Title: Sixteen Brides

Author: Stephanie Grace Whitson

Publisher: Bethany House 2010

Genre: Romance, Christian

Pages: 350

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Sub-Genre -- Romance, Historical; Women Authors; Library Loan; 52 Books in 52 Weeks -- W20

How I Got It: Library loan

Sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising "prime homesteads" in a "booming community." Unbeknownst to them, the speculator's true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledging community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival!

Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them. These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances--especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be.

After reading the war survival story, I needed something light and fluffy.  Sixteen Brides stepped in and fulfilled my need.  It's a typical Christian historical romance.  There's nothing too surprising here and yet I enjoyed reading it.  Whitson crafts a nice interweaving story of five women finding their places in this new world.  At times the switch from character to character became a bit tiresome.  But overall, I liked hearing from each of the women. We get a nice diverse collection of women.  The men are fairly standard stereotypes, but still pretty good.  As the ending was predictable, I wasn't surprised. And yet, this was just what I needed to have a change of mood.