Valiant Bride

Brides of Montclair #1

by Jane Peart

Noramary came out of the parlor into the hall. Stunned by what she had just heard, she felt slightly light-headed and leaned against the closed door for a moment to steady herself. The shock of Winnie's elopement during the night had been followed by a second -- the staggering request of her foster parents that she step into her errant cousin's place as the bride of Duncan Montrose! "So you see, my dear, why we must ask this of you?" Aunt Betsy's voice rang in her ears. Noramary closed her eyes, bringing back the scene that had just taken place. As her aunt had explained the dilemma Winnie's irresponsibility had caused and what must now be done, Noramary had sat very still, eyes downcast, hands folded in her lap, hearing but not fully absorbing her aunt's words. Now those same words burst upon her, strong and clear: "--marry Duncan Montrose!" Valiant Bride is a historical romance that brings to life a young woman's choice between duty and love.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Christian, Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1985

About the author

Jane Johnson Peart of Asheville, North Carolina, Humboldt and Marin counties, California, and in recent years, Hawaii, passed away in 2007. She was the author of more than 60 works of suspense, historical fiction and romance, which touched the hearts and minds of thousands of readers whose correspondence she treasured. She wrote for the secular and Christian market, and is best known for the Brides of Montclair series.

Reviews

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had been popping up on my Amazon recommendations for probably a few years. It was on sale last night so I decided to finally give it a try. I thought it was okay. I feel bad giving it two stars, but decided to go with Goodreads rating scale.

Anyway, Noramary (Nora in my mind) was an okay character. I just didn't understand her willingness to give up her relationship with Robert to marry Duncan. Her aunt and uncle seemed like pretty reasonable people, if she had told them of her relationship with Robert right from the start they would have probably figured out another way to appease Duncan. Duncan also seemed pretty reasonable and if she had gone to him in the begining he would have also called off the wedding. So, I guess deep down Nora wasn't really in love with Robert. I would have liked to see more of that. The reason's behind Nora and Duncan marrying just felt weak.

Duncan and Nora have a big misunderstanding that seperates them for a big chunk of the story. Again, a little communication would have gone a long way. Duncan is pretty rash in his judgements and thinks little of the wife he supposedly loves. The ending felt rushed and overall I wish there had been more interactions between Duncan and Nora. I didn't fell any real connection between them at all.

Conent: Clean. Christian romance with some scripters thrown in here and there. Not really over the top, but at times felt out of place.

[Jennifer Maloney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so this was a quick read and fairly entertaining. I almost gave it a 3 star rating, but these characters were just so arggggh.

When her cousin elopes with her French teacher, Noramary is asked by her aunt and uncle (who have adopted and raised her) to step in and marry her cousin's betrothed, Duncan. Being that this is the 1700's, and that's what you do, she said yes. Then she remembered she already had a fiance: her lifelong friend, Robert. (How exactly do you forget you have a fiance?) So Noramary frets about how she doesn't want to disgrace her family's name, since society already expects these two families to merge and the dowry's already been paid... but she also doesn't want to disappoint the love of her life either.

So what does she do? She disappoints the love of her life without even so much as mentioning to her aunt and uncle that she already had a fiance. Because that would be silly. (She actually does let this slip to her aunt several months later, shortly before the wedding. Her aunt felt bad and wanted to let her out of the deal, but she too decided that honor was better served than true love. Because reasons.).

Alright so fast forward. They're married and move to his estate one-day's ride away. They seem sweet together, tentatively getting to know each other. All seems great (except for the several months they take to seal the deal, if you know what I mean). His sister, who (for some reason) had been visiting them for the first few months of their marriage, tells her as she is leaving to beware of Duncan's temper that can flare up unexpectedly when he's jealous. Um.... what the? Okay so this is the first inkling we've had that he might have a temper problem. Which is either a big red flag for the relationship or just really poor writing to not have even hinted at any sort of controlling issues this guy might've had.

So of course the next day... dun dun dun... Noramary mutters the name "Robert" in her sleep and Duncan freaks out so completely that he, without even explaining why, declares that their marriage is dead and she should no longer have anything to do with him other than pretending to be married in order to keep up appearances. Like huh? Poor girl has no idea what she even did! He literally doesn't even explain or ask her about the dream or the name or anything. Just tells her when she wakes up that they're done.

Christmastime comes, and after months of a chilly home life with a husband who's basically ignoring her, they travel back to Noramary's aunt's house for the family Christmas celebrations. As they arrive, Duncan tells her under no circumstances should she confide in her aunt or cousins about any of their disagreements. I'm sorry, but that's straight up abusive behavior. It's very very very sketchy when your spouse isolates you and disallows you to speak to anyone else about your feelings or troubles. In real life, this would be a giant waving red flag of future abuse and lifetime of misery. Does she notice this? Of course not.

Okay, so Robert is at one of the festivities that they attend, and of course there's an accidentally incriminating situation that they find themselves in that Duncan witnesses. He gives Robert the old I-want-to-murder-you man-stare and whisks Noramary quickly back home to their not-so-happy home.

Soon Noramary is with child. Duncan immediately accuses her of sleeping around and refuses to believe it's his. Again, no real discussion or proof, just accusations that he barely explains and which he never lets her defend.

A few months into her pregnancy, she's caught in a rainstorm and (for some reason) comes down with a fever so bad that she miscarries. (???) I kid you not. This made zero sense to me, but okay. Her aunt finds out and whisks her back home to help her recover.

After Noramary has been at her aunt's for another month or two (bc no visit is fast in the 1700's), Duncan shows up unannounced, interrupted a second accidentally incriminating situation between her and Robert, and whisks her back home again, reminding her that they had had a portrait commissioned and the painter is back in town so they need to get back to that.

Interestingly enough, this painter guy is the first person to be observant enough and kind enough to actually realize something was wrong with Noramary and ask her about it. She spills out that she fears Duncan is still in love with her cousin (??? seriously this the first time we've had a hint that she feared this) and that she worries that she's exacerbated things by hanging out with her longtime friend, Robert.

Well, of course Duncan overhears this and (for some reason) this causes him to realize he still loves her and he was only jealous and can she ever forgive him (for the months of cold shoulder and accusations of sleeping around)? Um.... (Actually she instantly says yes. I would've had some questions about his volatile behavior).

The end.

So... as you may have noticed... I really really disliked Duncan. I was prepared to grow to love him as Noramary obeyed the duty of her family... but he was such a big jerk that it was really difficult to do that. I found myself feeling bad for Robert and wishing he and Noramary could've run away together like her cousin and the French tutor. Just everything about this storyline felt so forced and strange. I really tried to go along with it and root for the couple I could tell the book wanted me to root for, but he really made it so difficult!

I think if the plot and characters had been written more realistically, that would've helped a lot. The general premise is pretty interesting, it was just pushed through rather hastily without much logic or rationale. Noramary came across like more of a pushover and Duncan just came across as abusive. I don't think either character really was supposed to be that way, but because they weren't written very deeply, they just ended up feeling very one-note.

All that to say, I don't think I'll read more of this author. This book was somewhat entertaining but I just need more depth and realism from a book. I need the character's actions to make sense and to feel like the logical thing to do (or at least logical from their perspective).

[Karen Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. It was okay. You do nothing but feel sorry for the heroine because all the men around her are complete dolts and need to have their heads knocked together. She sacrifices everything for her family, husband gets jealous without finding out the truth. Ex-fiance puts her in awkward situations and makes it worse. And then all is magically fixed on the last page. All in all, it was quite depressing. Don't think I'll continue the series.

[Alisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

These books are super easy and fast reading, but this one suffered from plot problems in the lack of communication amongst all the family members.
Also...these have clearly been scanned from the hard copy in order to create an ebook, and there are some glaring OCR errors... let's just say it doesn't do much for the atmosphere of the story when the 'c' in fact is replaced by an 'r'.
*juvenile snickering heard from my room*

[Melissa (christianbooksandcoffee) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t really know why this book is rated so low. I really enjoyed it. I loved the main characters and the story. I really like arranged marriage stories. Great Christian content too.

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my all time favorite series.

[Mary Shreffler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noramary has lost her parents and home in England. Luckily her uncle an aunt in Virginia have adopted her and raised her with their daughters. Now they are asking her, since they've moved back to England) to marry Duncan Montrose because there is a contract between the families. Noramary does, leaving her true love behind, but as time goes Noramary falls in love with Duncan. Duncan finds her in Roberts arms and thinks the worst but time also proves Noramary is faithfully loving Duncan

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is a quick way to finish my goodreads goal! The stories are fairly short, so quick reads! Plus great if you like sappy, predictable love stories! It follows a family from generation to generation.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and the heroine, but the hero's implacable resentment makes him far less likeable. His damage to the relationship and her trust would have extended beyond the ability of one small conversation to resolve.

[Norma Boles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put this down. Can't wait to read the next in the series.

[Fanaticmama · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow moving. Nice clean novel.

[Rose | Adventurous Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

pigheaded people

3 stars

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The author paints a vivid picture of colonial life in this flowery romance.

[cribnotesandcliffnotes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this first book. I will say that a big part of the plot is based on a miscommunication which was slightly overplayed, but still wrapped up very well.

[Kayleigh Huneycutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! Wanted more! Very good and hard to put down. Love this time period and romance!

[Kadi Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read! Kept me wanting to read more honestly!!

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved that this was a clean story. The reason for the emotional divide between the couple was believable initially if somebody heard their spouse speaking someone else's name in their sleep but just a little communication could clear that up. On that count, this story was fairly weak. I would add that the love between Dunkin and NormaMary (which is possibly one of the dumbest names) or Robert and her was too underdeveloped to have any emotional ties to it or any investment in what happened to the characters.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first book of the "Brides of Montclair" series, Noramary Marsh marries Duncan Montrose as a "substitute bride" when his fiancee, her cousin, elopes with another man. Although she'd had her own secret plans to marry her childhood sweetheart Robert, she understands it to be her duty to her family to save them from disgrace by fulfilling the promise they made to Duncan: to provide him with a bride. Noramary is determined to put the past behind her and look to her future as the mistress of Montclair, and as Duncan Montrose's wife. She hopes she will find happiness and purpose in her new life.

I'd read the third and fourth books of the "Brides of Montclair" series as a child and adored one of them (the other was a fine book, but I hated the heroine so I couldn't really like it), and was always curious to read more. Finally I did. I would have loved it when I was younger, and, actually, I quite enjoyed it now. It's an interesting story, if perhaps a bit unrealistic--I hope--and although the heroine may be a little too good and too lacking in self-confidence, the characters are well defined. More importantly, this book made me truly feel emotions for and along with the heroine. It genuinely touched me.

It's nice to have books about a romance that don't include anything more graphic than a passionate kiss--not that I'm a prude, but I don't feel like I need to read all the details of someone's sex life. Or maybe I am a prude. Either way, it's nice to not have to deal with it, because it means that what's really important is not the sex, but the love. This is a story about a couple falling in love. There are easy times and hard times, there is happiness and misery, and there is love. It's the kind of thing there should probably be more of.

There was a lot of mention of Christianity and G-d. I could have done without that, but I didn't really mind it. Maybe this was written to be a Christian book (that would explain the lack of sex), although I don't recall there being as much mention of that stuff in the two other "Brides of Montclair" books I'd read as a child--of course, I didn't notice anything Christian about Narnia when I read it as a child either. Regardless, I didn't take it as preachy, because I think it's appropriate for people of that time period to be devout Christians and, moreover, to think about G-d more often than I assume Christians nowadays do.

The only thing that bothered me at all about the book was the fact and the way that slaves were included: the heroine is introduced to the black household staff, who were described as "servants." Presumably this term is a more child-friendly way of introducing the topic, which is in some ways admirable but in other ways a cop-out. I honestly don't know if it would have been better or worse to just call them slaves...I mostly wish that the issue didn't exist at all, but it's an unerasable part of American history. At the time and place that this story takes place, there was obviously slavery, and it would have been unrealistic and unnatural for there not to have been slaves in the story, but it still made me uncomfortable. What made me positively cringe, however, was the accents that the so-called servants spoke it. Again, this may have been realistic, but it was uncomfortable to read.

[ReadKnitHoard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scanning errors ahoy!

You can totally tell that it's a thirty-year-old book. The innocent, physically perfect heroine has suffered because she's so beyootiful. Handsome, rich, perfect hero is quick to anger and slow to forgive. Big Mis—but of course. Old skool at it's old skooliest. No bodice ripping as it's an inspy. The inspy part is mostly Scripture, prayer and morals—totally in place with the time period.

Sweet, brought back memories. This is the sort of book I borrowed from my friends' mothers and read with everyone's approval.

No mention of slavery. Had issues with how the "house servants" talked, but maybe that's just my modern sensibilities

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this audiobook in my collection, forgotten. With no cover photo, it was just something on my list. But when I started it, I was instantly transported! Hearing a book does so much more for the fullness of the characters and the story I think! This ended quite abruptly without the normal, "I hope you have enjoyed this book by Audible" so I'm not sure if I have finished the story or not, but what I listened to was superb! I discovered there is a whole series, so now I will go purchase those as well! Jane Pert is a new author to me, but I look forward to finishing this series and trying other of hers as well!

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. It was definitely an older book than what I usually read but it was amazing. It reminded me a little of the classic book Rebecca that I read a couple years ago. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good historical romance and doesn't mind the way in which older books are written. It was great and I can't wait to read the second book of the series.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this series when I was 15 or so, and then again as a young adult. It is a historical romance series, and it is definitely one of my favorites. I also like that even though it is a romance series, the books are very clean. The series starts with this book, and continues through the generations with all the "Brides of Montclair."

[Meadow Frisbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Beautiful Historicle romance.

[Jaime Belcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read all the bride of montclair with my grandmother a long time ago. They aren't anything special, good clean romance for young girls and old women!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of 15 books in the series, set in the late 1700's on a Virginia plantation. This is a beautiful story!

[Dal]

Its an easy read, with Christian values

[Jaque Mcmorrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

After I read this book. I was hooked I had to read the whole series. I had to find out more about her family and her.

[Penny Simms]

Very moving book.

[Juliet]

Kelly V & her 2nd oldest niece Rithie enjoyed this series. Rachel reads Leviathan & hunger game ones