( 6 reviews )
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Posted: Dec 20 2008
Not many authors know how to take two individuals that are hiding things from one another and make it an interesting read. Millie Criswell did just that. Ashby and Sarah Jane meet each other but have secrets. Ashby's Uncle Zeke is playing matchmaker and thinks that Sarah Jane Parker is just the right woman for Ashby. But is she? Ashby thinks two marriages were enough. But with Uncle Zeke involved, they are married almost immediately. They have to come to terms with the feelings each of them has towards the other and raising Ashby's daughter, Addie. With just the right amount of tension, amongst an interesting storyline, it makes for a pleasant book.
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( 3 of 5 found this review helpful ) Posted: Aug 9 2000
This was the first of Ms Criswell's books I've read but won't be my last. She has a deft touch with humor and poignancy as she weaves a charming love story between two utterly wonderful characters. Sarah Jane Parker is a spunky heroine any reader can easily identify with. Far from perfect, she's marvelously human and a woman you'd want as your friend. And Ashby Morgan is a hero to make you sigh. The secondary characters are well-drawn, especially Ash's meddling uncle and teenage daughter. You'll laugh, you'll shed a tear and you'll sigh as you read their story.
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( 12 of 12 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 8 2000
Ashby Morgan, known to the townsfolk as The Marrying Man, is in dire need of a wife, but he doesn't know that. He thinks he and his tomboy daughter, Addie, are just fine without a woman around. His meddling uncle, Zeke, though, has taken it upon himself to remedy the situation. Unknown to Ash, Uncle Zeke has contacted the respectable Miss Cartwright's finishing school in Philadelphia and the perfect woman is on her way to marry Ash. This doesn't necessarily sit well with him, but when he meets Sarah Jane Parker at the train station, the wickedly beautiful Sarah Jane Parker, Ash thinks he may just give this a shot. They're married almost immediately and return to the Morgan house to deal with the wild Addie.Sarah Jane is not exactly who Ash thinks she is, at least not strictly speaking. Running away from the finishing school that she's called a prison for six years, Sarah Jane did a little illegal maneuvering with the correspondence from Zeke. Now she finds herself the wife of a man who has been widowed twice, is the owner of a large coal mine and has a daughter who is more like a boy than a little girl. This plan isn't exactly what she had in mind, but she is rather taken with her handsome new husband. Taking a deep breath, the indomitable Sarah Jane leaps into marriage and motherhood with the same reckless abandon she has dealt with everything else in her life. THE MARRYING MAN is a delightful, nicely written romp. Sarah Jane and Ash are terrific together, verbally sparring while they're slowly falling in love. The secondary players here, Uncle Zeke, daughter Addie and Ash's younger brother, A.J., are absolutely imperative to the story. They are as mesmerized by Sarah Jane and her antics as Ash is bemused by many of them. Ms. Crisswell does a great job moving this sweet story along. The dialogue is perky at times and appropriately poignant when necessary. The reader may be able to predict what will happen in the end, but not how it will happen and that's part of what makes this an exceptional story. A quick, enjoyable read, THE MARRYING MAN is a great book to cheer any reader.
