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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
2.5
3.5 for premise and lead in, 2 for execution.
Interesting insights at times, but written in a way that disrupted from flow of the story.
3.5 for premise and lead in, 2 for execution.
Interesting insights at times, but written in a way that disrupted from flow of the story.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, War
Minor: Infidelity
The Marriage Pact is the first in the Brides of Bliss County by Linda Lael Miller. She introduces us to three friends who form a pact to watch out for and aid each other in finding their one true love.
The Marriage Pact introduces us to the folks of Bliss County. She shares a friends to lovers, little sister trope that will leave readers with a smile. Miller brings this small town to life from the local dinner to ranch life. I can just see Hadleigh’s quilt shop and the local feed store.
Hadleigh Stevens almost made the biggest mistake of her life when Tripp Galloway her older brother’s best friend swooped in and stopped her. Ten years have gone by, and Hadleigh has grown up. Along with her friends she looking for Mr. Right when Tripp returns to town. In this tale, Hadleigh needs to address her own feelings towards Tripp. She needs to overcome loss and address her fears. With the help of her friends, she just might find her happy. I enjoyed the dynamics of the three friends and their get-togethers. Their friendship and dreams felt genuine.
Tripp left the big city to return to his roots, help his ailing father and find peace. After a failed marriage that left him feeling scorned he is not looking for a wife. Only problem is.. When had Hadleigh grown into a woman? Tripp is confident, smart, and a good son but when it comes to interacting with Hadleigh, he is a tongue-tied teen again. I enjoyed watching them interact and giggled at his awkwardness.
The Marriage Pact shares small town dynamics, close-knit friends and ranch life with a slow-building romance. The story delivered sweet tension as Miller moves us towards our HEA. I enjoyed the story although Hadleigh and Trip did not engage me as much as her previous characters. I am curious about Hadleigh’s friends, and Miller has hinted at things to come. The Marriage Pact was a solid read that entertained me. The next two books will feature her friends and more of Bliss county.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer
The Marriage Pact introduces us to the folks of Bliss County. She shares a friends to lovers, little sister trope that will leave readers with a smile. Miller brings this small town to life from the local dinner to ranch life. I can just see Hadleigh’s quilt shop and the local feed store.
Hadleigh Stevens almost made the biggest mistake of her life when Tripp Galloway her older brother’s best friend swooped in and stopped her. Ten years have gone by, and Hadleigh has grown up. Along with her friends she looking for Mr. Right when Tripp returns to town. In this tale, Hadleigh needs to address her own feelings towards Tripp. She needs to overcome loss and address her fears. With the help of her friends, she just might find her happy. I enjoyed the dynamics of the three friends and their get-togethers. Their friendship and dreams felt genuine.
Tripp left the big city to return to his roots, help his ailing father and find peace. After a failed marriage that left him feeling scorned he is not looking for a wife. Only problem is.. When had Hadleigh grown into a woman? Tripp is confident, smart, and a good son but when it comes to interacting with Hadleigh, he is a tongue-tied teen again. I enjoyed watching them interact and giggled at his awkwardness.
The Marriage Pact shares small town dynamics, close-knit friends and ranch life with a slow-building romance. The story delivered sweet tension as Miller moves us towards our HEA. I enjoyed the story although Hadleigh and Trip did not engage me as much as her previous characters. I am curious about Hadleigh’s friends, and Miller has hinted at things to come. The Marriage Pact was a solid read that entertained me. The next two books will feature her friends and more of Bliss county.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer
3.75 stars!
Great chemistry, loved the Wyoming setting and a really nice main character/father relationship.
Bonus: GREAT group of girlfriends!
Full review to come!
Great chemistry, loved the Wyoming setting and a really nice main character/father relationship.
Bonus: GREAT group of girlfriends!
Full review to come!
This book bored me. I'm not sure I would have finished it if it weren't the only audio book I had on my phone to listen to. I think there are much better books by this author.
I never used to like westerns.... They were as foreign to me as, say, sheikhs in the desert to American folks. Never understood the appeal or even the concept around cowboy lifestyle...
Until I read Linda Lael Miller! And with every book, she gets me more and more enthralled into the world of modern westerns and hot cowboys she writes about.
The Marriage Pact is no exception - a very good read. Light and fresh and breezy (and totaly fluff, yes! Just perfect!), the read just runs by you. I sat down with this one and finished it in one afternoon. Didn't see the pages going along, and then Ms. Miller puts you so well into the POV of Hadleigh and Tripp that you feel like you're right there with them, so blink away and the book is read, and you've been on a lovely journey along the trip.
I loved Hadleigh. Some might say the resentment she held for Tripp might've seemed childish, but I could totally see where she was coming from - Tripp being Mr. High & Mighty on that day when he abducted her from her wedding. Never mind that Oakley was a douchebag; it's the principle of the matter that matters, and Tripp showed his true colours that day and Hadleigh cannot forget or forgive.
Then you get to see that she has actually grown up, and she shows this in the most delicious manner possible in the story, when she acknowledges that she's always loved Tripp and that whatever happened took place for the best, that maybe it was destiny....
Tripp - well, that's the stuff heroes are made of *grin*
A beautiful, lovely little read to while away an afternoon or that morning at the beach or poolside. I'm eager for the next books in this series now - what a nice way to start off The Bride of Bliss County
Until I read Linda Lael Miller! And with every book, she gets me more and more enthralled into the world of modern westerns and hot cowboys she writes about.
The Marriage Pact is no exception - a very good read. Light and fresh and breezy (and totaly fluff, yes! Just perfect!), the read just runs by you. I sat down with this one and finished it in one afternoon. Didn't see the pages going along, and then Ms. Miller puts you so well into the POV of Hadleigh and Tripp that you feel like you're right there with them, so blink away and the book is read, and you've been on a lovely journey along the trip.
I loved Hadleigh. Some might say the resentment she held for Tripp might've seemed childish, but I could totally see where she was coming from - Tripp being Mr. High & Mighty on that day when he abducted her from her wedding. Never mind that Oakley was a douchebag; it's the principle of the matter that matters, and Tripp showed his true colours that day and Hadleigh cannot forget or forgive.
Then you get to see that she has actually grown up, and she shows this in the most delicious manner possible in the story, when she acknowledges that she's always loved Tripp and that whatever happened took place for the best, that maybe it was destiny....
Tripp - well, that's the stuff heroes are made of *grin*
A beautiful, lovely little read to while away an afternoon or that morning at the beach or poolside. I'm eager for the next books in this series now - what a nice way to start off The Bride of Bliss County
Ten years ago Tripp Galoway rode into town and stole Hadleigh from the altar where she was about to say her “I dos.” Then he took to her to local burger joint where he broker her heart. He was warned “ She’s going to be mighty hurt and mad as a wildcat with all four paws caught in a vat of molasses.” Ten years have passed and he’s back in town to stay with his stepfather and help run the ranch. He sold everything, picked up his dog and is going back to a life he missed more than he thought.
His Stepfather had been fighting an illness that left the farm in shambles. Tripp quickly gets on the repair and rebuild schedule. This keeps him busy while he tries not to focus on a certain girl who is not a girl anymore and doesn't much like him anyway. He is a nice guy who took a wrong path but finally can see the way to go again.
Hadleigh has been running her own business and has been very successful. She has two great friends who have done the same. They all council each other while they make a pact to help each other find husbands. They will make a charm for each one as she ties the knot. She is a good person, kind and loving to her community, somebody you can’t help but admire.
There are horses, dogs, girlfriends, country rides, happy moments galore. this is a total feel good read, light breezy and yes a bit predictable but so worth the journey with these two. The side characters are fabulous and I look forward to seeing their charms added to the bracelets.
His Stepfather had been fighting an illness that left the farm in shambles. Tripp quickly gets on the repair and rebuild schedule. This keeps him busy while he tries not to focus on a certain girl who is not a girl anymore and doesn't much like him anyway. He is a nice guy who took a wrong path but finally can see the way to go again.
Hadleigh has been running her own business and has been very successful. She has two great friends who have done the same. They all council each other while they make a pact to help each other find husbands. They will make a charm for each one as she ties the knot. She is a good person, kind and loving to her community, somebody you can’t help but admire.
There are horses, dogs, girlfriends, country rides, happy moments galore. this is a total feel good read, light breezy and yes a bit predictable but so worth the journey with these two. The side characters are fabulous and I look forward to seeing their charms added to the bracelets.
Good book. Hadleigh still holds a bit of a grudge against Tripp for the way he interfered in her wedding ten years earlier. She realizes that he had saved her from making a mistake, but his methods were quite embarrassing. Now she and her two best friends are still single, so they form a pact to help and support each other in finding their mates. Hadleigh is ready to move on when Tripp returns and throws her plans into disarray.
Tripp has come back home to stay. He left home to go to college, then joined the military, later starting his own flight service. He had a very brief mistake of a marriage that ended almost as soon as it began. After finding out that his father is ill and needs help on the ranch, Tripp sells his business and comes home. One of the things he wants to do is repair his relationship with Hadleigh, his best friend's little sister. He feels badly about the way he handled things all those years ago.
Though their reunion was a little rocky, I liked the fact that they were adult enough to talk to each other and clear the air. It was interesting to see that, after some truthful looking at herself, Hadleigh realized she'd been a bit in love with Tripp for most of her life. It had started when she tagged along after him and her brother as a kid, became a teenage crush later on, but matured a little after her brother's death. Her realization of why she had agreed to marry another man stuns her, and has her rethinking her grudge against Tripp. Discovering that she's more attracted to him than ever puts a crimp in her plans to find Mr. Right.
Tripp accepted long ago that he hadn't handled stopping Hadleigh's wedding very well at all. He hasn't been able to forget her, even though she was his best friend's little sister. Seeing her again makes him realize that Hadleigh is who he wants to spend the rest of his life with. The trouble is trying to convince her. Since he is back home to stay, he is determined to be patient and find ways to show her that they belong together.
I liked watching them get to know each other again. Tripp is trying to be patient, but the chemistry between them is pretty hot. Hadleigh started out just wanting to get over her old crush on Tripp, but comes to accept that her feelings for him are real. She just doesn't want to risk another rejection by him, so she keeps her feelings to herself, even after their attraction takes off. I loved seeing her finally accept that their feelings were real and would last.
I also enjoyed the secondary stories and characters throughout the book. I loved seeing Tripp come home and how he was reconnecting with his stepfather. Though Tripp had been away for a long time, the need for his home had never stopped. It was great to see the two men together, and I loved their reminisces about when Tripp was a kid. Jim's love for Tripp's mother was also evident, and it had been a great example of what he wants for himself. I loved the bits with his dog and how it exposed another side of Tripp. The friendship between Hadleigh and her friends was great. I loved their pact and the way they supported each other. Their friendship also made them able to be brutally honest with each other, even when it caused problems. I also liked that they were able to deal with their problems in a realistic way. I'm really looking forward to the other two stories.
Tripp has come back home to stay. He left home to go to college, then joined the military, later starting his own flight service. He had a very brief mistake of a marriage that ended almost as soon as it began. After finding out that his father is ill and needs help on the ranch, Tripp sells his business and comes home. One of the things he wants to do is repair his relationship with Hadleigh, his best friend's little sister. He feels badly about the way he handled things all those years ago.
Though their reunion was a little rocky, I liked the fact that they were adult enough to talk to each other and clear the air. It was interesting to see that, after some truthful looking at herself, Hadleigh realized she'd been a bit in love with Tripp for most of her life. It had started when she tagged along after him and her brother as a kid, became a teenage crush later on, but matured a little after her brother's death. Her realization of why she had agreed to marry another man stuns her, and has her rethinking her grudge against Tripp. Discovering that she's more attracted to him than ever puts a crimp in her plans to find Mr. Right.
Tripp accepted long ago that he hadn't handled stopping Hadleigh's wedding very well at all. He hasn't been able to forget her, even though she was his best friend's little sister. Seeing her again makes him realize that Hadleigh is who he wants to spend the rest of his life with. The trouble is trying to convince her. Since he is back home to stay, he is determined to be patient and find ways to show her that they belong together.
I liked watching them get to know each other again. Tripp is trying to be patient, but the chemistry between them is pretty hot. Hadleigh started out just wanting to get over her old crush on Tripp, but comes to accept that her feelings for him are real. She just doesn't want to risk another rejection by him, so she keeps her feelings to herself, even after their attraction takes off. I loved seeing her finally accept that their feelings were real and would last.
I also enjoyed the secondary stories and characters throughout the book. I loved seeing Tripp come home and how he was reconnecting with his stepfather. Though Tripp had been away for a long time, the need for his home had never stopped. It was great to see the two men together, and I loved their reminisces about when Tripp was a kid. Jim's love for Tripp's mother was also evident, and it had been a great example of what he wants for himself. I loved the bits with his dog and how it exposed another side of Tripp. The friendship between Hadleigh and her friends was great. I loved their pact and the way they supported each other. Their friendship also made them able to be brutally honest with each other, even when it caused problems. I also liked that they were able to deal with their problems in a realistic way. I'm really looking forward to the other two stories.