The Maverick's Bride

I just finished reading The Maverick's Bride by Catherine Palmer. On our recent trip to PA, Grandma gave me a pile of easy reading, fluffy, romantic books. :) She knows I like to read. It was a pile of like 8 books and I read 2 of them while we were there. They must think I'm anti-social the way I buckle down and read every time we're there. This book took me less than a week at home. And if I had nothing to do, I could read one in a day. I enjoyed this one and the story was surprisingly well developed for a 272 page book. I even wished it was a little longer!

The Maverick's Bride is about Emma Pickering's desire to follow God's calling to be a nurse in East Africa in 1898 despite her father's disapproval, her needy younger sister and her heart's tug towards rugged, mysterious, American, cowboy, Adam King. Spoiler Alert: if you want to read this book and not know the details stop reading here. But seriously, you can guess how it turns out based on the cover picture and the back cover description. :)

What I loved most about this book was Emma's character. She was a woman with a calling from God to be a nurse. But in that day, she was expected to be a proper young lady whose only goal was to find a good husband. She was faced with the added pressure of keeping tabs on her flighty younger sister, Cissy and keeping them both out of their strict father's way. Their mother passed away when they were young girls and it turned their father into an unhappy man. Mr. Pickering was a British railroad man and they were all headed to East Africa to beat the Germans in a railroad race inland. Upon arrival, Cissy was broken hearted to be separated from Dirk, the German solider she fell in love with on the ship; they were bombarded with reports of lions attacking the railroad workers; and they crossed paths with Adam King. The railroad foreman Nicholas Bond, immediately informed Emma that Mr. King was a loose cannon with a bad reputation. And Mr. Bond also made it clear that he intended to please her father and marry her. But when Emma broke her father's rules to help a sick child, Adam was there to help. At the first railroad stop on their journey inland, Emma realized Mr. King was following her and she didn't want to admit her attraction to him. That night there was a lion attack and when Cissy disappeared because she thought she heard Dirk calling to her, Emma took off to find her in the wild Savannah. Thankfully Emma was rescued by a local tribe and Adam King. Mr. Pickering died unexpectedly because of all the chaos and Emma married Adam to access her sizable inheritance so she could continue searching for her sister.
The rest of the story is about Emma's struggle to find her sister, follow God's calling to be a nurse and fight her attraction to Adam. I don't think I have to tell you that it all turns out after a few twists and turns. If you're looking for a quick, enjoyable read try The Maverick's Bride! :) I recommend it.