Review on Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings

To me, there is just always something fun, intriguing and downright captivating about a good “fish out of water story.” You know those stories I mean, where the main character is taken completely out of their element, where they really don’t know which end is up and so inevitably they do things that are wrong and often times embarrassing. And they usually do them, never in a small way, but with pure unadulterated gusto bringing the audience/reader to that place where you laugh out loud at the character’s mistakes as you can relate because you have been there yourself.  Spunky Rosa, the main character in Sixty Acres and a Bride, by Regina Jennings delivers these moments in spades.

  It was with a little bit of trepidation I must admit that I began this novel as I thought- here we go – an updated Ruth/Naomi story set in Texas  in 1878,  I wonder how this will fly?  But trust me, this first offering by Regina Jennings does fly, in fact I might say it soars.  I really, really, enjoyed the character of Rosa, a beautiful Mexican widow returning to Texas with her mother- in- law Louise Garner to save the family farm so to speak. Of course, this is Rosa’s first time in Texas and so poor Rosa doesn’t know how to dress, how and when to speak, or how to impress this small town’s people as she is the object of much gossip and naysayers because of her outsider’s ways. But she is smart, beautiful and a very hard worker and thus captures the essence of “Ruth” perfectly, but in a fun and new way.  Then there’s Weston Garner, her now dead husband’s cousin, who is attractive, well off, and a widower himself with a story to tell. He is of course cast as the Boaz character to the story, the kinsman redeemer. But it seems to me as the story progresses that they seem to rescue each other.   I felt that both character’s were written well as their attraction built, but both coming to the table with a little bit of relationship baggage that needed to be dealt with before the relationship could  fully develop.  The story is rounded out with a really good villain in a neighbor named Mr. Tillerton who is easy to despise. He brings that sense of tension and suspense to the story as every good story needs a really good bad guy!

Through many dangers, toils and snares, goodness and love do finally prevail in this really fun story by Regina Jennings and for those that are fans of a good Christian historical fiction books, I think you will find this a delightful twist on the age old story of Ruth and Boaz. Regina Jennings gives us a heroine to cheer on, a hero with room to grow and grow he does, and a delightful ending where all is as it should be. Congrats to you Regina on a wonderful debut novel.

4 stars

This novel was graciously provided for me to read for review by Bethany House publishers with the sole intent of soliciting an honest and unbiased review. All opinions expressed are my own.