The Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson - a book review

The Bride Wore Blue is the third book of Mona Hodgson's The Sister's of Cripple Creek saga.  This book focuses on the baby of the family, Vivian.  Her older sisters have all moved to Cripple Creek, Colorado.  I love historical romance and Hodgson didn't disappoint me with this one.  It starts out with Vivian's trip to join her sisters out west being interrupted by an exciting train robbery.  She is traveling with her Aunt as her chaperone, and a secret.  She hopes to begin a career in fashion design, but discovers that there are no opportunities in that field, In fact, there are no jobs at all, except one.  The local 'sporting house' offers her a job as a daytime hostess. The secret that she hides makes her feel that she isn't worthy enough to deserve that same kind of happiness that her sisters have found, so she takes the job, naively thinking that all she will be expected to do is greet the downstairs customers.  She keeps her job from her sisters knowing they would never approve, one more secret to keep.  She also keeps it from Carter Alwyn, a kind and Godly young man who is sweet on her, who also happens to be the sheriff's deputy.  She gets herself into some stressful and scarey perdicaments.


The publisher says:
"Headed toward a fresh start but tethered by her past, Vivian longs to break free, to find forgiveness and love.At last, the sisters are reunited! The youngest Sinclair, the family“ baby”, is moving from Maine to Cripple Creek, Colorado and joining Kat, Nell, and Ida. But Vivian is a young woman with a will of her own, and made some decisions back in Portland that have begun to haunt her. Will she be able to live up to the expectations of her three perfect and now happily-settled sisters?


The sisters warmly welcome Vivian to the mountain west, but the wild-and-woolly mining town isn’t ripe with opportunities for a respectable young woman. The youngest Sinclair sister is determined to make her own way, so
when she’s off ered a job as a hostess in a sporting house, she takes it, thinking the position is appropriate for a tainted, unlovable woman like herself. Although she’s convinced she’ll never be asked to entertain privately, Vivian
keeps her employment a secret from her sisters, knowing they’d be mortified—as will Carter Alwyn, the kind and godly sheriff ’s deputy who’s sweet on her.


Vivian is descending into a life of secrets, lying to the very people who love her and could help her heal from her mistakes. Will an outpouring of grace remind her that she is still God’s beloved and that her past can be washed as clean as Rocky Mountain snow?"

I have previously read and reviewed Hodgson's "Too Rich for a Bride" and loved it.  While this one doesn't have as many humorous story lines, her vivid desriptions and narrative draw the reader deeply into the story.


Throughout the book, Vivian struggles with feelings of shame, unworthiness and low self esteem.  This is a story of grace and redemption. 


 Even though this is the third book of the series, it is a good stand alone story, but I liked the two books by Hodgson so much  I ordered the first book of the series. 


Read an excert below and then check out the author's website HERE.

The Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson (Chapter 1 Excerpt)


If you like historical Christian romance, you'll like this!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook Press through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Too Rich for a Bride by Mona Hodgson

Mona Hodgson's writing style and descriptive narratives paint a very clear picture of what a turn of the century western gold mining town must have been like. She draws you in and gives you the feeling you are walking through the streets of Cripple Creek as you read. This is the second book in her series "The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek". While it is a successful stand alone novel, I would have liked to have read the first one just so I could keep the characters and their relationships straight in my mind.

There is a long list of characters, a few pivotal ones and several peripheral ones but equally enjoyable. One of my favorites is young Abraham. He loves to make people laugh and thrives on thinking up new jokes to tell to anyone who will listen.

The main character is Ida Sinclair, one of four Sinclair sisters. She is a smart, ambitious, independent Christian young woman determined to break through the barrier and become a success in the world of business. After a very distasteful occurrence with a male professor, she travels to join two of her sisters in the gold mining town of Cripple Creek. Soon after arriving, she is employed by Mollie O'Bryan, a self-made, successful business woman, who is thought of by some as unscrupulous and of questionable character. She also meets two young men who are clearly interested in courting her. Colin Wagner is a sophisticated and influential lawyer who represents Mollie in her business dealings. Tucker Raines is a traveling preacher whose family owns the local ice house. His father falls ill and Tucker comes to town to take over the business while his father recuperates. On the surface, each man looks like a worthy suitor but each has his own secrets that for one reason or another, they are reluctant to share.

As events unfold, Ida's faith and deep convictions cause her to question many aspects of her life and the decisions she has made.

This is a very enjoyable story that touches on the issues of women's rights, mental illness, and the gold rush and all the economic and cultural developments that occurred at that time in our history, including the emerging Stock Exchange.

There are questions in the back of the book for book discussion groups. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in this series.

You can read the first chapter by clicking below:
Too Rich for a Bride by Mona Hodgson (Chapter 1 Excerpt)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook Press through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Stay tuned......

Hey folks ! I'm still here.  I've been sidelined by a nasty spring time cold which is finally easing up.  So keep on the look out for two new book reviews.   The first will be "Too Rich for a Bride"  by Mona Hodgson, an historical fiction about turn of the century old west.   The second is "Fairer Than Morning" by Rosslyn Elliott. This is also historical fiction, but is based on a real family in American history.

So stay tuned..............