This book was great. I could not put it down. It was Marcus and Josie's story. He resscues her from Sioux Indians. She is hidden away from her family. She blames Marcus. She finds out she is an heiress. He needs to marry money to save his estate. This is the story of how she learns to forgive him and he falls in love with her. I highly recommend this book.

A definite buy buy buy book! Arguably with many it is a four star for there are a couple of small quirks shall we call them that irritate, however..........What a superb mixture for a plot line!

The author has written a book that captured Historical England and Historical USA in a mixture that I have not experienced before! I was caught from page one (Slightly in shock) and from then to the end I did not lay my kindle down. The story has all the elements you could want to enjoy and perhaps a few that you do not really wish to see.... But the love inside the story line was magnificent. The entire way of setting up the story and telling it to capture and enthrall her readers was fantastic. I sincerely enjoyed the book. I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna

Courage and Passion

This is a story about a courageous young woman, Josie, and her hero, who seemingly betrayed her, Marcus. I enjoyed the chemistry between Marcus and Josie, and the bravery and determination Josie showed in steering her course. Each point of view voice was handled well, easily helping the reader feel connected in the best way. The subplots were nice and simple and added just the right amount of glue to connect things together.

Some aspects of the story the reader may feel uncomfortable with are: the initial violence depicted against the heroine, child neglect and the mistreatment of children.

This is a standalone novel, but it may be helpful to read previous stories in the Bitter Creek series. The author took an opportunity to catch you up in case you missed previous stories, and although it was a rushed explanation, I thought it was well done.

Joyously, easy read, full of romance and family. Good things come to those who wait... I'll be waiting for Joan Johnston's next piece.

Well ! Once again Joan Johnston has nailed it ..fabulous. Before I started to read I was confused having read about Marcus Blackthorne
previously but then Josie came into it and I began the to relive the adventures I had when I read the first three books in the mail order brides series, as usual I am sorry when the end arrives. I can thoroughly recommend this book it grabs your attention from page one and you find that you are loath to put it down. If I could I would give it more than five stars.
Now I can't wait for "Shattered" ......

Blackthorne's Bride by Joan Johnston is a fabulous historical romance. Ms Johnston has penned an awesome story and furnished it with phenomenal characters. Marcus and Josie's story is loaded with drama, suspense, humor and sizzle. I totally love the way this story unfolded. A big thumbs up to Ms Johnston for delivering another amazing book. I enjoyed reading Blackthorne's Bride and look forward to reading more from the talented Joan Johnston in the future. Blackthorne's Bride is a Bitter Creek Novel but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.


I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.

Marcus Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne comes across a Sioux warrior whipping Josie Wentworth. He buys her with a gold watch and a bone handle knife. He takes care of her as they travel across the ocean and then because he is to marry soon he turns over her care to his future brother-in-law and best friend, Lord Seaton. He does not know Seaton takes her to Marcus's castle near Scotland where she works as a maid for two years until Mr Thompson, a Pinkerton finds her. Her family in America has been looking for her and she is very wealthy. Marcus has lost his wife in childbirth and has found he is needing money to renovate his home so advertises for an heiress from America. Josie applies and though he does not know who she is or anything about her past they marry. Josie thinks he sent her to her fate of the last two years and he has two nephews there being mistreated and all she can think of is getting the boys and taking care of them. Things were not as she thought though and will her heart soften?

It's been two years since Marcus rescued Josie from the Sioux and took her to England. Instead of keeping his promise and returning her to America she ends up serving as a maid for his two neglected nephews.
Josie’s long-lost family finds her and returns her home to America where she is now a wealthy heiress who intends to save the two boys from their indifferent uncle and teach the duke a very valuable lesson in honor.

When Josie learns that Marcus is seeking a rich American bride to save his estate she plots to catch his eye thinking that he'll never recognize her as the ragged captive he rescued. But Josie is unprepared for the nobleman she’s despised for years proving to be a very different man than she imagined and for the deep passion between them.

I was honored to receive an advanced copy of this story for my honest opinion. I can tell you it is truly a 5 star book. It held my interest from the first sentence to the last. Of all the books in this series this one hit home faster and was a true page turner. Loved it.

I liked this final installment of the mail order bride books. But sad to say I didn’t love it as much as the others ("Texas Bride," "Wyoming Bride," and "Montana Bride"). If you have read the other 3 books, you were waiting for Josie Wentworth’s story. And while this was a satisfying end to the series, it was a little to fictional. Josie should have died from her injuries at the hands of the Sioux Indians based on the decisions made by the Duke of Blackthorn. She was then in essence held captive by the Duke of Blackthorn for another 18 months. Then she is rescued and instead of fleeing home to her family she decides to stay and trick the Duke. What follows is a good blend of romance, mystery and will she/wont she, that finally does leave you satisfied. And it was nice to see the updates on the rest of the family.

This book could be read standalone, but the other books are great and add to the history of this book. This was a good conclusion to the Mail Order Bride series. And as always I enjoy anything written by Joan Johnston.

I received an ARC from netgalley.com

"Blackthorne's Bride" by Joan Johnston.. Is a 5 star read, in my humble unbiased opinion. I was hooked from page one. Had to force myself to go to bed because I couldn't keep my eyes open.. but didn't want to miss what was going to happen next. I do love a story where all ends well, yet manages to keep me guessing as to what the author has up their sleeve. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!! Happy Reading!

note: also posted this on GoodReads.

This is the last book from the author's Mail Order Bride series, (which are just the beginnings of the Bitter Creek books), Marcus Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne, saves Josie Wentworth from a Sioux Indian who was whipping her.
Two years later, Josie is still in England. She has written to Marcus but receives no reply. The Pinkerton's finally find her and she plans her revenge on Blackthorne.

a must read the loved it, the author does a great job will read more from the the author.

loved this book. makes me want to read the rest of the series.

This is the last book from the author's Mail Order Bride series, (which are just the beginnings of the Bitter Creek books), about the Wentworth orphans, unless there will also be books about the two boys. This is Josie's story. Ridiculous coincidences abound in these books, but it is fiction.

The last we saw of Josie, she had been kidnapped by Sioux warrior. This book begins in the Sioux village where the Duke of Blackthorne and his best friend and soon to be brother-in-law, the Earl of Seaton, find her tied to a pole, half naked and being horrible beaten by the Sioux warrior. Blackthorne rescues her, but instead of taking her to a doctor he decides to schlepp her back to England with him, so she can "get the best help possible". Her wounds are so severe that in real life, if she didn't die from them, the voyage on the ship would have killed, but this is fiction. When they get to England, she is still very ill, but he is bound to be married, so he asks Seaton, to find her the best care and then send her back to America. But Seaton did not do that, instead after she had recovered, she is sent to isolated castle owned by Blackthorne, where she is put to work as a maid. Also incarcerated there are Blackthorne's two nephews, who remind her of her own to brothers and whom she grows to love. The Pinkerton's finally find her and she plans her revenge on Blackthorne, only as these things usually happen things are as they appear.

If you ignore the silliness above, this is a nice addition to the saga of the Wentworth children. I received an ARC from netgalley.com.

Out of A Bitter Creek series, I missed only one book. But Blackthorne’s Bride is right up there with her early works. Josie reminded me of Sloan, Bayleigh and Creighton (Joan Johnston’s Sisters of the Lone Star Series) Josie was just as strong and determined just like those women. Strong in that he takes a strong person to overcome be almost bitten to death. And later finding yourself kidnapped and held against your will.

Of course, behind a strong female character must be a strong male character. And Marcus Wharton fit that bill. Marcus had his own issues. Getting over the death of his wife and child. And, caring the responsibility of taking care of twin sisters and the estate that was left to him by the death of his father the Duke of Wharton. To do that he must find an heiress, but Marcus isn’t ready to take on another bride so soon.

Blackthorne’s Bride illustrated that you can overcome just about anything if one sets their mind to it.

This is the fourth mail order bride of the Wentworth sisters. It has been well worth the wait. I would rather an author take her time and write a great book than rush through a story and write a so-so book. As has been written in other reviews, it is a stand alone book but I highly recommend you read the other books in the series because they are also great. This is Josie's story. The Duke of Blackthorne finds her tied to a post being whipped. He rescues her and takes her back to England with him. While sailing home he tends to her wounds and scars. Though he marries someone else he never forgets her. When he meets her two years later she knows who he is but he doesn't recognize her. His wife has died and he needs to marry a rich woman to save his estate. Josie has just found out she is very rich and because of things that have happened to her in the last two years she decides to marry the Duke and get her revenge. This story has a lot of surprises in it. Josie finds out the the Duke is really not as bad as she thought he was. Without giving away any of the actual plot away it was fun seeing the sister's reunited. I hope there will be more in this series. Josie did have two brother's that need to find wives. I highly recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Blackthorne's Bride as the culmination ofJoan Johnston's Mail-Order-Brides Series.
As always her characters are fascinating and memorable. Story is well told and leaves you wanting more.
One loses oneself in the plot and characters and keeps wanting more.
Once again Joan Johnston has combined adventure, mystery and above all romance, to show the magic of relationships and that love is worth all the risks.
Well written, well worth reading.
A devoted reader

I couldn't wait to read Josie's story but now that I have it's bittersweet because it's the end the mail-order bride series. Technically this book can be read on it's own but I highly recommend reading all of the series. In fact I'm tempted to go back and reread them just to refresh my memory of what happened to each of the Wentworth girls. Josie has been missing from the family for two years after she was kidnapped by Sioux Indians after their wagon was attacked. Fortunately, Josie was rescued by the Duke of Blackthorne but only after she had been severely whipped. But now she finds herself in England, away from her family, no longer penniless and determined to make the Duke own up to his responsibilities. This was a great historical romance as both Josie and the Duke, Marcus were determined not to love one another. However, Marcus has never forgotten the young woman he rescued years ago, but he doesn't realize that Josie is that woman. Once again Joan Johnston has managed to not only create characters that you cared about but also managed to seamlessly weave their story into the entire Blackthorne / Creed saga that she has been writing for years in both historical and contemporary romances. And as a bonus to this story, there is an update to how each of the Wentworth women are doing with their respective families.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.

This is book had me hooked from the first page. I could not put it done and stayed up late to finish it. I love Josie and Marcus. I already can't wait for the next book. No spoilers. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.