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Bowen, Nebraska #1
The Bowen Bride
Mills & Boon Sweet series promises love affairs to last a lifetime…Five Steps to Happily Ever After
(by Katie Schmidt, bridal shop owner)
1) Find down-to-earth divorced dad Jared Porter, looking like a bull in a china shop.
2) Try to ignore the sizzle in the air as you casually discuss his just-engaged but far-too-young-to-get-married daughter.
3) Invite him to renovate your shop, giving him a chance to keep tabs on his daughter's impending nuptials.
4) Discover that after-hours in a bridal shop is the ideal time to steal some heart-stopping kisses.
5) Make sure the dress you are designing trimmed with that special Bowen Bride happily-ever-after thread is a perfect fit for you!
(by Katie Schmidt, bridal shop owner)
1) Find down-to-earth divorced dad Jared Porter, looking like a bull in a china shop.
2) Try to ignore the sizzle in the air as you casually discuss his just-engaged but far-too-young-to-get-married daughter.
3) Invite him to renovate your shop, giving him a chance to keep tabs on his daughter's impending nuptials.
4) Discover that after-hours in a bridal shop is the ideal time to steal some heart-stopping kisses.
5) Make sure the dress you are designing trimmed with that special Bowen Bride happily-ever-after thread is a perfect fit for you!
- GenresContemporary Romance
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
About the author
Nicole Burnham
36 books149 followersNicole Burnham is the RITA award-winning author of over twenty novels, including the popular Royal Scandals series. For new release announcements, audio/ebook samples, and to receive a free copy of A ROYAL SCANDALS WEDDING, visit https://nicoleburnham.com/new-events/
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NOTE FROM NICOLE: My Goodreads library is by no means comprehensive. I have thousands of books on my real (as opposed to my Goodreads) bookshelves. However, my Goodreads library only contains those books I'd give four or five stars and would recommend to friends without hesitation (and I haven't gotten around to listing all those yet.)
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NOTE FROM NICOLE: My Goodreads library is by no means comprehensive. I have thousands of books on my real (as opposed to my Goodreads) bookshelves. However, my Goodreads library only contains those books I'd give four or five stars and would recommend to friends without hesitation (and I haven't gotten around to listing all those yet.)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 2, 2018
The Bowen Bride starts out with a fairly typical story of a teenager who wants out of her small town… Katie is very close to her dad and grandmother but she is still SO ready to be out of Bowen. She’s applied to out of state colleges, without telling her family, but she is still very respectful of her Oma and listens to the “old” stories. This book is based on this one story, about Oma’s magic thread and how it has been passed down thru the generations. That’s about all I can say without giving any spoilers; and I really can’t do the story as much justice as the author did.
Fast-forward a few years and Katie is back in Bowen, running a bridal (dressmaking) shop just like Oma did for oh-so-many years. A man walks into her shop one day that she sorta knew of growing up but as he was a few years older, they had never spoken. His name is Jared Porter and he finds himself standing outside Katie Schmidt’s shop, on a mission for his teenage daughter.
The book is about Katie and Jared and a growing relationship between the two. For two people with very different coming of age stories, at the heart of it, they are both alike in that they have deep, crushing feelings about themselves that each has to work thru in order to move forward. Their interactions are combustible, at least that’s what my imagination created. I loved them both but Jared should be the poster boy for being a terrific father and human being. Katie’s no slouch, that’s for sure, but my heart belonged to Jared.
Really liked the book, even if I wanted to pull Mandy, Jared’s daughter, aside quite a few times and let her know my thoughts on how lucky she was to have a dad like Jared.
Fast-forward a few years and Katie is back in Bowen, running a bridal (dressmaking) shop just like Oma did for oh-so-many years. A man walks into her shop one day that she sorta knew of growing up but as he was a few years older, they had never spoken. His name is Jared Porter and he finds himself standing outside Katie Schmidt’s shop, on a mission for his teenage daughter.
The book is about Katie and Jared and a growing relationship between the two. For two people with very different coming of age stories, at the heart of it, they are both alike in that they have deep, crushing feelings about themselves that each has to work thru in order to move forward. Their interactions are combustible, at least that’s what my imagination created. I loved them both but Jared should be the poster boy for being a terrific father and human being. Katie’s no slouch, that’s for sure, but my heart belonged to Jared.
Really liked the book, even if I wanted to pull Mandy, Jared’s daughter, aside quite a few times and let her know my thoughts on how lucky she was to have a dad like Jared.
December 6, 2018
This was a nice book, very sweet. An easy read, no great angst or climax. I wish they had tied in the thread a bit more (see what I did there??).
December 3, 2018
Small town romance fan? Oh are you in for a treat! This first installment of the Bowen, Nebraska series delivers all the heart, all the family, all the warmth, all the MAGIC that readers expect and then some.
Katie runs The Bowen Bride, a local bridal shop started by her grandparents, but it wasn't always her dream. Once upon a time, she sought bigger cities, brighter lights, and grander notoriety...but sometimes what we WANT and what we NEED are two different things. It took stepping out of the dream for her to find her heart's true desire...and even that revelation is about to be reevaluated as a second chance at true love comes her way. I adored her character and how she lived with an open heart. True, she protected herself from unnecessary pain, but who could blame her with the sorry excuse for a significant other she had the first time around? Her heart of gold shone through in everything she did and it was simply a matter of time before someone worthy of knowing it saw its shine. Now, speaking of that second chance...
Jared is a single father and locally renowned craftsman, yet despite the life he's built for his family of two, underneath it all, he still battles feelings of inadequacy. You'd never guess it to look at him (and no, we're not simply blinded by his obvious good looks!), but this jack of his trade has a heart bruised as easily as yours or I, yet it also contains the strength to raise his daughter solo, build a good life for them both, and protect them come what may despite what small town looks or gossip may follow him. It'd take a woman of substance, a person of character, someone with a heart of gold (and perhaps a jilted past of her own) to truly GET him...though I'm certain the news of his daughter getting married, he could have done without. I really liked his character as well, for all the obvious reasons and perhaps a few easier to see once you've read the story. He's genuine, doesn't play games, but isn't crass or harsh as the case COULD be. No, he didn't let himself grow bitter from his circumstances, only BETTER...if he could only see that in himself.
What begins as a "partnership" of convenience, gradually turns into genuine friendship with obvious sparks hinting at the possibility for more. The question is...are either of them ready to explore what could be? Readers will enjoy the gentle flirting and smile inducing fun along the way as they dance ever closer to answering that question, while the flash forward at story's end allows for a potential HEA...hey, I'm not spoiling the surprise!
**ecopy received for review
Katie runs The Bowen Bride, a local bridal shop started by her grandparents, but it wasn't always her dream. Once upon a time, she sought bigger cities, brighter lights, and grander notoriety...but sometimes what we WANT and what we NEED are two different things. It took stepping out of the dream for her to find her heart's true desire...and even that revelation is about to be reevaluated as a second chance at true love comes her way. I adored her character and how she lived with an open heart. True, she protected herself from unnecessary pain, but who could blame her with the sorry excuse for a significant other she had the first time around? Her heart of gold shone through in everything she did and it was simply a matter of time before someone worthy of knowing it saw its shine. Now, speaking of that second chance...
Jared is a single father and locally renowned craftsman, yet despite the life he's built for his family of two, underneath it all, he still battles feelings of inadequacy. You'd never guess it to look at him (and no, we're not simply blinded by his obvious good looks!), but this jack of his trade has a heart bruised as easily as yours or I, yet it also contains the strength to raise his daughter solo, build a good life for them both, and protect them come what may despite what small town looks or gossip may follow him. It'd take a woman of substance, a person of character, someone with a heart of gold (and perhaps a jilted past of her own) to truly GET him...though I'm certain the news of his daughter getting married, he could have done without. I really liked his character as well, for all the obvious reasons and perhaps a few easier to see once you've read the story. He's genuine, doesn't play games, but isn't crass or harsh as the case COULD be. No, he didn't let himself grow bitter from his circumstances, only BETTER...if he could only see that in himself.
What begins as a "partnership" of convenience, gradually turns into genuine friendship with obvious sparks hinting at the possibility for more. The question is...are either of them ready to explore what could be? Readers will enjoy the gentle flirting and smile inducing fun along the way as they dance ever closer to answering that question, while the flash forward at story's end allows for a potential HEA...hey, I'm not spoiling the surprise!
**ecopy received for review
December 3, 2018
The Bowen Bride (Bowen, Nebraska Book 1) by Nicole Burnham I enjoyed this first book in what looks like the start of a series.. Katie Schmidt runs the Bowen Bride and there is magic in the hem of each dress with thread her grandmother gave her. Jared Porter works for his brother as a cabinet builder and is the single father of Mandy(17 yr old who wants to marry her boyfriend. They both have insecurities they have to work through. There are lots of laughs a few tears and all leading to a lot of HEA's.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Realistic Entertaining Easy-to-read Witty Page-turner Happily Ever After Romantic Wonderful characters Funny
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Realistic Entertaining Easy-to-read Witty Page-turner Happily Ever After Romantic Wonderful characters Funny
December 10, 2018
The Bowen Bride is a wonderful, heartfelt, sweet romance set in rural Nebraska. Katie received an old magical spool of thread from her grandmother with directions to always use it in any bridal gown she makes. After she escapes to Boston for college and a brief career as a costume designer, she returns back to her home town and reopens her grandmother's bridal shop. What happens next is all about family, relationships, trust, and small town gossip. The story is easy to read and lighthearted. I love the characters and setting and the slight bit of magic.
December 8, 2018
Another wonderful read by Ms. Burnham. I laughed a little, cried a little and met characters I'd like to meet in real life.
January 5, 2019
Really enjoyed this sweet story but was surprised to see it was originally from 2004. Hopefully the fact it has been re-issued means there will be more stories coming from Bowen, Nebraska.
January 23, 2019
I loved this story of romance in a small town in Nebraska between a thirty plus couple who have not had good luck with love in their past. Katie Schmidt returns home to Bowen after leaving for college in Boston to open a bridal design shop. There are many who claim that the gowns purchased from this shop possess good luck, but Katie doesn't really believe it. Jared Porter is a single father who would do anything for his daughter, even going to a bridal shop to discuss gowns with the pretty Katie. Soon, they are meeting often and realize that there is an attraction and not sure if it is a wise idea to pursue it or not.
I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review; all opinions are my own.
I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review; all opinions are my own.
December 30, 2018
I enjoyed the story and the relationship that developed not only between Jared and Katie but also between Katie and Jared’s teenage daughter. Lots of issues for everyone to work thru....low angst....sweet story with a HEA
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews