Deeanne Gist wrote a great book that has three full length novels in it. The first one A Bride Most Begrudging starts out in England April 1643 when Lady Constance Morrow went on board a ship that was transporting people that was being deported for crimes and her uncle was on there so she just wanted to tell him goodby, she had no idea that she would get caught up and made to stay on board herself. The ship was on its way to America and the people that survived would be sold as indentured slaves. She was a Lady but was treated as all the others. What was to become of her so far from home and no one believed her since her uncle never survived the trip. Would they believe she was the daughter of a Baron? Or had she done some crime and had been sent away from England as the others?
The next novel is Courting Trouble it takes place in Texas July 1874, with Esther Spreckelmeyer (Essie) was a ten year old little girl that had a mind of her own, Then twenty years later she was still a single woman that could not find a husband, she ever had trouble finding a beau. So she decided she would write down all the single men and write down what was good about them and what was bad. She decided she would go after a young widower with a baby girl that ran a store. She just dressed went in and fairly took over the man's store. She was a good sales person but a man does not like a woman chasing him. Will she win this battle or will she had to give up on the store owner and try to find someone else?

The third novel Deep In The Heart of Trouble starts out in Central Park, New York, June 2, 1898 finds Esther Spreckelmeyer (Essie) still without a man and on her own. A week later in Texas the years had not been good to Norris Tubbs. He had a bad back but he was looking for a wife, and wanted Anna a young woman that her father had told Norris he could marry, but maybe Anna didn't want him. In this novel we find Essie again and with her bicycle club she was still causing trouble. Maybe this time she and Norris will find them a mate.

This books is very large and take a while to read but you get three novels for the price of one, and they all connect to each other. Thanks so much to Baker Publishing for sending me this book for review. ( )