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::From the back of the book::
When Melinda Colson's employer announces they'll be leaving Bridal Veil Island to return to their home in Cleveland, Melinda hopes her beau, Evan, will propose But Evan isn't prepared to make an offer of marriage until he knows he can support a wife and family. Evan works as the assistant gamekeeper on Bridal Veil but hopes to be promoted soon.
Letters strengthen their love, but Melinda remains frustrated at being apart from the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Then she learns of a devastating hurricane in Bridal Veil and knows she must give up her position as a lady's maid and make her way back to Evan.
The destruction on Bridal Veil is extensive, meaning every available person is needed to help with cleanup and repairs. Melinda finds a new job on the island, but Evan seems even busier that before, meaning she still never gets to see him. Has she given her heart to the wrong man?
And when Melinda overhears a vicious plot against President McKinley, who is scheduled to visit the island, is Evan the one she should turn to? Will Melinda and Evan ever get the chance to stand at the front of a church and promise "to love and cherish"?
::My Thoughts::
I really couldn't get into this book. There are snippets here and there in each chapter that are interesting, but I just wasn't feeling the characters connections with each other. It seemed like I was struggling to stay interested.
Rather than a love that should bond them together it seemed more as if they felt their relationship was a chore. Neither Melinda nor Evan have the urgency to see each other and despite them being busy with their jobs in the story their reunions were never as sweet as you'd expect from two people in love.
I felt as if Melinda wanted Evan purely to save herself because she wanted the married life, and Evan loved Melinda only because of her pushing. And boy oh boy was she pushing.
Melinda was a respectable lady's maid which was a great job historically speaking when you had no parents and were down on your luck. However not really liking her job and wanting nothing more than to marry Evan and become his wife and the mother to his children she quits her job in search of him when she finds out there has been a hurricane.
Evan is a gamekeeper who is not ready to settle down and has enough on his plate working to provide for himself. He cares for Melinda, but knows there is no way he could support a wife and children on his salary.
Toward the end they come to a mutual understanding of each other, but I still didn't feel their connection to one another.
The characters themselves felt real enough, but surprisingly I liked neither Evan nor Melinda. They seemed to set on their own agenda's and just didn't have the passion one expects from a romance novel.
I liked Melinda in the beginning, but by the middle of the novel I was fed up with her constant pushing and whining. Evan was a logical thinker, but too focused on work and not enough on love.
However the historical aspect of this novel was good. Despite being the second book in the Bridal Veil series it was a great stand alone book. You don't at all feel lost or left out. I myself haven't read the first installment in the Bridal Veil series.
If you think this is a book you may be interested in you can read an excerpt below:
To Love and Cherish
This book is available in: Hardcover Paperback Kindle Nook Audible
Disclaimer: I was provided this book for free through Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my unbiased review. Opinions expressed are mine alone.
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