woman who follows God but still lives her life.

What I didn't like about this book: The end. I really just wanted a bit more to finish. Some of the characters storyies didn't feel complete to me.. and yes, I KNOW that it doesn't finish in the next book - The Bride Blunder which I've already reviewed

Very enjoyable read

I will read other books from this author.

Shotgun Weddin'

After reading an ARC version of the first book in the Prairie Promises Series, "The Bride Bargain", I was confused at two name changes, but that happens and it is my on fault for getting distracted and forgetting that had been an advanced reader copy before final edits.

In this story once again readers are treated with descriptions of food and cooking of recipes on the prairie that bring interest and cause a mouth to water. There were more in the first book, yet this one also offered descriptions of bee-keeping that I never knew before or rather had even thought to ask. It was fascinating.

This book brought a much deeper intrigue for me than the first as I honestly had no clue what would happen in the end of of any of the twists and turns to get there. That impresses me in a novel. I enjoyed picking up on the lives of characters I had met in the first book of the series and applaud Kelly's descriptions of their inner thoughts through what could only be reference as difficult situations. Scripture lessons on life and shocking surprises are woven through the page of this novel and I look forward to the final installment of the trilogy and of more to come from author Kelly Eileen Hake in the future.

2nd in Prairie Promises series is a surefire hit

The Bride Backfire by Kelly Eileen Hake is the second book in the Prairie Promises series and picks up with the continuing feud of the Grogan and Speck families. Opal Speck and Adam Grogan seem to be the only level-headed members of their families. When Adam shows up trying to find a lost cow to prevent all-out war, his intentions are misconstrued by Opal's family, so she insists he's the father of her unborn child to save him from certain death and her family from the certain violence that will follow. Opal's kindness and beauty had caught Adam's eye, so he isn't entirely disappointed in his wife, but the idea of raising another man's child must be dealt with before he can make peace with this marriage. Hake has a true flair for writing romantic Westerns with a healthy dash of humor and faith. Opal and Adam's relationship moves in fits and starts as they have the usual misunderstandings, but the back story elevates this above your standard historical romance. Adam's brother Larry oozes psychopathy, which he obviously inherited from his mother, Lucinda, and both keep the story compelling. Hake is definitely an author to watch.

An enjoyable western historical romance.

In Nebraska Territory, 1857, there is a longstanding feud between two neighboring families, the Specks and the Grogans. When Opal Speck's father discovers Adam Grogan on their property, he threatens to kill him. Opal saves Adam's life the only way she can think of: by lying that he is the father of her unborn child. Thanks to her lie, Adam's life is saved, but it also results in Opal and Adam being forced into a shotgun marriage.

From the start, Adam doesn't want a real marriage. Not realizing that Opal made up the entire story to save his life, he believes that Opal is pregnant with another man's child, and her purpose in lying was to give her child a name. He is frustrated that Opal continues to refuse to tell him who the child's real father is. Opal doesn't know how to tell Adam that what he is believing is wrong, that she isn't pregnant and only wished to save him from her angry father. When she begins to fall in love with her husband and longs for their marriage to be a real marriage, but she doesn't know if Adam, who was forced to marry her, could ever love her for real. Can she manage to set things right with him?

The Bride Backfire is an enjoyable western romance for readers who like inspirational romances or clean love stories that don't have graphic adult content. At times I got frustrated with Opal and wished she'd just tell Adam the truth already, but that didn't keep me from enjoying the story, and I would give other books by this author a try.

An engaging pre Civil War tale

In the Nebraska Territory, the family feud between the Speck and Grogan kin has been going on for several generations although there has been a fragile coexistence of late. However, in 1857 the peace ends when the Specks catch Adam Grogan on their land.

To save Adam from a lynching, Opal Speck claims he is the father of her unborn child. Adam and Opal share a shotgun wedding. Now Opal must tell her new spouse the truth although she fears his reaction re her lies starting with the minor fact that if she was pregnant it would be the Immaculate Conception. He distrusts her at a time she needs his trust as his family treats their new in-law with overt loathing and scorn while someone uses the obvious estrange relationship to heat the feud.

The second Prairie Promise historical romance (see THE BRIDE BARGAIN) is an engaging pre Civil War tale that occurs at a time of Bleeding Kansas brings fear to the Nebraska Territory. The long running family feud serves as a matchmaker for the lead couple but also cause them marital problems as she is treated like a serpent in his Eden. The support cast is solid especially the Grogan brood as Kelly Eileen Hake brings a wonderful rendition of Romeo and Juliet in the mid-nineteenth century Great Plains.

Harriet Klausner

Beautiful Historic Romance

Kelly Eileen Hake has written a beautiful historical romance in The Bride Backfire. The feuding families bring a unique twist to this romantic relationship. The characters of Opal and Adam, both wanting peace, are caught in the middle of the violent hatred between their families. The tension builds to an explosive level when Opal steps in to save Adam's life, but the lies she tells have consequences, and in the process she loses Adam's trust and respect. Opal not only has to overcome the challenges of her relationship with Adam, but also living with a family that hates her simply because she is from the wrong family.

I enjoyed this very well-written story. The characters of the two families and Opal's friends are diverse in personality and moral fiber. The book clearly demonstrates Biblical consequences of hate, lies, and jealousy, but also what is possible with love and forgiveness. The Bride Backfire is a lovely, romantic tale, and I hope the characters of Opal and Adam are included in another book in the future

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.