A Time To Love

Mail Order Bride #2

by Al Lacy, JoAnna Lacy

Linda Forest finds life as a mail order bride more than she ever imagined. More dangerous, more romantic, more challenging to her faith...unraveling this mystery-within a mystery is the adventure of a lifetime for Linda...

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Romance, Mail Order Brides, Christian Romance

312 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Al Lacy has written more than ninety novels, including the Angel of Mercy, Battles of Destiny, and Journeys of the Stranger series. He and his wife, JoAnna Lacy, are coauthors of the Mail Order Bride, Hannah of Fort Bridger, and Shadow of Liberty series. The Lacys make their home in the Colorado Rockies.

Reviews

[Kendra · Rating 2 out of 5]

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THESE ARE MY OWN OPINIONS. YOU ARE ABLE TO THINK WHATEVER YOU WOULD LIKE. This book just didn't hit home with me. You can read this book and think I am just insane for not liking this book... I just didn't like it the way I thought I really would..

Some parts of this book I really liked. I overall liked the book, but some parts just drove me insane.. I love a good christian romance book, and this was... a little overwhelming. Especially the Christian aspect. Don't get my wrong, I am a Christian and I am all for expressing your faith and all.. But this got a little to.. 'Oh our Dearest Heavenly Father who sent His Son to save us' And when you are reading those things over and over and over and over. Like. Every sentence, it gets a little boring.

I also have mixed feelings about Linda.. She seems kinda like a brat. She hung on to a lot of grudges, which is not a very christian like thing to do. It seems so hypocritical to have all of these grudges then 2 seconds later be talking about God's forgiveness towards her... It just doesn't make much sense to me for her to be such a brat. Then when Lewis asked if Billy was really his child and they had taken him in after his wife left, she just yelled at him that Billy was their kid.. But he wasn't. So I don't quite..... What? She had literally just been hurt from a dude lying to her. The whole novel is her being lied to by men for God's sake! Then she just lies to someone herself...... Makes sense right? (No, it does not ESPECIALLY SINCE I JUST POINTED OUT ALL OF THE SPIRITUALITY IN THIS BOOK AND LYING IS. NOT. GOOD.) I get she loved Billy like her own, and she wanted to keep him because of that. but just losing it when Lewis asked didn't need to happen...

I also feel like the love between Blake and Linda was a little rushed. There was a whole novel that could have built their relationship. But the beginning was Linda being ditched at her wedding and sulking about it for months, and then suddenly she is like 'OH HEY. SOME DUDE PUT AN AD IN THE PAPER FOR A MAIL ORDER BRIDE. I AM TOTALLY NOT HEART BROKEN AND HURT THAT THE MAN I LOVED AND WAS ABOUT TO MARRY DITCHED ME JUST A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE WEDDING TO RUN OFF AND MARRY MY SISTER.' I just.. THat doesn't seem to realistic to me. She was still grieving over Lewis and then suddenly she is willing to marry this complete stranger because he said he was a christian.. I just..... Come on now.. And then suddenly Blake goes to jail because he was framed. Linda doesn't know about it until near the end of the novel! And then right when they meet they want to get married a week later, when before they had said they wanted to take time to get to know each other in person. Then boom they are married and happy.. I feel like there could have been more time dedicated to building the love between them, instead of just saying they fell in love while reading the others letters and going with it..

So I did like the idea of this book.. I enjoyed it for the most part. Without some of these things it would have easily been a 3 or maybe 4 starts.. I would not personally rate this 5 stars though. Someone else may like this book and think it is the best piece of literature to ever bless my eyes. I would just have to respectfully disagree with that. Anyone can think whatever they want. I just personally didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would when I started it.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sweet story in this series. Glad I have all six books on hand.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very good companion book to the first one although it could stand on its own feet!!

This book was about a lady who was left at the alter to for her sister. She responds to a mail-order-bride request and falls in love through a letter!!

Meanwhile her male correspondent is framed and sent to prison. The con-artist marries her and tries to win her love.

Through many series of event she ends up with her correspondent to live happily ever........Not yet.

After marrying her correspondent they go through many hardships together.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to get another book in the series. This story took place during the Gold rush in California.
This story is very emotional. Many tears shed. The great contrast between the characters. The good and the evil.

[Rapu · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story as such isn't so bad, but the dialogue is so ... I don't know, crafted. Or as if it was written by a robot, or a third grader. I simply couldn't finish it

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Time to Love by Al Lacy – Being a mail order bride after her sister elopes with her fiancé is not the plan Linda was following, but God works in mysterious circumstances. Happy Reading!

[Hannah Beth (Hannah's Book Cafe) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am giving this 2 stars because the storyline was actually good. The dialogue however, in my opinion, fell VERY short. It is a whole bunch of Christianese language. Like saying that you hoped your unsaved daughter would become saved just because she was around other saved people. Books like this are why lots of Christians don't like Christian fiction.

[McCayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so much!

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Others in the series have been better but it's not bad

[Btckreiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mail-order bride story is OK, and I'm not sorry I read it, but some of the dialogue felt a little bit forced, awkward, or unreal, and their was one situation that the main character, Linda, went through where I found her reaction to be really understated. When she finds out she has been married to a criminal, and not the wonderful man she fell in love with through letters, after everything else she's been through, I would have expected her to react much more strongly than is portrayed here. It just didn't seem believable. The historical time period and other interesting elements of the story did keep me reading until the end.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the storyline a lot but it had a very strong religious message that was somewhat forced to me. I'm just not as outspoken and forceful in my faith as the characters are and really can't say I've been around people who are so it didn't seem real natural to me.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, but too much drama for one book!

[Sheila]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10316190

[Jessica Leigh Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was kind of stupid. The wording the authors chose to use when the main couple talked to each other was super cheesy.

[Marla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stilted writing, conversations unnatural. Won't be reading anymore by these authors. Liked the story though.

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book from the beginning to the end.

[Kathy Blackburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long, it seemed to go on and on

[Mae_chann · Rating 2 out of 5]

the book was ok. some parts were a little cliche.