Reviews

Marrying Off Morgan McBride by Amy Barry

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shelbymarie516's review against another edition

5.0

I feel like this one was spicier but not as sweet. I might like the first one not in spite of but because of its closed door romance/slow burn.

abbyluvsfrogs444's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was so much fun. I loved it so much. I have such a soft spot for cowboy romance and this one lived up to my expectations. I saw a lot of myself in Pip and Junebug. They both made me laugh so much. The whole McBride family is so kind and funny and I had the time of my life reading about them. My type of man are the golden retriever types, not the black cat, and Morgan was absolutely a black cat. That being said, I had a hard time liking him and his bull-headed ways. But as the book went on, I understood him a lot better and even started to root for him. I'm glad he wasn't a fool and actually married Pip in the end cause I swear, I was not having his stubbornness throughout the book. But he learned to be better, as did Pip and in my head, they live happily ever after, after having about eight kids, of course.

gmay11's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

crazyylizard's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

lynguy1's review against another edition

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4.0

Marrying Off Morgan McBride by Amy Barry is a historical romance that combines romance and humor in a historical western setting. It’s 1887 in Buck’s Creek, Montana where Junebug lives with her four older brothers: Morgan, Kit, Beau, and Jonah as well as Kit’s wife. The four brothers believe everything is fine, but Junebug is tired of cleaning, cooking, mending, and the animals. She decides she needs help and that help should be a wife for one of the brothers. In this sequel, the focus is on Morgan McBride, the oldest of the siblings. He’s been taking care of the family since their mother died and father left. He longs to roam the trail again. Epiphany Hopgood seems to be looking at spinsterhood when she answers an ad for a mail-order bride. However, when she and her grandmother show up on Buck’s Creek, she finds Morgan isn’t what she expected. In fact, he doesn’t even want to be a husband.

The characterization was terrific in this novel. The McBride family, Epiphany, and Granny Colfax come alive on the pages, as do a few of the tertiary characters. Often their natures are shown using action versus purely through explanatory descriptions. Morgan and Epiphany are dynamic characters responding to the events as they unfolded. Both experienced changes in their outlooks. However, Junebug was the highlight character of the book for me. She’s fifteen and has been raised by her brothers with little exposure to other women.

While the plot is straightforward, the book is full of laugh-out-loud humor as well as some somber and emotional moments with characters. I moved effortlessly through the story as hidden emotions and feelings are revealed. Both Morgan and Epiphany come to terms with things that have been kept quiet. The world-building was great and the author captured the cultural lifestyles and portrayed them well.

While I didn’t learn anything new from a historical point, this story had some profound themes imbedded in it that added to its depths. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and spending time with the McBride family again.

Overall, this was an entertaining, heartwarming, and funny novel. It has a great setting and extraordinary characters. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Berkley Publishing Group and Amy Barry provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for May 30, 2023.