Montana Born Brides 3: Bride by Mistake

Montana Born Brides 3: Bride by Mistake by Nicole Helm

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I got this as a free NOOK Book from Barnes & Noble. The original story itself is rather short (end on page 109 according to my tablet). The additional short story, What a Bride Wants goes from 116-205 (I'm not counting about the author and other informational blurbs in the count).

Bride by Mistake

This was a short and sweet piece, though it goes from decently paced to light speed frighteningly quick. Really, it had to for how short it is. It's also interesting to note that Beckett's "bad seed" past is constantly brought up, but despite the general description of "mistakes" and "bad choices" is not expanded on. Rather, positive comparisons to his behavior are the only ones really mentioned to combat this apparent stigma. In contrast, Kaitlin is considered essentially the perfect saint, to the point that she and everyone around her are apparently blind. Kaitlin and Beckett seem to be excluded from these preconceptions most likely due to the fact they needled each other so much growing up that they couldn't help but see underneath the surface. Of course, being a bride book, the story ends at the wedding. Forget the fact that Beckett and Luke still need a serious sit down conversation or the fact that Beckett and Kaitlin have a baby on the way. Neither of those are obviously important, as with the scene where Kaitlin tells her parents everything despite the anguish over the idea for part of the story and them obviously being at the shot-gun wedding. It would be nice overall if some of these holes were filled in to round it all out.

What a Bride Wants

I actually liked this "additional" novella more than the original story. Ella and Sawyer are more than a match for each other, which is convenient when Sawyer's brother decides he wants another go at ruining his life. Despite still being fast paced, there is more explained and built on so despite still being a whirlwind romance, it feels like it has more build and substance overall. That's without adding in any unplanned pregnancies too (though there are a few calves delivered). Maybe it's the cowgirl in me, but their more down-to-earth perceptions and the activity on the ranch interest me a lot more than the first story.

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