Danni Roan, $2.99, ISBN 978-1393289302
Historical Romance, 2019
Another mail-order bride arrives at the town of Needful, Texas, and if Danni Roan’s Brides of Needful Texas series isn’t a wholesome Christian one, I’d suspect that maybe there is a nefarious flesh trafficking ring operating in that place.
The heroine of Beth is, of course, Elizabeth Beecham. Having lost her mom, she is all alone in the world… well, she has people willing to help her out by letting her stay with them, but she doesn’t want to impose, so off to Needful she goes.
Well, the lady that runs this mail-order thing hasn’t found a suitable match for her yet, so Beth spends her days left to her own devices. Boy, it is a good thing that Needful is a place where everybody is automatically and immediately nice and kind to strangers, because the biggest problem Beth has is mud on her shoes.
Oh, and she and the new preacher in town, Brandon Tippert, are soon making eyes at one another.
While the hero is a preacher, Ms Roan’s very light with the preaching. Instead, she lets her characters’ wholesome goodness do the talking.
Now, while I’m all for a sweet, pleasant, and wholesome yarn, this is the third story in a row by the author in which the heroine just shows up and has the most perfect time of her life. While Brandon and Beth are nice folks, there’s only so much I can read about how everyone adores Beth, thinks she’s just the bee’s knees, and runs to help her when she even trips a little before I feel a little… well, bored.
Oh, Beth makes new friends!
Oh, Beth feels tad discomfited by the idea that she may be imposing on Brandon!
Oh, Beth gets a little bit worried… well, for a few minutes, because that’s the average duration of a dilemma or problem in this place.
You know, I’m starting to wonder whether Needful is really paradise or something, and perhaps Beth died after having hit her head on her ride to Needful so here she is. Oh, perhaps this whole thing is just in her head as she is sprawled on the ground dying?
Of course not, this is a happy story. Still, all that lack of drama is starting to wear thin. Needful is going to be the dullest place to read about, if it isn’t already, if this situation were to continue.
