Two Brides Too Many: A Novel, The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Book 1 by Mona Hodgson

Jun 13, 2010 Rita added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: women who enjoy reading of the challenges of other women

Recommended to Rita by: I was the lucky winner of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the tough women who shaped the Old West. Kat and her sisters are thrown off balance when their father announces that he has to move to Paris for his job and can't take his four daughters with him. Kat and Nell find themselves as mail order brides to men out in the West. The other two Sinclair sister stay to finish school with a relative before joining Kat and Nell in their new homes.

When Kat and Nell arrive in Cripple Creek, their prospective husbands are nowh...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When their father is sent to Paris for work, Nell and Kat are forced to become mail-order brides and move to Cripple Creek, Colorado. What awaits them at the train station is not what they expect when neither groom meets the young women. Unsure what to do until a fire threatens the town as soon as they arrive, they quickly become a part of the frontier community. Will that be enough to survive on their own?

I read the second book in this series first, but I still enjoyed Nell and Kat’s stories. I...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Joshua Keezer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm at the library on lunch and I needed a new audio book. I'm open to most genre's and the audio book version of this book was on the display. It sounded interesting. Two women from Maine (the state I grew up) are going to Colorado in order to meet the husband's they met through a mail order bride catalog only to find the husband's not there. I decided to give it a try.

I regret the choice. And please be aware, I did not finish the book. It quickly hit three strikes and I stopped listening.

The s...more I'm at the library on lunch and I needed a new audio book. I'm open to most genre's and the audio book version of this book was on the display. It sounded interesting. Two women from Maine (the state I grew up) are going to Colorado in order to meet the husband's they met through a mail order bride catalog only to find the husband's not there. I decided to give it a try.

I regret the choice. And please be aware, I did not finish the book. It quickly hit three strikes and I stopped listening.

The story opens with four sisters learning that there father has lost his job. This happens while they are in their posh little home being served lemon bars by a servant. Only, it happens that the father didn't lose his job, he was offered a job in Paris. And the job in Paris is coming with a one bedroom apartment so he can't take his daughters. So, money enough for a servant and a posh life, but no money to make arrangements for his daughter. STRIKE ONE.

The father has arranged for the two daughters, not of age, to live with their aunt and uncle. For the older daughters, he wants them to find husbands from an advertisement in a catalog for finding Mail Order Brides in Colorado. The daughters accept this. Now, this decision could be done, but the issue is that there is NO MOTIVATION present. It is like the accepted the very first option presented to them. STRIKE TWO.

While on the train to Colorado, it is revealed that one of the sister's has been published in a Portland, Maine newspaper as a freelance. The character in question dismisses this as nothing. However, this is something. The book is in 1895. This is a time when female journalists were rare. There was a push in the late 19th century for there to be more female journalists. For this character to have been published as a freelance would be significant. And yet this is passed off as if it were modern day where female journalists are commonplace and this was no major task. STRIKE THREE.

If you want me to read a book and finish the book, you must build my trust. It doesn't matter how well your characters are developed, if I find the plot forced, I'm going to put the book down and walk away.(less)

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May 26, 2011 Margaret Metz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the things I liked about this book was the way the cover and the writing made me think of my own sister. I've got dark hair and my sister is a blond. She's the social butterfly and I tend to have just a few close friends. I could go on and on. We also would have fought anyone who tried to hurt the other.

These sisters have their world turned upside down. Their tight-knit family is broken apart and they are forced to become mail order brides far from home and everything they know and dream...more

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May 10, 2011 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Two young sisters travel to Colorado as mail-order brides, but when they get there their intendeds are nowhere to be found. They leave behind 2 sisters in Maine and a father that leaves for a new job in Paris so there is no turning back, they must stay in Colorado and figure out where their fiancés' went. Nell is a romantic dreamer and insists that her fiancé' is going to show up and sweep her off her feet, while the more serious sister Kat is worried that her man is good-for-nothing loser and s...more Two young sisters travel to Colorado as mail-order brides, but when they get there their intendeds are nowhere to be found. They leave behind 2 sisters in Maine and a father that leaves for a new job in Paris so there is no turning back, they must stay in Colorado and figure out where their fiancés' went. Nell is a romantic dreamer and insists that her fiancé' is going to show up and sweep her off her feet, while the more serious sister Kat is worried that her man is good-for-nothing loser and she'll need to figure out her life without a husband.

This is a very unique twist to a mail-order bride story. Once the girls get to Colorado a whole new slew of problems await them and there are lots of twists and turns that are surprising. The love stories in this book were sweet but I really thought they should have been more developed. I wish there was a whole lot more to the romantic relationships, it seemed like nothing romantic really started happening until the last 50 pages of the book which just wasn't good enough for me. If it is going to take that long for it develop there at least needs to be some teasing/flirting going to build up the suspense.

The story line to me was a bit unbelievable at times and predictable at other times. I found it almost impossible to believe a single dad of this time period would lose his job and then move to a new job in Paris leaving behind his 4 daughters. That part is hard to believe. And from the moment Morgan entered the story you could predict how that was going to turn out which also frustrated me. Too simple of a story line that didn't have me hooked to what was happening. The side characters were really interesting too; I thought Hattie and Boney were delightful additions to the story.

I would have given this 3 stars but I do think that the writing was great even though I didn't connect to the story like I wanted. I did get involved enough to want to know what happens with all the Sinclair sisters but I just didn't love this story. I think there are a lot of readers that would enjoy this sweet and simple romance.
(less)

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May 28, 2010 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I received this book as a free giveaway from goodreads. I was anxious to read it right away so I could give a review as a thanks for the free book. This book is a Christian novel and takes place in the wild west. I enjoyed the story very much and kept wanting to pick the book up to see what would happen with the Sinclair sisters. It was an entertaining read. I did however find the writing very simplistic and I believe it could easily be read by a 6th or 7th grader. This, though, did not mean tha...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mona Hodgson

2009

Waterbrook

Fiction/Historical Romance

Reviewed by Cindy Loven

for Armchair Interviews

The Sinclair sister's are in for a life changing experience. Their father lost his job, in Maine and is being sent to Paris for a job, but only he will go, the four sisters are old enough to begin lives of their own. At their father's urging, Nell and Kat, place ads for husbands in a newspaper in Colorado, after many months of correspondence they are on their way to Colorado to meet their grooms to...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very quick read.

I have a few problems with the plot of this story. Most mail order brides were in truly desperate circumstances and only accepted to be mail order brides as a last resort. This is not the case and hence one of my issues with this book. The sisters are fairly well off considering the time frame is 1895. They have a servant bringing them lemon bars while the father is explaining that he wants them to write letters to men in Cripple Creek, CO (a real place) to be mail ord...more

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Feb 10, 2010 Renee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mail order bride stories are some of my very favorite romances. Mona Hodgon's first venture into writing fiction for the older reader is just that type of novel and I really enjoyed it. Kat and Nell Sinclair the two sisters around whom this story is centered are young, beautiful girls who only become mail order brides after their father learns he lost his job.

In the beginning, the story seemed a little rushed, the girls learned they would be leaving their home to be mail order brides, they could...more

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May 11, 2012 Angela Bycroft rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first title in the Sinclair sisters and Cripple creek is a wonderful fun story of love and loss and ultimate love found.

Nell and Kat Sinclair have left their home and family - and travelled west to become mail order brides. However upon arriving in Cripple Creek they quickly discover that all is not as they expected it to be.

Kat's intended turns out to be a wild drunk who unfortunately dies that same night she arrives, meanwhile Nell's beau isn't even evident.

This tale mainly falls to Kat'...more

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May 18, 2010 Casey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book surprised me (in a good way). It jumped right up and took off on an interesting story of two woman needed to find a marriage in the west.

The trials didn’t leave them once they got there and there was one challenging event after another keeping these women from their goal.

It wasn’t your normal love story and that gave it a unique flavor. Both women had to struggle through some seemingly insurmountable odds and I liked seeing them grow and try to find their place. The love story was well...more

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Jan 17, 2011 Zette rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did enjoy reading this book and wish I could give it more like 3.5 stars. I always love mail order bride stories so I was excited to start reading this one. The idea of sisters going to the same town to marry men they have never met was something new. The story was humorous and light at times with a few dark twists and turns to keep it real. I would have enjoyed seeing a little more spark in the romances. I felt like Kat's started out with the romantic tension I look for but resolved too quick...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Dundee Library added it · review of another edition

Shelves: staff-favs-audrey

This book is more like a 3.5 stars for me. It was entertaining to read, but a bit too sappy for me. Two sisters are forced to make new lives for themselves out West after their father leaves the country for work. Having already arranged marriages, dreamer Nell can't wait to meet her future husband, while practical Kat is less than enthused. When they step off the train, they are disheartened to find no one waiting for them. It appears their grooms are missing. Forced to navigate the unfamiliar t...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Hannah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads-review, series-i-might-keep-reading

YAY! I won this on goodreads from firstreads!
I cannot believe that so many things has happened in just 82 pages into the book. Nell and Kat are mail-order brides, because their father lost his job in Maine so he has to work in Paris and he couldn't bring all four daughters with him. Their two remaining sisters are finishing up their schooling in Maine. So, Nell and Kat are to start their lives so when their sisters come down all will be ready for them. Kat's husband ended up being a drunk, but N...more

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May 14, 2012 Sally rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Interesting that I am reading two book of such diamtrically opposing writing styles at one time. In this story, the Sinclair sister's are forced to leave the comfort of their Maine life style to become mailorder brides in Cripple Creek, Colorado. The writing is simple, descriptive and quaint.
The characters include a vast array. Sweet, manipulative, tough, edgy, supportive, treaturous, conniving, pessimistic and uplifting. The decription ranges from flowers and scents to difficult childbirth. The...more

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May 23, 2010 Delia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1895

Mail-order brides. Not something Kat and Nell had in mind for themselves. But circumstances change their comfortable lifestyle in an instant, forcing the Sinclair sisters to place ads seeking husbands in Colorado.

But when the brides arrive in Cripple Creek, neither potential husband waits to welcome them. The proper, refined sisters are on their own in the Wild West, where they share the streets with women of the night, drunks, gamblers, and generally undesirable company.

In the town’s one bo...more

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May 21, 2010 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I was interested in reading something outside my usual genre. Normally I tend to shy away from anything romantic or that takes place in the past, but the story-line intrigued me enough to enter. It was a very quick read; I finished it in 2 days while laying out at the beach. The story was sweet and the ending was expected. I was hoping there would have been more of a development with the bad guy to cause a little mystery or suspense but...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Lindsay (Everyday Is An Adventure) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I SO enjoyed my first Mona Hodgson read and am delighted to find that it is the first in a series.

After reading the beginning of the Sinclair sisters' journey I cannot wait to find out what becomes of them!

Kat and Nell Sinclair are the main characters in this Christian romance where the two sisters head out West for the promise of a new life, a new beginning, and a happily ever after. When none of their plans go accordingly, these women begin to carve out a new existence for themselves and it is...more

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May 30, 2010 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received this novel as part of "first reads". It is a nice novel with a Christian theme--a very clean read. It is a story about mail-order brides of the time and the author did a great job of setting up the emotions and struggles that would go along with that. Before I even read that it would be the start of a series, it already had that feel. Characters were introduced but not built upon. It was obvious that many of these characters will become major players in the books to come. This didn't...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star-reads, books-i-own, books-read-2010, chick-lit-women-s-lit, fiction, historical-fiction, romance

This is not a great book, let me put it that way. But I enjoyed the hell out of reading the story of the two Sinclair sisters, whose father takes off to Paris and ships them off to Colorado to be mail order brides. Kat and Nell arrive to find the town literally up in flames and no husbands waiting for them.

It was the right book at the right time--I needed something light and not too taxing in December. I am looking forward to reading the next Sinclair Sisters novel, which is coming out soon acco...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Denise rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian-books, christian-fiction, scl

A nice little story, but could have been told a whole lot better. Such an interesting setting and time in history, it was wasted in this book. Serviceable writing; nothing particularly memorable or beautiful in the words. Cardboard characters. I never felt that I knew them, or that they behaved in a rational believable way. Everything about this broke the main rule of fiction with too much "telling" and not enough "showing." Why would this supposedly loving father just up and ship his daughters...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Christy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a sweet, western, mail-order bride romance that had me curious from the very beginning. I loved that the plot started in the first couple of chapters and found two of the Sinclair sisters, Kat and Nell, on their way to becoming mail-order brides in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Nell was the more excited of the two at the prospect of becoming a new bride, while Kat really seemed to just be along for the ride. Unfortunately for both of them, they were stood up at the train station with no clue...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Title: TWO BRIDES TOO MANY
Author: Mona Hodgson
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
May 2010
ISBN: 978-0-397-45890-2
Genre: Inspirational/historical

Kat and Nell Sinclair were separated from their family when their father took a job in Paris, forcing the two girls to become mail order brides in Colorado. Their prospective grooms sent money for their tickets, but then neither one showed up to meet their brides-to-be.

When Kat discovers her groom is a womanizing drunk, she is quick to put him in his place, but...more

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May 23, 2011 Margaret Metz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the things I liked about this book was the way the cover and the writing made me think of my own sister. I've got dark hair and my sister is a blond. She's the social butterfly and I tend to have just a few close friends. I could go on and on. We also would have fought anyone who tried to hurt the other.

These sisters have their world turned upside down. Their tight-knit family is broken apart and they are forced to become mail order brides far from home and everything they know and dream...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Audrey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is more like a 3.5 stars for me. It was entertaining to read, but a bit too sappy for me. Two sisters are forced to make new lives for themselves out West after their father leaves the country for work. Having already arranged marriages, dreamer Nell can't wait to meet her future husband, while practical Kat is less than enthused. When they step off the train, they are disheartened to find no one waiting for them. It appears their grooms are missing. Forced to navigate the unfamiliar t...more

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May 04, 2010 Lucinda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

a goodreads win...

This historical fiction book was a quick fun read. Coming from Maine I especially enjoyed the first chapter starting in Portland. Kat and Nell Sinclair moved west as mail order brides. Instead of their promised husbands meeting them, they are faced with challenges a single refined lady shouldn't have to deal with. Not living in the times of the old west, I truly enjoyed this novel. I believe there will be a sequel and am not sure if I would continue with it because I would like...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Georgiann Hennelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kat and Nell Sinclair get a shocking welcome to the wild west, When they leave Maine as mail order brides to travel to Cripple Creek, Colorado. They expect there future husbands to be waiting for them. But when they arrive neither fiance Patrick Maloney nor Judson Archer awaits them . They have to make there way by themselves to the rooming house. Cripple Creek a frontier town- a place where fire threatens to reduce the buildings to rubble , working women strut the streets , rogues will gamble f...more

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May 17, 2010 Allison rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I thought that this book was a little juvinile, but I think I'm probably not the target demographic. If you're a 12- or 13-year old girl, you might like this book. The plot wasn't very complex and you could see where it was going almost immediately. The ending was what you would expect for a book like that as well. I wasn't pulled in by the characters or the writing. Overall, not my favorite.

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Sep 20, 2010 Tressa (Tressa's Wishful Endings) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 18, 2012 Sally rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian-fiction, proverbial-reads-review, waterbrook-multnomah-free-for-revie, historical-fiction

This is the third in the Sinclair Sisters series, set in the Colorado mining town of Cripple Creek at the end of the 19th century. Vivian dreams of being a dress designer, but her options are few after making a series of bad decisions. She would rather join her father in Paris, France, but when he says no she has no choice but to travel west. She can’t find a job and she needs rent money. In desperation – and with perhaps a touch of naivety – she takes a hostess job at the brothel belonging to t...more

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Two Brides Too Many: A Novel, The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Book 1 (The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek #1)

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