Reviews for Christmas Bride

Marion Kelley Bullock

Louise Crenshaw:

I just finished reading Christmas Bride and I just love it.

christianbooks.com team:

A sweet and charming romance.

Brenda Talley, Mainstream Romance:

Two sisters look alike. Their personalities are direct opposites. Cassandra is a spoiled, needy young lady. Sue-Ellen is down-to-earth and cares about people. When Cassie jilted her fiancé, Ethan, a soldier at Fort Clark, Texas, Sue-Ellen couldn't bear for him to be treated so shabbily. She made the treacherous journey by stage coach from their elegant home to the lonely, secluded, Indian, and robber infested area of Fort Clark.

Quite an eventful journey behind her, Sue-Ellen had lost everything—clothes, money, everything she travelled with except her life. Ethan had just been sent away on a mission so she had no choice but to take a job as waitress to try to earn enough money to make her return trip. Making the trip was scary; living in Fort Clark was strenuous. Then when Ethan returned, and Cassie arrived, things got even more interesting.

Ms. Marion Kelley Bullock has written a fun, quick-paced book about a historical situation that was very interesting. Her characters were fresh, interesting, and quite unique. They were as real as personal friends could be. Reading the book was almost like living through the situation. Her secondary characters were well-developed and complimentary to each other.

I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to others. This is a book which can be read by anyone of any age. That's refreshing to be able to recommend it to young adults as well.

Diane Craver:

I had already read and enjoyed reading "Christmas Stranger and "Secrets of Old Santa Fe" by Marion Kelley Bullock, so I looked forward to reading her December release, "Christmas Bride." I was not disappointed and thoroughly enjoyed reading this historical romance. I liked how the heroine, Sue-Ellen Grayson, grew throughout the book. In the beginning, she was kind but pampered by her well-do parents and maid, Prudie. Right away in Chapter One, we feel Sue-Ellen's frustration with her spoiled sister, Cassandra. She can't believe that engaged Cassie doesn't even have the decency to call her wedding off to the handsome Major Ethan Hartley, but instead plans to elope with an artist named Umberto. Although Sue-Ellen tries to talk some sense into Cassie, she refuses to let the Major know that their engagement is broken.

Shy Sue-Ellen convinces her parents to let her travel by stagecoach from San Antonio to Fort Clark to tell Ethan in person. She thinks just sending a letter is too cruel, but she is unaware of the dangers facing her in traveling by stagecoach through the turbulent country. Indians, high river waters, stagecoach robbers, and motherless children are just some of the things Sue-Ellen has to learn to deal with while traveling to deliver her news. Sue-Ellen rises to her harsh circumstances with a strength that she never thought she had.

I loved how Sue-Ellen's character developed throughout "Christmas Bride." I enjoyed reading how she adapted to each new hardship with a willingness to learn. I highly recommend this sweet but exciting historical romance.

A Sweet and Charming Romance!