Book Review: "Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon" by Miralee Ferrell

Amidst a backdrop of thievery and murder in historic Bridal Veil, Oregon, a schoolteacher is torn between the memories of a distant love and the man who could be her future. Margaret Garvey had given her heart to Nathaniel, but he left town six years before. Now she's giving love another chance, but her decision to build a new life with Andrew is shaken when Nathaniel steams back into Bridal Veil on a riverboat to work at the nearby sawmill. When disaster strikes the town and threatens the welfare of its citizens, Margaret will be faced with the most important choice of her life.

What I have loved best about the Love Finds You series is how these books are introducing me to cities and towns that I have never heard of. I never knew that there was a town called Bridal Veil before and was delighted to read about how there's a small post office that receives wedding invitations just to have the Bridal Veil postmark on them. It's really nice to read about places that have small town charm like that. That's just how this book was to read. It was nice to read a historical romance that focuses on the story and is just a pleasant book to read.

I was really glad to see that the story didn't fall in the predictable route that other stories with the same plot seem to fall victim to. As soon as the story began, I feared that the recycled plot line would make an entrance and I would end up getting angry because the nice guy would lose out again. Luckily this didn't happen and things ended up as they should. Also the characters changed throughout the story which was good because they weren't one dimensional and helped out with that plot line so the reader could see who really deserved to end up with Margaret.

This book had a more historical feel that Ferrell's other book in the Love Finds You series had. I found her previous book to be one of those that is pretty much a modern story just set in a historical setting. This one used historical events and actually showed how the town lived in the late 19th century. It's not a hard core historical fiction novel but it is still nice to at least see some historical research had taken place to write the story.

If there was any qualm I had with the book, it was the story line with the children. I honestly found them a bit annoying and really preferred when the story focused more on Margaret, Andrew and Nathaniel. The ending with them was also a bit too soap opera-ish for me. Other than that, I did enjoy the book. This is the second historical from Ferrell and I must say that she seems to have really found her niche writing historical romances. I've enjoyed her books and I will be looking forward to reading more from her.

Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon by Miralee Ferrell is published by Summerside Press (2010)

This review copy was provided by a publicist