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Sophie's Daughters

Old West Summer Brides

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Four historical romances follow couples into the western frontier as they work to tame the land and make their homes.

A BRIDE RIDES HERD by Mary Connealy
Matt Reeves arrives at his brother's ranch to find Betsy Harden alone with the little girls during a cattle drive. Will the ladies by too much to handle when Matt steps in for the missing ranch hand?

BLUE MOON BRIDE by Susan Page Davis
Ava Neal hopes moving west will be a new start, then she meets handsome Joe Logan who helps her hide her valuables when the train is robbed. Might their paths cross again?

THE DOGWOOD BLOSSOM BRIDE by Miralee Ferrell
Gracie Addison is a tree-climbing tomboy, and practical Will Montgomery objects to her unladylike influence on his niece. Will his judgmental attitude come back to bite him?

THE COLUMBINE BRIDE by Davalynn Spencer
Lucy Powell is widowed with two children, but she is reluctant to accept Buck Huber's help on her neglected farm. Can the old cowboy convince her his interest is more than charity?

347 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2015

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172 people want to read

About the author

Mary Connealy

117 books2,536 followers
Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys always with a strong suspense thread. She is a two time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader's Choice finalist.
She is the bestselling author of 65 books and novellas.
Her most recent three book series are: Braced for Love, A Man with a Past and Love on the Range for Bethany House Publishing. She’s also written four other series for Barbour Publishing and many novellas and several stand-alone books for multiple publishers.
Mary will be a published author for ten years in 2017 with nearly a million books in print. She has a degree in broadcast communications with an emphasis in journalism and has worked at her local newspaper.

Find Mary online at:
Seekerville
Petticoats & Pistols
My Website


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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
783 reviews6 followers
February 13, 2025
These four stories were very entertaining. These are about four couples who fall in love on the western frontier.

Each of these stories were super short, so they took no time at all to read,.

All these had some type of conflict happening that made things a bit hard for them to get their happy ending.

All in all, a great 4-book collection.
Profile Image for Lis K.
462 reviews
July 27, 2015
This was a wonderful collection. The stories varied in humor, spiritual content and romantic chemistry but they were all short but sweet shots of the Old West. I believe this paperback title is available in only select Walmart stores. The grouping of these four authors differs from the authors grouped together in the “12 Brides of Summer” ebooks. I received my copy from author Mary Connealy.

The Bride Rides Herd by Mary Connealy
Fans of Mary Connealy’s previous works will remember Matt Reeves from Calico Canyon and Betsy Harden from The Husband Tree when they were children. If you've read this author before, you will recognize her romantic comedy type of humor. Matt's brother is married to Betsy's sister. Matt arrives at his brother’s for a visit but ends up helping Betsy care for her wild, spunky nieces while the girls’ parents are on a cattle drive. The little girls are quite a handful and keep Matt and Betsy on their toes. Both Betsy and Matt seem clueless when it comes to love but they sure know they are attracted to each other. I loved this short but funny story. I'm not sure if readers unfamiliar with the author’s previous series would be confused by all the different family members who show up (much to Matt's chagrin) but I was happy to see everyone again. The romance was fast but I suppose being holed up with someone for a week or so speeds everything up. A satisfying happy ever after for these two clans.

Blue Moon Bride by Susan Page Davis
Ava longs for adventure and decides to visit her friend in Wyoming. During the train ride, she meets and befriends Joe, who helps her when train robbers stop the train. This was a nice read. Ava and Joe have a gentle romance as their chemistry on the train ride carries over to life in Cheyenne. There is some light action/mystery with the train robbers. I thought the couple didn’t spend enough time together but the “blue moon” proposal was sweet. Polly and Jacob from The Christmas Tree Bride show up in this story.

The Dogwood Blossom Bride by Miralee Ferrell
This novella was my first read of this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Grace is a 19 year old tomboy and practical Will is attracted to her yet disapproves of her influence on his niece. This story had a very funny meet-cute between Grace and Will (and hence the title of this novella). Grace was a likable heroine and I enjoyed their chemistry together even though they butted heads often. Deborah and Curt from The Nativity Bride are Will’s employers in this story.

The Columbine Bride by Davalynn Spencer
This was another first author for me and I was pleasantly surprised. Lucy is a widow with two young children and Buck is a single man who wants to help her around her ranch. Their feelings start to grow as they spend more time together, but both are scared to say anything. Both the hero and heroine were appealing. Lucy is a strong woman, trying to make her ranch successful while Buck likes to help others and is good with children. The kids, Elmore and Cecilia, were cute and added much to the story. This story was the strongest in spiritual content. Ara, Nate, and Lilly from The Snowbound Bride are supporting characters in this story.
1,017 reviews10 followers
January 2, 2016
This is a wonderful collection of four novellas. which I was lucky to buy at Walmart the only store selling this book.

The first was A Bride Rides Herd by Mary Connealy was a delightful story I could not put down. I had to read what antics the nieces would pull next. I loved it and was sad when it was over. I hope these characters will appear in future stories by this author.

Second was Blue Moon Bride by Susan Page Davis an intriguing novella that had me turning pages. Now that I have finished I am going through withdrawl. Wonderfully written.

Third was Dogwood Blossom Brides by Miralee Ferrell another fantastic story I did not want to end. I fell in love with these characters. It was well written and I will want to read again.

The final novella was The Columbine Bride by Davalyn Spencer which was a very enjoyable story that I found difficult to put down. I will want to read this one again especially since I fell in love with the characters.
107 reviews
February 17, 2016
Always love Davalynn Spencer's novellas in these collections. Heartwarming and hopeful and set in beautiful Colorado.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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