Vada Allenhouse has been keeping house for her doctor father and three sisters since she was eight years old. And her days in turn-of-the-century Cleveland are predictable. But when an errant baseball sends a comatose stranger---and a multitude of men---to Marcus Allenhouse's clinic, five lives are turned upside down! A story of unexpected choices---and God's providence. 352 pages, softcover from Multnomah.

It Only Takes an Instant for Love to Strike

 
Tragedy hits the Allenhouse family on a hot summer night in Ohio when a mother of four vanished. Eight-year-old Vada virtually grew up overnight and raised her three younger sisters while her father lost himself in his medical practice in the basement of their home.
 
Now, Vada is a grown woman, still making her home with her father and sisters. Her days are spent serving as an errand girl for Cleveland’s fledgling amateur orchestra; her evenings with Garrison Walker, her devoted, if passionless, beau.
 
Dizzying change occurs the day the Brooklyn Bridegrooms come to town to play the Cleveland Spiders and a line drive wallops the head of a spectator. The fan is whisked to the Allenhouse parlor, and questions swirl about the anonymous, unconscious man.
 
Suddenly, the subdued house is filled with visitors, from a flirtatious, would-be sports writer to the Bridegrooms’ handsome star hitter to the guilt-ridden ballplayer who should have caught the stray shot. The medical case brings Dr. Allenhouse a frustration and helplessness he hasn’t felt since his wife’s disappearance. Vada’s sisters are giddy at the bevy of possible suitors. And Vada’s life is awakened amid the super-charged atmosphere of romantic opportunity.

Allison Pittman is the author of Stealing Home, the Crossroads of Grace series, and her nonfiction debut, Saturdays With Stella. A former high-school English teacher, she serves as director of the theater arts group at her church. Allison makes her home in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Learn more about the author at www.allisonpittman.com.

In The Bridegrooms, Allison Pittman portrays women during the middle 1800’s and their goal of trying to get bridegrooms. The lead character, Vada, finds herself in the predicament of finding out her youngest sister has a different father. The pain felt by the girls is from their mother leaving the family long ago with another man, and one year later dying of an illness before they could reconcile.

The structure of the plot is quite standard, with no flashbacks but some use of back story. The quality of relationships between characters is flawless, however. For example, Garrison and Vada’s relationship is shown well as they talk intimately, share their hearts, and grow as individuals and as a couple. The most unforgettable part of this book is when Vada, Garrison, and Hazel go to the Hollenden Hotel to meet Hazel’s potential love interest, only to find out that he was their sister Lisette’s father.

Vada’s main dilemma is realizing that she is like her mother. Even though she loves Garrison, she cannot stop thinking about another suitor, Mr. Lafortune. She chooses to fight the temptations of cheating on Garrison. She talks incessantly about how she is practically engaged to Garrison.

Vada is a very strong role model in the book for good parenting, because when her mother left, she took over the role of mother in the household. She reacts rationally with most characters in the book, and shows love, affection, and sympathy when needed.

Once I finished the book, my final view was that it was very well written, keeping me locked into the story until the conclusion. I recommend this book to any reader who likes romantic fiction with old fashion traditions of men and woman courting. – Sarah N. Finkenbine, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

http://www.christianbook.com/the-bridegrooms-allison-pittman/9781601421371/pd/421371

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product_review

__USERID__

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/ask_and_answer

• Books >> Fiction >> Historical
• Fiction >> Historical
• Start A New Christianbook.com Search

I'm the author/artist and I want to review The Bridegrooms.