Spoiled and pregnant, Cassie Griffin is widowed one day and married to handyman Red Dawson the next! Red was reluctant because she's an unbeliever, but he didn't have much choice. Will he change her heart by changing her name? And how far will admirer Wade Sawyer go to save Cassie from her marriage of convenience? 320 pages, softcover from Barbour.
Christian novelist Connealy (Petticoat Ranch) writes to tickle the funny bone and tease heartstrings with the first in her newest series, Montana Marriages. In the Montana Territory of 1875, sweet and naïve Cassie Griffin's abusive husband dies, leaving Cassie no choice but to choose a new husband the same day she buries her first. With women scarce and lawlessness abounding, Cassie reluctantly agrees to marry Red Dawson, also reluctant, who offers to marry her only to save her from an immoral scoundrel who's been stalking her for months. Immediately traveling to Red's ranch, Cassie realizes how little she knows about life, love and faith. In turn, Red quickly realizes how brutalized his new wife was by her first husband. Slowly, sometimes painstakingly so, Cassie learns to trust her instincts and begins to blossom. No doubt, Connealy's characters are cute. Yet there is a systematic heavy-handedness on the subject of submission that gets in the way of what could have been a delightful story of unfolding marital love. (July)Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5 out of 5 stars)
8 of 15 Reviews Showing:(View All Reviews)
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Jenny Lazuardi (Milwaukee, WI), October 04, 2009
I enjoyed this book. This author has such a way with humor. I am looking forward to her next book.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Julie Lessman (St. Louis, MO), September 29, 2009
Grab yourself a cup of hot raspberry rosehip tea and settle in for some vintage Mary Connealy—endearing, deep-hearted characters, clever and engaging plot, and enough humor and heart to elicit laughter on one page and tears on the next. Nobody explores the fun and sass of male/female relationships better than Ms.
Connealy, and explore it she does in the heart-tugging tale of Cassie Griffin, a frail and gentle woman who buries a husband one day and marries another the next. A tender mix of healing and love in bloom, Montana Rose will satisfy the most romantic of hearts.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Keli Gwyn (California), September 29, 2009
If the name Mary Connealy is on the cover of a book, I know I’m in for a good read. Having cracked up as I hightailed it through Petticoat Ranch and Calico Canyon, I was fully prepared to chuckle my way though Montana Rose as well. To my surprise, I found this historical to be delightfully different. While some scenes launched me into laughter, Montana Rose offers more than mere entertainment.
Connealy has crafted a story with an important message, but she conveys it with such skill and finesse that I was swept into this heartwarming tale and enjoyed every moment with her engaging characters.
Cassie Griffin loses her husband one day, and at his burial the next, the many bachelors in her tiny Montana territory town vie for the opportunity to wed the silk-clad, seemingly spoiled woman they refer to as the China Doll. When the ruthless rancher with the largest spread claims the right to marry her, god-fearing Red Dawson feels led to protect her and proposes, despite the fact that she’s not a believer. Pregnant and penniless, Cassie chooses the lesser of two evils and accepts. While Red attempts to live his life as a testimony of his faith, Cassie seeks to mold herself into the wife she thinks he wants, just as she did with her controlling, abusive first husband. Scenes when Cassie attempts to learn new skills showcase Connealy’s trademark humor, but others moved me at a deep level as Red exhibits the patience of Job while dealing with his attraction to his beautiful, bungling bride.
Of the Connealy books I’ve read so far, Montana Rose stands out as my favorite. I love Red’s godly character, his devotion to Cassie, and witnessing her journey to wholeness and healing as she learns to accept the love of the Lord and her new husband. I heartily recommend this book.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Christine Howard (Ridgecrest, CA), September 15, 2009
Seriously funny. I thoroughly enjoyed every character and line. God's grace as evidenced by Cassie's inclusion of Wade was touching.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Janna Ryan (North Platte, NE), August 30, 2009
Mary Connealy and historical westerns - they are like peas and carrots, german chocolate cake and coconut frosting, Husker football and red and white fans - you just can't have one without the other. Mary's books are in the rare category where I will read sections of the book out loud to my husband because the writing is so good I know he will appreciate it along with me, even though he doesn't have a clue about the storyline. I did that with Montana Rose - I read him an entire chapter and we both laughed through the whole thing. Seriously, Mary is probably one of my single favorite authors right now and I just eat up any book she writes. If Mary Connealy is listed as the author then you are guaranteed...
1) Excellent storylines - off the beaten path too, they are not your same 'ol, same 'ol!
2) Fantastic characters - we're talking the kind you love and the kind you hate and especially the kind you laugh at... a lot!
3) Humor - lots of it. Laugh out loud, humor. You can not remain in a bad mood if you are reading one of Mary's books.
To top it off, Montana Rose is one of my favorite Mary books so far - you must get this book!
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Marilyn A~ (Maumee, Ohio), August 01, 2009
I positively LOVED this book! I have read all of Mary Connealy's books and this is by far and away her very best!!!!! It is a page-turner with messages of deep spiritual and also romantic love . . . excellent in all the ways Christian fiction should be!
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Pepper Basham (Tennessee), July 28, 2009
With humor, gentleness, and poignant spiritual depth, Mary Connealy weaves a beautiful tale about the freedom found within true love. Mary opens the reader’s eyes to the transforming power of God’s love and how our security in Him helps us to become the people He’s called us to be. Never a slavemaster, but ever the gentle Lover, God pulls us from our preconceived hurts and notions to bring out the REAL us – and bloom the hidden talents he’s designed within us.
Red Dawson’s constant example of God’s love to Cassie gives her strength to become the woman God’s called her to be. Along the way there is laughter, heartbreak, and a breathtakingly beautiful bond which develops between the young couple. Mary’s description of the labor and delivery of Cassie’s baby was all the things that make up a good story: touching, hilarious, frightening- with enough reality to make it believable.
As with all of Mary’s books so far, I highly recommend Montana Rose. I’ve always said that Petticoat Ranch is my favorite novel she’s written, but Montana Rose is quickly vying for first place. I can’t repeat it enough. Get this book, sit back, enter a world of lassoes, spurs, strong women, vicious pigs, perfect scoundrels, gentle cowboys, and a God who can use them all for His glory.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Christy Lockstein (Oconto Falls, WIsconsin), July 27, 2009
Montana Rose by Mary Connealy is the first in the Montana Marriage series and what a way to kick it off! Cassie Griffin learned well how to be a perfect china doll under her abusive husband's tutelage; she doesn't interact with other people, she does everything her husband asks without question and she never shows sadness or fear. That facade is challenged when he dies leaving her a penniless pregnant widow in the Montana Territory in 1875. Before his body is buried, the men are lining up in the cemetery in front of the pastor for her marriage. After being violently grabbed and shoved in the fight, she is shocked to see gravedigger Red Dawson propose marriage to her. She marries him purely to escape the brutality of her other suitors and then sets out to be his perfect wife so that she never need feel his anger or his fists. Red has long been attracted to the mysterious woman known around town as the china doll, but did his best to keep her out of his thoughts. Their sudden marriage shocks both of them, especially as he tries to teach her what real love looks like both from a husband and from God. I've read a few of Connealy's other books, and she just keeps getting better and better. The humor and romance are both handled with a light, deft touch. The reader can't help but be charmed by both hero and heroine. She refuses to fall into Western cliche with the handling of the story's villain. She also draws a subtle parallel between Cassie's trying to live up to her husbands' wishes and earn their love through works and rules and how Christians often try to do the same with God. In a glutted genre, this book is truly a cut above the rest.
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