Cinda's Surprise (Rawlings Family #1)

by Mary Davis

Cinda Harris tells herself she is content to be single. But her well-intentioned friends set her up as a mail-order bride. She knows nothing of the engagement until the day her groom, Lucas Rawlings, shows up to seal their agreement with wedding vows. Believing it is God's will for her life, she marries the handsome stranger. Lucas proves to be a gentle and kind man, and Cinda finds herself falling in love with her new husband. Upon arriving at his Montana farm, however, she finds out his real intentions for wanting a wife. Her new life is full of surprises, not all of them good.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Christian Romance

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Mary originally earned her college degree in elementary education. So where did the passion for inspirational romance books begin? In her head! Her characters would not leave her alone. They kept her from sleeping at night, and focusing on anything else during the day. Over forty titles later, they still keep bothering her to this day - luckily for her readers and fans!

Quiet-natured and creative, Mary also enjoys many crafts such as porcelain doll making, quilting, knitting, and many others!

Neither her dyslexia nor the cat on her laptop has kept her from producing award-winning and bestselling works such as her Quilting Circle series, Mrs. Witherspoon Goes To War, and Newlywed Games. Her published works have been on Publisher’s Weekly bestselling lists several times.

Additionally, she contributes to the writing world as a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers).

She currently resides in Washington State with her husband, a black cat named Buffy, and her favorite weather: the rain.

Reviews

[Ashley Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cinda Harrison believes she is meant to lead a single life. But two well-meaning friends set her up as a mail-order bride. She knows nothing of the engagement until the day Lucas Rawlings (her groom) shows up to marry her. She panics but agrees to marry him with the belief that this is God's will for her life. She also agreed to marry him because it would get her away from her aunt who is really mean to her and has been since her parents died when she was young and she went to live with them. Lucas is really gentle and kind with her and she finds herself falling in love with him. Upon arriving at his farm in Montana, however, she finds that he kept some very important things from her. He lives with his twin brothers, his sister, his twin nieces, and an eccentric man named Dewey. Her sister-in-law is giving her a lot of trouble. When her uncle falls ill, she heads back to see him before he dies, will she come back to her husband? You will have to read this book to find out.

I really enjoyed this book. Cinda had some issues because of the way her aunt treated her - she had no self-esteem for one thing.

[Kaye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. What a wretched read. Vapid, superficial characters, and neat tie-ups combined with an outlandish plot made this a tedious read. I only continued because I was in the tub, and wouldn't care if the book dropped in the water.

[janet frantum · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true family story.

A story of friends and family, love and hope. A story of how God's love guides us to where our hearts should be.

[Crafty Cristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt the book was too short. The characters were interesting, but they were not fully developed. There to be some more of the plot wrapped up. I found it irritating that a book this sorry wouldn't bother to wrap up all the things that had been started.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love mail-order bride books. This one is sweet and set in beautiful Montana.

[Beth]

A great book and lesson about stepping off into the unknown and finding that God had you all the time.