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Canadian Mounties #2
Mail-Order Sarah
A troop of Mounties secretly send their commander, Dr. John Calloway, a mail-order bride as a prank.
Irresistible Mountie surgeon, John Calloway, is shocked by the pretty woman who appears in his private quarters at Fort Calgary. She claims to be his mail-order bride. But he had nothing to do with sending for a wife, he insists, and would never request one by mail. That method is reserved for desperate men—and women.
Sarah O’Neill is taken aback by the arrogant good-looking surgeon, regardless of his apologies. She naively dreamed of a better life than the one she just escaped, and has another secret reason for coming to the West.
Despite the sizzling chemistry between them, Sarah and John are definitely wrong for each other. Then why does John feel compelled to defend this fascinating and beautiful woman, and shield her from dangerous situations involving the delivery of guns? And why does Sarah keep finding herself in the handsome doctor’s heated embrace? (A steamy Western love story.)
Irresistible Mountie surgeon, John Calloway, is shocked by the pretty woman who appears in his private quarters at Fort Calgary. She claims to be his mail-order bride. But he had nothing to do with sending for a wife, he insists, and would never request one by mail. That method is reserved for desperate men—and women.
Sarah O’Neill is taken aback by the arrogant good-looking surgeon, regardless of his apologies. She naively dreamed of a better life than the one she just escaped, and has another secret reason for coming to the West.
Despite the sizzling chemistry between them, Sarah and John are definitely wrong for each other. Then why does John feel compelled to defend this fascinating and beautiful woman, and shield her from dangerous situations involving the delivery of guns? And why does Sarah keep finding herself in the handsome doctor’s heated embrace? (A steamy Western love story.)
284 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
38 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
About the author
Kate Bridges
62 books66 followersUSA TODAY bestselling and award winning author Kate Bridges loves writing western historical romance and YA fiction. For research, she loves to travel to such faraway places as the Yukon, the Rocky Mountains, and London, England. Published worldwide, she’s been honored with Reviewers’ Choice awards and Top Picks on reader websites. When she’s away from her computer, you might find Kate with her family, canoeing the lakes or hiking the trails in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 19, 2021
The surgeon ganó el premio RT (Romantic Times) 2003 a la mejor novela romántica del Oeste, solo que no es el de EE. UU. sino el de Canadá. Tópico: novia por correspondencia. Los subordinados de John Calloway, médico de la Policía Montada, le han encargado novia, y él no se cosca hasta que encuentra a una desconocida en su habitación. Como no tiene intención de casarse, espera que ella dé media vuelta y se largue de Calgary. Sarah se niega, alquila una habitación y busca trabajo. Cuando la reputación de Sarah acaba comprometida, la solución es el matrimonio. Pasarán buena parte del libro enfurruñados el uno con el otro. John es un arrogante que está acostumbrado a hacer las cosas a su manera. Sarah guarda sus secretos, pero intenta ser buena esposa para John. Son personajes bastante creíbles. No se conocen, tienen pasados muy diferentes, desconfían el uno del otro y no se comunican muy bien. Dentro de lo que es un Harlequin Internacional, merece la pena, con sus momentos de humor y otros de atracción física. En su momento, la valoré 7/10. Aquí la redondeo a 3 estrellas.
February 15, 2019
Not much original work but a sweet story.
June 10, 2008
Inspired by a true incident... Alberta, 1889. Intending to play a harmless prank, a troop of Mountie officers order their stern commander, Chief Surgeon John Calloway, a mail-order bride. Sarah O'Neill travels two thousand miles across the continent only to discover the man she thought she was corresponding with and the new life she was looking forward to is all a hoax.´
Another marriage of convenience story this one starts with a mail order bride gone wrong. Meaning the mail order bride was contacted by the groom's friends and he doesn't know anything about her till she arrives at his doorstep. The town's gossips who prevent her from getting a job and settling down lead them to marry to save her reputation.
It was my first read by Kate Bridges and it was nice. It had an interesting set of characters, a bit of a mystery and a nice love story. I'm afraid I never really did warm up to the hero. She does mention he sees everything black and white in the beginning and then changes but to the change didn't really convince me. I wanted to follow him through the mental process of that change and not just be presented with the outcome.
The setting is really original and so was using the mounted police has characters.
Grade: B-
Another marriage of convenience story this one starts with a mail order bride gone wrong. Meaning the mail order bride was contacted by the groom's friends and he doesn't know anything about her till she arrives at his doorstep. The town's gossips who prevent her from getting a job and settling down lead them to marry to save her reputation.
It was my first read by Kate Bridges and it was nice. It had an interesting set of characters, a bit of a mystery and a nice love story. I'm afraid I never really did warm up to the hero. She does mention he sees everything black and white in the beginning and then changes but to the change didn't really convince me. I wanted to follow him through the mental process of that change and not just be presented with the outcome.
The setting is really original and so was using the mounted police has characters.
Grade: B-
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October 8, 2009I got over halfway through this book before I gave up. I really enjoy the author's writing (as a matter of fact, just ordered her latest from Harlequin) but this story just didn't do it.
All was OK until the Big Misunderstanding. I mean, Sarah couldn't bring herself to tell John about her brother because she's not sure she can trust him, yet she has hot sex with him??? After that I just didn't care.
I sincerely hope the next Kate Bridges book I read will be better, or I should say, have a better story.
All was OK until the Big Misunderstanding. I mean, Sarah couldn't bring herself to tell John about her brother because she's not sure she can trust him, yet she has hot sex with him??? After that I just didn't care.
I sincerely hope the next Kate Bridges book I read will be better, or I should say, have a better story.
May 14, 2023
I was looking for something different than the normal London ballrooms and games. I opt for Westerns a lot when I need to switch it up a little and this one was different in that it was a western but set in Canada. Our hero is a Mountie/surgeon and our heroine is a mail-order bride. The perfect combination, I guess only the book just didn't fire on all cylinders for me.
John is a surgeon with the Mounted Police in Calgary. His men ordered him the bride as a prank and he didn't want to get married even though he was 40 years old. It didn't take him long to come around and realize that maybe having a wife and some children wouldn't be such a bad thing. He just didn't want it with a mail-order bride that he didn't know and with whom his men had corresponded under the guise of being him. I can see why he was against it.
As for Sarah, she was a mail-order bride out of desperation. Of course, she was humiliated when she discovered that she'd been horribly used as a joke on a man and was determined to never marry John Calloway. He was a doctor and a cop and he never saw shades of gray and didn't seem like the forgiving type. But she is on a quest to find her brother and somehow the trail led to Calgary. At one time, he was a pickpocket and a thief and when she told John that her cousin was a bit of a criminal when she was actually talking about her brother and he told her the guy should be in jail, she commenced her search in secret. She didn't want her brother to go to jail.
It was a good story and had steamy scenes, a surprise considering how old this book is. I just didn't like John Calloway all that much. I didn't like that he was a doctor AND a lawman and even had his own regiment, it seemed. He had men under him and at his beck and call. I think the story would've been better for me if he'd been a surgeon OR a police officer. Maybe they could be both back then. I don't know. I'm not up on my Canadian Mountie history.
As for Sarah, I understand why she kept the information from John about her brother, but the way she kept secrets made their relationship contentious and unstable. He was just as much to blame as she was because he was so quick to pass judgment without all the facts. She didn't feel that she could go to him.
Regardless, this was a pretty good read and I'm currently reading the next book in the series.
John is a surgeon with the Mounted Police in Calgary. His men ordered him the bride as a prank and he didn't want to get married even though he was 40 years old. It didn't take him long to come around and realize that maybe having a wife and some children wouldn't be such a bad thing. He just didn't want it with a mail-order bride that he didn't know and with whom his men had corresponded under the guise of being him. I can see why he was against it.
As for Sarah, she was a mail-order bride out of desperation. Of course, she was humiliated when she discovered that she'd been horribly used as a joke on a man and was determined to never marry John Calloway. He was a doctor and a cop and he never saw shades of gray and didn't seem like the forgiving type. But she is on a quest to find her brother and somehow the trail led to Calgary. At one time, he was a pickpocket and a thief and when she told John that her cousin was a bit of a criminal when she was actually talking about her brother and he told her the guy should be in jail, she commenced her search in secret. She didn't want her brother to go to jail.
It was a good story and had steamy scenes, a surprise considering how old this book is. I just didn't like John Calloway all that much. I didn't like that he was a doctor AND a lawman and even had his own regiment, it seemed. He had men under him and at his beck and call. I think the story would've been better for me if he'd been a surgeon OR a police officer. Maybe they could be both back then. I don't know. I'm not up on my Canadian Mountie history.
As for Sarah, I understand why she kept the information from John about her brother, but the way she kept secrets made their relationship contentious and unstable. He was just as much to blame as she was because he was so quick to pass judgment without all the facts. She didn't feel that she could go to him.
Regardless, this was a pretty good read and I'm currently reading the next book in the series.
December 31, 2018
I bought this worn paperback from my local used book store years ago when I was really in my romance novel reading phase. I shelved it and forgot about it. As I was getting ready for bed last night I wanted a light book to read and so I just grabbed it and settled into my pillows.
I read this book in five hours, staying up until four in the morning because I just didn't want to put it down. I had to read the next chapter, and the next, and the next and so on until I was suddenly reading the epilog.
This is your classic western romance but I adore the fact it's in western Canada. I liked the characters, I love the extreme sexual tension between the characters. It held my attention and was written well. I'm currently ordering the next book in the mountie series because I'm now obsessed.
I read this book in five hours, staying up until four in the morning because I just didn't want to put it down. I had to read the next chapter, and the next, and the next and so on until I was suddenly reading the epilog.
This is your classic western romance but I adore the fact it's in western Canada. I liked the characters, I love the extreme sexual tension between the characters. It held my attention and was written well. I'm currently ordering the next book in the mountie series because I'm now obsessed.
December 13, 2021
Bien... Pero mal. Habia leído hace muy poco "Corazón malherido" y me gustó, por lo que esperaba más de este. Sin embargo se quedó corto. Los personajes no me llegaron nunca, ni se resuelve de forma orgánica sino que el cambio en el protagonista masculino es "mágico"; de la noche a la mañana su concepto sobre el bien y el mal cambia radicalmente. Pasa de ser alguien que ve las acciones de las personas en blanco o negro a considerar los tonos de gris y pasar por alto conductas criminales que antes, por mínimas que fueran, consideraba deplorables y merecian ser castigados por la ley.
Tampoco me agrada que Jhon trate a Sarah como si fuera un soldado más tomando decisiones sobre la vida de ella o de ambos sin consultarle y ni se de cuenta de que eso está mal. Algo a lo que se da mucha importancia en cierto momento para luego desaparecer de escena y nunca se soluciona ni se menciona.
Tampoco me agrada que Jhon trate a Sarah como si fuera un soldado más tomando decisiones sobre la vida de ella o de ambos sin consultarle y ni se de cuenta de que eso está mal. Algo a lo que se da mucha importancia en cierto momento para luego desaparecer de escena y nunca se soluciona ni se menciona.
April 3, 2020
Good historical novel, taking place in Calgary in the late 1800's. Strong characters.
August 28, 2021
Este libro lo compre hace 2 años, me salio como en $10 un ultra cliché pero interesante y palomero, osea esta bien para el rato. O como para un bloqueo lector podría servir.
March 19, 2024
⭐️3.5
John was getting on my nerves
John was getting on my nerves
December 28, 2020
Entertaining
Another good story in this Mounties brides series. Doctor John Calloway's fellow officers in the NWMP play a prank on him and send for a mail order bride on his behalf. His surprise on discovering a woman in his room who claims to be his future wife , leads to his initial rejection of her.
Sarah's reputation is now at stake. Rejected by John, she refuses to return to her former home. She is searching for someone and with dignity manages to put up with her tarnished reputation and rejection by others as she searches for a job. Taking pity on her, John proposes marriage anyway, but has to learn what an asset she can be to him.I
Will they work their relationship out and find a HEA?
Another good story in this Mounties brides series. Doctor John Calloway's fellow officers in the NWMP play a prank on him and send for a mail order bride on his behalf. His surprise on discovering a woman in his room who claims to be his future wife , leads to his initial rejection of her.
Sarah's reputation is now at stake. Rejected by John, she refuses to return to her former home. She is searching for someone and with dignity manages to put up with her tarnished reputation and rejection by others as she searches for a job. Taking pity on her, John proposes marriage anyway, but has to learn what an asset she can be to him.I
Will they work their relationship out and find a HEA?
August 13, 2007
I can't quite believe I'm adding this. LOL It came up when I was looking for frontier stories, and I couldn't resist. He's a Mountie! So I basically went through the book picturing Paul Gross at every turn - but with Geoffrey Tennant hair. *g* Hard to turn your nose up at that.
Oh, and the plot was strong and the characters actually grew and evolved and were quite interesting in their own right. I was pleasantly surprised on that front. I didn't even cringe once while reading it.
Oh, and the plot was strong and the characters actually grew and evolved and were quite interesting in their own right. I was pleasantly surprised on that front. I didn't even cringe once while reading it.
October 7, 2023
Good story. Interesting premise. The Canadian Mounties background was a nice change of pace. A marriage of convenience story between two people who don't trust each other but still manage to have wall banging sex. Hey it could happen. Anyway they manage to overcome some rather large bumps in the road and still wind up at their hea. A soft 4
May 11, 2021
A mail order bride that was almost a return.
I really loved this story. Women took quite a chance being a mail -order brides in the wild west and Canada. Sarah shows everyone that she has the strength of heart to make it in Calgary. I loved her story with no nonsense John. You will love their story.Enjoy!
I really loved this story. Women took quite a chance being a mail -order brides in the wild west and Canada. Sarah shows everyone that she has the strength of heart to make it in Calgary. I loved her story with no nonsense John. You will love their story.Enjoy!
October 25, 2015
Una historia maravillosa de esas qué te hacen sentir mil emociones. Aunque sentí el final demasiado rápido es una historia que vale la pena leer. La historia se desarrolla en el viejo oeste así que si les gusta este género adelante es muy buena opción.
November 20, 2016
The first story in this series was ok, but I was disappointed in this book. None of the characters acted in character...or even as if they were from the right CENTURY. Will give this series one more chance based on book one...
May 12, 2014
Historical Romance -- Mounties/Alaska
August 21, 2011
I enjoyed this novel. It was a nice simple read. I'm enjoying Kate Bridges' work & plan to read more of her books. I'm usually not a fan of western romance novels, but so far I'm enjoying these.
December 12, 2012
I really liked this one. H/H were great. Predictable romance story but I didn't worry about that, it was just what I wanted.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews