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Secrets of the Heart: Kathleen O'Malley Stallworth a mail order bride? Not likely! But the Lord works in mysterious ways. Her parents and siblings died in the great Chicago fire; her husband was killed by a mugger; now her fabulously wealthy in-laws have taken her daughter Megan from her, claiming she's not fit to be a mother. In a newspaper ad for a mail order bride, Kathleen sees a chance to seek revenge on the Stallworth family. Instead, her westward adventure transforms her world and restores her faith. She returns to Chicago to fight for Megan but soon discovers God has prepared a victory she could never have imagined. A Time to Love: At the altar Linda Forrest discovers her fiancee has eloped -- with her own sister! Starting a new life as a mail order bride she finds her husband has a sinister secret, but that no danger can place her beyond God's love.

This was a well written story set in the 1800s, when mail order brides were a common thing. As the authors state in the front of their book, "we'll tell stories that will grip the heart of the reader, bring some smiles, and maybe wring out some tears. As always, we will weave in the gospel of Jesus Christ and run threads of Bible truth that apply to our lives today". I feel they did just that in this first book in the 'Mail Order Bride' series.

The story will start in Chicago, but will eventually take you out West. Kathleen in the main character in this story and she will fall on very hard and sad times; and times when you just want to scream at some of the evil people in this story. But her eventual plans for revenge on those who stole her young daughter from her, will turn into a story of redemption, forgiveness and seeing God bring all things together for her good at the end of the story. She will go from rags to riches and through it all you will weep with her and rejoice with her. I liked how the author told this story from two different places in the country and different people going through different struggles at the same time and how they brought these people together as you watched how the Lord worked in each of their circumstances. Good job, looking forward to reading more. ( )