Tired of Waiting for a Match-Made-in-Heaven,
She’ll Settle for One Made in Texas
Whether it’s riding bikes, catching snakes, or sliding down banisters, Essie Spreckelmeyer just can’t quite make herself into the ideal woman her hometown–and her mother–expect her to be. It’s going to take an extraordinary man to appreciate her joy and spontaneity–or so says her doting oil-man father.
Unfortunately such a man doesn’t appear to reside in Corsicana, Texas.
It’s 1894, the year of Essie’s thirtieth birthday, and she decides the Lord has more important things to do than provide her a husband. If she wants one, she needs to catch him herself. So, she writes down the names of all the eligible bachelors in her small Texas town, makes a list of their attributes and drawbacks, closes her eyes, twirls her finger, and … picks one.
But convincing the lucky “husband-to-be” is going to a bit more of a problem.
Join Deeanne Gist for another unforgettable tale and find out whether Essie’s plan to catch a husband succeeds or if she’s just Courting Trouble.
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Sexual Content - 1/5
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Violence - 1/5
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Language - 0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 0/5
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Summary
Overall This book took me a little by surprise. Having read most of Deeanne Gist's other novels, I wasn't prepared for the romance scene to be a bit more steamy than
her other novels. However, as the novel continued, I began to appreciate the direction this element took. First you must understand that the protagonist of the story is a 30 year old \"Old Maid\". She didn't want to be . . . she had just ended up that way. Today a thirty year old unmarried woman is much different than one in the
historical era of this book. Tired of waiting on God to provide what she thought would make her happy (a husband and children), Essie takes matters into her own hands and
begins to pursue men that she had evaluated as potential husband material. Meanwhile a strangera strong, handsome cowboycomes to town and rather easily sweeps her off her feet because she had unwisely lowers her moral standards, putting her at risk for making poor choices. And poor choices she makes. The \"torrid\" romance novels were just getting their start back then, and she was encouraged to read one by a \"church lady\" no less, which led to her justifying behavior that she would have previously rejected as foolish. This is a very good lesson for us readers because we, too, can find ourselves in a position to do the same thing based on what we are reading. Readers beware! More Than a Review can help us make some better choices, but we also must filter what we are reading carefully. Another theme is explored as we see Essie thinking she will only be happy when she has a husband and children. She became desperate and was either indulging immoral behavior or forcing herself to be someone she was not. The message clearly came across that our happiness cannot hinge on a spouse. In fact, one line stated clearly that it was far better to be single and lonely, than to be in a marriage and lonely. I cannot agree more. So, as I contemplated the book, I find it explored some very valuable themes that many woman deal with.