A Reluctant Bride The Bride Ships Book 1

Living in London's poorest slum, Mercy Wilkins has little hope of a better life. When she's offered an opportunity to join a bride ship sailing to British Columbia, she agrees. After witnessing so much painful heartache and loss in the slums, the bride ship is her only prospect to escape a bleak future, not only for herself but, she hopes, someday for her sister. Wealthy and titled Joseph Colville leaves home and takes to the sea in order to escape the pain of losing his family. As ship's surgeon, he's in charge of the passengers' welfare aboard the Tynemouth, including sixty brides-to-be. He has no immediate intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, the two must fight against a forbidden love. With hundreds of single men congregating on the shore eager to claim a bride from the Tynemouth, will Mercy and Joseph lose their chance at true love, or will they be able to overcome the obstacles that threaten to keep them apart?

Unemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime. Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe, one of the newly arrived bride-ship women, to care for the infant. While there, he's devastated by the news from his fiancee in England that she's marrying another man. With mounting pressure to find the baby a home, Zoe accepts a proposal from a miner of questionable character after he promises to help her locate her brother. Intent on protecting Zoe and frustrated by his failed engagement, Abe offers his own hand as groom. After a hasty wedding, they soon realize their marriage of convenience is not so convenient after all.

Wealthy Arabella Lawrence flees to British Columbia on a bride ship still wearing the scars of past mistakes. One of the few single women in the boomtown, she immediately has suitors, but she is determined not to find herself trapped again by a poor choice. Vying for her hand are two very different men. Lieutenant Richard Drummond is a gentleman in the Navy and is held in high esteem. Peter Kelly is the town's baker and has worked hard to build a thriving business. He and Drummond not only compete for Arabella's affections, but clash over their views of how the natives should be treated in the midst of a smallpox outbreak. As Arabella begins to overcome her fears, she discovers someone in dire need--a starving girl abandoned by her tribe. Intent on helping the girl, Arabella leans on Peter's advice and guidance. Will she have the wisdom to make the right decision or will seeking what's right cost both her and Peter everything?

In twenty-four hours, marriage, mystery, and mayhem. After recently arriving in Vancouver Island on a bride ship, aspiring seamstress Daisy Harper is determined not to rush into a hasty and quarrelsome marriage, a mistake her parents made. To avoid choosing the wrong man, she creates a rigorous list of ten requirements for a potential husband. Mapmaker Seth Ryann moved to the colony to assist his partially blind brother, a local missionary. They’ll soon return to Ireland, but first, Seth is tasked by a friend to find a treasure of gold hidden in the mountains. Seth has the map to the treasure, but he’s missing the key. When he discovers Daisy somehow has the key, the two agree to search for the treasure together. They’re left with little choice but to quickly enter a marriage of convenience. As they venture into the wilderness and work together to overcome danger, an undeniable attraction grows. But will they find the treasure only to lose what matters most? Bride Ships: New Voyages Book 1: Finally His Bride Book 2: His Treasured Bride Bride Ships by Jody Hedlund Book 1: A Reluctant Bride Book 2: The Runaway Bride Book 3: A Bride of Convenience Book 4: Almost a Bride

A new world. A new hope. An unexpected love. What life awaits these brides? With the cotton mills closed and hunger rampant in Manchester, England, Willow Rhodes’s family encourages her to join the bride ship bound for the Pacific Northwest, where she is assured of employment. Willow agrees to go with the hope that eventually she can save enough money for her family to join her. Rebellious knuckle-boxing champion Caleb Edwards loves Willow more than life itself. But Willow has been adamant that she sees him as a friend and nothing more. Unable to watch her sail away, Caleb uses his prize money to pay for passage to Vancouver Island to be with Willow. After arriving, Willow finds work as a maid and Caleb is a farmhand on the same property. As Caleb struggles to keep his feelings for Willow from growing, he’ll do anything for her, even take the blame for a theft to keep her safe. As the crime catches up to them, they’re forced to make choices that could finally rip them apart forever. Bride Ships: New Voyages Book 1: Finally His Bride Book 2: His Treasured Bride

In Colonial Virginia, Chance Walker still blames his cousin Jonathan for his own wife's untimely death. So when Jonathan returns from England with the widowed Lady Fancy Merrivale, Chance sees an opportunity to strike back: he'll woo the beautiful Lady. But revenge turns bittersweet as Chance falls hopelessly in love with Fancy, and she with him, while a shadowy enemy intent on claiming Chance's family inheritance puts Fancy in his sights. REVIEWS: "One of the best romance writers of our time." ~Affaire de Coeur THE RELUCTANT BRIDES, in series order A Heart for the Taking Swear by Moonlight While Passion Sleeps THE SOUTHERN WOMEN, in series order The Tiger Lily Each Time We Love At Long Last Love a Dark Rider THE LOUISIANA LADIES, in series order Deceive Not My Heart Midnight Masquerade Love Be Mine