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    Sixteen Brides
    Sixteen Brides
    Sixteen Brides
    Audiobook14 hours

    Sixteen Brides

    Written by Stephanie Grace Whitson

    Narrated by Ruth Ann Phimister

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    In Sixteen Brides by Christy Award finalist Stephanie Grace Whitson, Civil War widows living in St. Louis are lured west by promises of prime homesteads in a booming community. When the unsuspecting women arrive at Plum Grove, Nebraska, sparks fly as they meet bachelors convinced they've come to marry them. The widows will need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances-especially since appearances are so deceiving.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 17, 2010
    ISBN9781449837082

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    Reviews for Sixteen Brides

    4/5

    95 ratings22 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Better written than many books in this genre, but the story didn't particularly grab me.
    • 4/5
      Historically, this book covers the post Civil War era when many people's lives had changed dramatically, internally and externally, and were looking for a way to refocus and find hope again. I liked the bridge shown between the Eastern States involved in the Civil War, and the Mid-Western States being formed from people relocating. For the most part, the setting and little historical bits felt natural, if not altogether accurate (Harvard was founded in 1636, not 1650--a somewhat inconsequential yet puzzling mistake).I enjoyed the personalities of the different characters (don't worry, there weren't actually 16 brides to follow) and how their stories developed, even though I was initially a bit skeptical about how the author was going to be able to develop so many characters. I'm not really sure why "tiny waists" needed to be mentioned quite so many times, but as that was one of the very few things to distract me from the story, I can't complain much.This is a very heartwarming book without too much romance or preaching. Somewhat idealistic in that all of the major problems and conflict happened before the story even began and were all resolved perfectly in the end. Definitely a feel-good story, but for being heartwarming, encouraging, idealistic and romantic I think it hit it's mark.
    • 4/5
      historical western Christian romance. Sixteen women, with hopes of an independent future, sign on with Mr Drake fo the be on the Ladies Emigration Train from St Louis to Nebraska. On an overnight stop in Plum Grove Nebraska, six of them figure out that Mr Drake is selling them as brides in the next town, so they refuse to continue on and instead set up homesteading outside of Plum Grove. Their idea of how to situate the sod house is ingeneous. They get 4 homestead tracts, and then build the sod house straddling the 4 intersecting corners, so they can help each other out!
    • 3/5
      I had a hard time getting into this book as the number of characters created chaos in the plot and point-of-view for the first few chapters. I could not keep track of who I was supposed to be following, and I felt like I needed a chart to keep them all straight in my head as I read. I kept wanting to ask the author, "Are 16 women really necessary?"Luckily, that number was cut by more than half when the train stops in Plum Grove, Nebraska, leaving behind the important characters and sending the expendible ones away - how convenient. This is where I feel that the plot actually begins, as the women carve out lives for themselves, even as they experience character growth and rejuvenation. The men are also introduced at this point, and I found them to be more imaginative and unique than the females in the book. The dynamics between Michael Ransom and Lucas Gray, cousins, are very interesting, as Whitson only reveals a bit at a time about their relationship with each other. I wished that more had been written about Jeb Cooper, as the paradox that he lives daily was very entertaining to read.The background information and historical details were interesting, as I knew little before reading this book about frontier towns and the founding and running of a homestead. I find it ironic that although all of the women are strongly opposed to being hitched to a man again, given that they all claim to be widows, romance seems to be necessary to each of their character developments. The romance was the most predictable aspect of the novel, with almost every woman gravitating noticeably to a man.The idea that war widows were shipped out to the frontier as prospective brides made for excellent novel potential, but I felt the idea fell a bit short, as the man responsible in the book for these sixteen women was not followed in point-of-view passed his departure from Plum Grove. Neither was much said about the other women that went on to Cayote with him. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall at those women's proposals from strangers and hear their rationale behind making such a choice to be delivered and bid on like so many heads of cattle.
    • 4/5
      What a wonderful book. Make an excellent series as, at the end, I wanted more. It left me wanting to know each of these women's lives as far as how their futures went. Only reason I didn't give it a 5 stars is I could put it down for a couple of days and then pick it back up and read a little more. 5 star books I'm obsessed with.
    • 4/5
      I first saw this book listed in a catalog, and even though I'm not a Christian myself, the premise looked interesting enough that I decided to check it out anyway. It's a cute, fluffy story about sixteen women - most of them widowed in the Civil War's aftermath - who decide to move west to Nebraska to claim land. Unfortunately, they don't realize that the man organizing the movement has his own motives and is passing them off as brides. The "main" group is quickly whittled down to six women and a boy. Still, it's really difficult to write a story with six main characters (not to mention the relationships that they form with others!) and keep the story from overwhelming the reader. At times I had difficulty remembering who was who or who knew what, but for the most part, this book was surprisingly easy to keep up with while reading. And though it is a Christian book, and there is some preaching involved, the author doesn't try to hit the reader over the head with religion. In fact, one of the women makes a few relatively racy comments. Altogether, the book was a fun read. There's nothing earth-shattering here, but it is a cozy story that leaves the reader feeling good in the end.
    • 5/5
      In 1872, sixteen women are lured to Nebraska with the promise of free land, independence, and an opportunity to start over after the devastating loss of their husbands. What they find when they arrive in Plum Grove, Nebraska is a story of hope, new beginnings, forgiveness, and love. Add in a conniving man who tricked these women into coming west and you have a recipe for conflict. When six women decide to ditch his plans, the fun begins in earnest.Tales of heartbreak, romance and cowboys sweep you away as this story unfolds in the lives of the six women that started over in Four Corners, Nebraska with their new homes and lands. Ella is a strong woman that loves to farm with her mother Zita. Hettie slipped in without anyone knowing she was not one of the brides she had been a doctor’s wife. Caroline is as southern as you can get. Ruth was a widow with a young son, and then there was Sally, they all stuck together. They meet Linney a young girl that worked in the store at Plum Grove. The tales just gets deeper and deeper as the story unfolds.I love Stephanie Grace Whitson’s books, she always writes a story that keep you spellbound.I received a complimentary copy for purpose of review from Bethany House Publishers.
    • 5/5
      Really good story about a group of single women (widows, divorcees, and otherwise) who are lured to the wilds of Nebraska by a man promising homesteads but who really meant to supply brides to the men already out there. While some of the Ladies Emigration Society are okay with it, once it comes to light, a feisty group of misfits and independents decide to band together to make a go of it. They meet many interested locals along the way, some good and some quite bad. The stories of the different women and the people of their new community are interesting and wonderfully told. Stephanie Grace Whitson weaves a complex and wonderful tale. As a "Christian writer" she lets those pieces complement rather than overbear the story, and I felt like it was part of the time and place rather than a sermon. Folks who are not religious will enjoy this just as well as any other really good historical fiction.
    • 5/5
      SIXTEEN BRIDES by Stephanie Grace Whitson is a wonderful, delightful Inspirational Historical Fiction set in 1871 Plum Grove, Nebraska. It is well written with depth and detail. It has betrayal, courage, dreams, faith, widows,guilt, forgiveness,finding new love and renewing old relationships. This story is about sixteen brides, who are all widows except maybe one. They where promised a chance to own property in Plum Grove, but they found out after they have embarked on their journey, they where deceived. Eight of these widows decide to stay in Plum Grove instead of continuing on to Cayote, which was supposed to be their destination. The eight women who stay in Plum Grove decide to make a go at owning their own homestead. Together six of them make it work and along the way two find love and marriage proposals. One finds forgiveness with her not so dead husband, who she realizes she still loves.It is somes times light hearted and others dramatic.I think this story is a wonderful story of struggles to survive and learning to let go of the past and look to the future. I would recommend this book. This book was received for review and details can be found at My Book Addiction and More and Bethany House Publishers.
    • 4/5
      A great book. Stephanie Whitson did a excellent job on this one! I love how she wrote it. I'll have to find more books by her.
    • 4/5
      Sixteen Brides was a lovely read that covered so many different bases: interesting historical details, romance (but not too much!), inspiring, Christian values, action. The author did a great job in keeping the story moving while keeping my interest in all the different aspects of each character. I don't read a whole lot of historical fiction, but I really enjoyed this one - the book got me thinking about how amazing and hardy those family settlers had to be. I highly recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      Well! I thought this certainly sounded like an intriguing premise… and I looked forward to a lot of strong-willed women trying to duke it out amongst themselves in the wild West. And for the most part, that’s what happened, so I was rather pleased: the women were strong, emotional, capable, but flawed. Yes, that’s right — they were realistically portrayed, and for the amount of women that Whitson had to focus on over the course of the story, it was extremely well done!From a writer’s perspective, telling the story from the perspective of FIVE main characters is an extremely risky and difficult move, but Whitson pulled it off with skill. They each had their own very strong but distinct voice, and if I ever meet Whitson in person, I’d love to congratulate her on handling it so well.However… and I hate to say this because the author managed her material so well… the story really did seem to drag during the final third of the book. After several hundred pages of getting the women there, having the love stories get set up and the problems progress, I was ready to resolve everything and be done with it. I think several of the sub-plots simply dragged on too long, and she could have ended the book about a hundred pages earlier without losing anything.That said, this is the kind of historical fiction that you’ll enjoy if you like this kind of historical — a bit predictable, but entertaining along the journey. For me, I found the inclusion of flaws for each woman to be very refreshing — especially since so many women in the Christian fiction I’ve read recently have been so nearly perfect that I’ve wanted to scream (as you know if you’ve read my previous reviews).Again, this is one for the church library — but you might as well read it first! You may not love it, and you may find the story drags a bit, but you have to at least admire the skill with which Whitson follows FIVE main characters through the whole novel. Why not give it a try?
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book once I was able to "get into it." Like many of the other reviewers, I thought it was very slow in the beginning, but as the indi vidual characters began being developed, it became very enjoyed learning much about the life of the old west that was not "cowboys and Indians," but more about the settlers and the lives that they had. I would very much like a sequel to the story!
    • 4/5
      This book was much better than I first thought it would be! It has a good mix of history, female bonding, love, faith, and women overcoming their circumstances. The characters are likeable. I had not heard of this author before and will be looking into what else she has available.
    • 3/5
      I was a bit worried that I would have trouble keeping the characters straight in the beginning. Sixteen brides? That's a lot of names. But thankfully, the story ended up focusing on a select group of women who weren't so interested in just being brides.At one point during the story, I flipped to the front of the book to see if this was classified as a Christian story. Christian fiction isn't really my thing, and more than once, I've been "tricked" into Christian books. This was not one of those instances. There are mentions of faith and religion from some of the characters, but it's not the overarching theme, and fits well into the beliefs of those characters.This was an interesting tale of strong women who weren't afraid to take charge and live a little and have some fun along the way.
    • 4/5
      If you like historical romance this is a fun book. It is a swift read, at only about 250 pages. This is a delightful opportunity to escape into lighter side of Nebraska in the post Civil War era. The story is enchanting, and the characters remain true.. Stephanie Whitson manages to carry off interweaving the stories of several characters without losing the reader. I found the book entertaining, the challenges believable and not too trite, and the dialogue wonderful and amusing in an understated way. I do have to say that this is one of those books where everyone wins...not exactly like life..but thats part of the charm of a book like this. There are clear references to spiritual decisions, yet unlike many novels that attempt to carry a spiritual message, this one never overpowers the story by becoming preachy or overbearing with it. Overall, a wonderfully written book.
    • 3/5
      This started out as a book about 16 women who leave behind their homes and move across country because of a promise of a new start in a small town in Nebraska. It takes place shortly after the Civil War and many of the women are widows who have many different and unusual circumstances that have made them decide to take this journey. Don't get discouraged thinking you can't possibly keep track of all these women in the story, because you will soon be narrowing it down to a more managable number.I usually read books with fewer main characters, but did enjoy the wide variety of ladies in this story and how I grew to like each one of them. I loved Zita's words of wisdom and her spunk even though she was the oldest of them all. I enjoyed watching Caroline and Ruth break out of their "proper" way of doing things and loosen up into ladies who could fall in love with men much different than they ever imagined. And dear Ella, what a trooper! Then there was Saly and Hettie, but you really need to read the book and get to know them all.
    • 4/5
      A Group of widows called the The Emigration Society, lead by Hamilton Drake,are headed for the plains of Nebraska at the promise of homesteading land without a husband. They are all very different women and each has a certain opinion of what the others are like. When a couple of ladies overhear Mr. Drake telling someone else what he really has planned for these ladies, they band together (at least 6 of them) and give this new life all they've got. Will they truly be able to make it on the rugged frontier and was each of the ladies correct in their assumption about the other?I really enjoyed this post-Civil War story. The hardships that widows endured were something we really can't comprehend today. The story followed the six women so that it was really like reading six separate stories that all intertwined. The author did a really great job in vacillating between the women without the reader becoming overwhelmed or disconnected. I liked how she allowed you to see the strengths and weakness of not only the women but of their love interests as well. I liked all of the characters because they were all so different. They each brought something different into the mix. But I have to say I was drawn to Ruth and Lucas. Ruth was not afraid to speak her mind and was very practical. Lucas was someone who made my heart go pitter-pat. As you make your way through the story there are lots of little spiritual nuggets to pick up along the way. Although I like a little more romance than what was in this story, I have to say that the build of each relationship was very natural. It really felt like you were reading it in real time. You sort of knew who each would end up with but it was really fun and entertaining to watch it happen! Thanks Librarything Early Reviewers for providing this copy.
    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was a little nervous in the beginning as there were so many characters, afraid that I would never be able to keep everything and everyone straight. Stephanie Whitson did a great job of getting you engrossed in the characters, they were so authentic. I felt like they could have been real people and rooted for them through the book. This is definitely an enjoyable read!
    • 5/5
      An incredible heart warming story of romance and faith in God. Before each chapter there is a Bible verse that sets the stone for what you are about to read. The five women's stories are intricately woven. You really get to know each one and come to love each of the characters instead of them getting lost in little tid bits here and there. These women are brought together under unusual circumstances that shows God works in mysterious ways. Despite the differences in these women's characters they surpass the odds bonding themselves in true friendship. Through their faith in each other and God they prove that they can do anything. They are touched by the lives of those they come into contact with and they in return touch their lives. The men who love these women have the qualities that anyone would be blessed to have in their lives. You not only find yourself in love with these women but with the men as well. Redemption, love, hope and faith are the very strong themes. Enlightens the reader that all things are possible with God.
    • 4/5
      Sixteen Brides is an engaging historical fiction story about a group of women who head west to claim homesteads. What they do not know is that the man leading their group has arranged for single men to meet them and claim them as their brides. When this plan comes to light, a small number of these women decide to break away and fend for themselves. It is these women that we come to know in the pages of this book.I enjoyed reading this book. It was a nice story even though it was quite predictable. I do think that the women in this story had it a little too easy. Actual homesteading in those days was a lot harder than this book leads us to believe. My thanks to the Early Reviewers program for the chance to participate by reviewing Sixteen Brides.
    • 5/5
      I like historical fiction and looked forward to receiving the arc to review. Overall, I really enjoyed it. My only real objection is the title. Yes, a group of women are duped into thinking they are going to Nebraska to file on homestead to start new lives - and are instead intended as brides. There are sixteen of them. However, really most of the women we learn nothing about - they do get married right the beginning of the story and that's that. We hear nothing more of these women. Really, five of the women are the main characters, and the readers gradually learn more and more about the backgrounds and characters of these five women. Eventually they start a farm together, and it is named "Four Corners". Four Corners should have been the title of the book instead.