Can Olivia survive the crime and Gold Rush fever of 1849...and the countless marriage proposals?
A series for fans of all things related to history, romance, adventure, faith, and family trees.
The Daughters of the Mayflower series continues when Olivia Brighton finds herself widowed and working her brother’s restaurant in San Francisco during the height of the rush for gold. Even though she receives at least twenty marriage proposals a day, she will never marry a gold miner. Her brother’s friend Joseph Sawyer has gotten caught up in local politics and the plight of Chinese in forced labor. The more Joseph gets pulled into investigating crime in the city, the less Olivia sees of the compassionate man. And just when she thinks she could love again, a fire threatens to steal all hope.
MY THOUGHTS.....
The Golden Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Olivia Livingston Brighton certainly knows the meaning of loss. In the course of a few months she has buried both of her parents and the husband that she had known one day before marrying him! As she grieves for her beloved parents and feels guilt over her husband's death, Olivia struggles to make her way alone to San Francisco to find her older brother Daniel. It is July 1849, the California Gold Rush is in full swing and Olivia is shocked when she finally arrives in this city that is now her brother's home.
I love historical fiction because I usually learn something with each book and this is certainly the case with The Golden Bride. I hadn't realized just how bad the living conditions were in San Francisco at this time. Men by the thousands traveled there and San Francisco was ill-prepared to handle this enormous number rushing to find their fortunes. These men were forced to live in tents and there was no law enforcement or organized city government. These conditions played a big part in this storyline and there is also a mystery considering an anonymous "benefactor" who is secretly conducting an underground slave trade ring. As I read the disturbing treatment that these innocent people faced I realized just how relevant this storyline is even today. One hundred seventy years later, in this 21st century, people are still being forced into human trafficking, or slavery!
Author Kimberley Woodhouse has created a fascinating story with three very intriguing characters. Daniel Livingston is the older brother that we all would love to have, Olivia is a sweet and caring young woman who is determined to never marry again and Joesph Sawyer is the swoon-worthy hero who just may change her mind. All three of them are Christian people who want to improve the conditions of the place they now call home. They have received God's love and forgiveness and they want others to experience them also.
Woodhouse has written three of the eight books in The Daughters of the Mayflower series and I appreciated her references to the women who were the subjects of these previoius books. It was nice to recall their stories as Olivia read their diaries and drew strength from the accounts of their trials and triumphs. The Golden Bride is a wonderful book and I recommend it to anyone who loves history, mystery, and Christian fiction.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
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