I am always a fan of this author. I would pick up any book she writes and read it. This book did not disappoint. I had all the emotions as I read it. At one point I was even brought to tears. We met the character Arabella in the first book of this series. Her story was a mystery to us. But no more. And what a story she has. It was great to see the character growth with her and the baker Pete through the book. They matured and learned a lot. Lieutenant Drummond was a man with a grudge. And it plays out with the characters growth. It’s nice to see a city as it’s taking off with a population growth. I have to mention these women actually did this in history. I can not imagine the emotions they went through as they boarded a boat for a new land without family with them. The author has done a great job in giving us a glimpse of what it was like for them. I was so happy to see Mercy back from Book 1. Definitely recommend this book. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All views stated here are my own.

The Runaway Bride by Jody Hedlund surpassed my expectations. I started reading Arabella’s story and I could not put it down. Yes, I stayed up too late and read it all in one very long sitting. From the beginning, I rooted for Pete and Arabella to get together. The chemistry between the two of them rated as steamy without being inappropriate.

Aside from the amazing romantic tension, The Runaway Bride boasts a swoon-worthy male lead, character development, and occasional well-placed humor. Pete Kelly is an imperfect man, but he’s also compassionate, devoted, and encouraging. For all his statements about not being a gentleman, he displays respect and patience with Arabella and others. He genuinely struggles with some tough issues and, like Arabella, he has lessons to learn. Watching Arabella’s transition from being a bit of a snob to finding joy and fulfillment in her work was a pleasure. Her character development was completely different than Pete’s, yet still admirable. In short, I loved this book and wish I had the time to give it a second read right now, but I’ll have to wait on that.

The Runaway Bride stands as the second installment in The Bride Ships series by Jody Hedlund. While it’s written as a stand-alone, I recommend reading the books in order as Mercy, the main character in A Reluctant Bride, plays an active role in The Runaway Bride. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series. Five stars for The Runaway Bride!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

"The Runaway Bride by Jody Hedlund is an historical fiction book. This book is the second Bride Ships book . There are 4 books in the series. The main character is Arabella Lawrence. She came to British Colombia , Canada on a Bride ship. She came from a rich family. During this time period there is a small pox epidemic. Arabella risks her safety and comfortable life to care for an abandoned Indian girl who was starving and sick. It is real touching how much she sacrificed to help this young girl She found her searching for food and sick as well. She was looking in the garbage for food. She risked her own health as well to care for this abandoned girl. The themes in the book are was rich vs poor,, Indian vs White man. Thank you to the publisher , netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. It is well written and is so difficult to put down. The opinions are my own about the book. I will post my review on Amazon, netgalley, Goodreads, my blog, facebook and share with church staff.

Have you read any of Jody Hedlund's books yet? If you haven't do yourself a favor and do so, she has so many available and they are all fabulous . Recently she's also released a YA fantasy series and it's a not to miss as well.

The cover of this book is really stunning and I was so excited to start into it. We've all heard of mail order brides, well these are ship brides, which I found so fascinating to learn more about as I read the first book in the series as well.
I can just imagine what the ladies had to be going through that signed up to go on the ships to be a bride, it was not just the poor working class ladies either, there were ladies of means that signed up too. I can say it was probably an adventure for all of them and hopefully in a good way.
The romance is sweet and tender and two men are vying for our Arabella's hand. Now being a lady of means she is expected to marry within the same class as herself but love doesn't always, or maybe I should say hardly ever follows the rules.
The plot was a fun read and held my interest the whole way through.
It was fun to meet up with what felt like old friends, characters from the first book and be introduced to new characters as well. I wonder which will appear in the third book in the series. Learning about the smallpox outbreak was interesting as well. It took so many lives.
I don't believe it's presumptions to say this book will stay up there with my favorites for the year.

Pub Date 03 Mar 2020
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Arabella has fled from her home in England due to abuse from her betrothed. For goodness sake, he bit her and had a history of "lost" wives. She is shy, though, of men due to her awful experience. A middle to upper class background has her constantly checking herself in British Columbia because she knows what is expected of a woman of her station. Baker Peter Kelly sets his sights on Arabella as soon as he sees her. His working class background and new life in Christ are what set him apart. As much as she likes the confidence and support that Peter gives her, Arabella knows she is better suited for Navy Lieutenant Drummond who pursues her. The reader soon sees the controlling nature of Drummond, but Arabella seems to think it is natural. Arabella's story draws in the reader to keep turning the pages and find out how she can come into her own with the new life opportunity.
In addition to the love story, there is also history of the settling of British Columbia and the conflicts between the settlers and the natives.
Author Hedlund spins a fantastic story of recreating one's self in the British colonies. This is book 2 in The Bride Ships series. Thanks to Bethany House and Jody Hedlund for providing me an ARC for a review in my own words.

I can always count on Jody Hedlund for a beautifully written story filled with colorful, realistically flawed characters that come alive on the page. The Runaway Bride is no exception. Set in British Columbia in 1862, this tale is rich with the history of the British Bride Ships that carried women from Great Britain bound for marriage to the plentiful men living in Victoria. Arabella Lawrence finds herself with two very different suitors from contrasting walks of life. Lt. Drummond is a gentleman who is esteemed in society, while Peter Kelly is a baker who has built up a good business in the community. I absolutely adored Peter. His personality, confidence, and wit are so attractive and add much color to the story. I loved his compassion, courage, and the way he stood up for the underprivileged, and especially the native Americans. The relationship between Arabella and Peter was charming and fun and I enjoyed seeing it grow and develop.

Hedlund is a master at weaving uplifting messages into her stories. Themes of hope, optimism, courage, faith, and forgiveness are predominant in this tale and give it added dimension and depth. I’m always interested in the historical aspects of this author’s books, as it’s apparent that much research has gone into the writing of the stories. I would recommend this to those who enjoy historical romance. 4.5 stars

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from Bethany House Publishers/NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book captured my attention from start to finish! I really loved the characters in the story. I enjoyed reading about Arabella and her growth as she finds courage in the New World. Her compassionate heart as she leaves behind her comforts and plunges into helping others is truly admirable. I liked Peter too, a feeling that grew as he came to Arabella’s rescue and tried to do the right thing despite the consequences. Their relationship has the perfect amount of romance and passion without being too graphic. I loved the spiritual truths of trusting God and repenting from the sins of your past to instead follow His leading, even when it is difficult to do so. The plot had enough twists and turns to keep it interesting throughout the entire story and I found it hard to put down! I have really enjoyed this series and look forward eagerly to the next book! I highly recommend it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I liked Arabella from the brief amount we see her in The Reluctant Bride. Her story isn't fully exposed in the first book, but you know that someone has abused her which has caused her to run away. Yet I was hesitant to continue this series. Even though I liked The Reluctant Bride, the book wasn't what I would call romance-driven--which is my favorite type of read. However, this was definitely not an issue for The Runaway Bride.

Thankfully we don't follow the journey from England to Victoria in this book. Instead, The Runaway Bride picks up with the ship's arrival in Victoria. Arabella is immediately introduced to Lt. Drummond and then very shortly after introduced to Peter. Both set their sights upon her immediately upon introduction.

Before I even talk about Arabella, I have to express my absolute adoration for Peter Kelly's character. He can come off as really arrogant, but I think it's obvious that even as he's bragging about himself he's also making fun of himself at the same time. At least that's how it felt to me. He is confident for the most part. He's compassionate. I love how he had a past even though we don't get a ton of details about the actual events, I felt we were told enough for him to feel complex and well-rounded. He has a history with Drummond so even though he would pursue Arabella whether Drummond was interested in her or not, but their competition over every detail was both comical and at times realistic.

Arabella has to work through what she wants from her new life. She fled her home because she was being married off to a cruel man. So now that she's gotten away, she's trying to be extra careful with deciding who she will marry or if she has to marry at all. There were times when I didn't agree with or understand Arabella's decisions or thought process at all. But mostly she was easy to like and root for.

I very much appreciated the physical struggles Pete and Arabella had with trying to keep their relationship within the proper bounds. Pete has a history with women before he turned his life over to God so it makes sense that keeping things proper would be a greater temptation to him than perhaps others. Arabella was a little more of a struggle to me in this area. Only because I tend to get discouraged with people who pursue paths they know they shouldn't. Even though she didn't exceed any boundaries set by our current society's rules (shoot there's not much off-limits according to today's society), she did continually step outside of the bounds of propriety according to the cultural rules of the time. I couldn't fault her too much because when one has been without affection for so long, the craving is certainly hard to ignore and turn away once one has gotten a taste.

Favorite quotes:
-He was everything she'd ever needed but hadn't known until now. He treated her fairly without the condescension that many men used with women. He gave her opportunities to try new things, challenged her to do more than she believed she could, expected her to admit her mistakes, and allowed her to be herself without pretense.

-If God allowed those men [Job, Paul, etc] to face trials and tribulations, what made Pete think his life would be any different?

-...he could trust that God wasn't as concerned about giving him a happy life as He was about developing a holy heart.

While I did appreciate that there was a little steam to this (even though nothing inappropriate), I also loved the relationship building. The things that drew the characters to each other. Jody Hedlund did a great job with this story and these characters. Pete reminds me (some) of my husband which I loved. And I can't wait to continue the series. Although, I imagine it might be a little less steamy since Pastor Abe is the main male character. The Runaway Bride gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Runaway Bride? What did you think? Let me know!

A most intriguing read! I loved the characters and everything they brought to the story. Pete clearly shows how God can change us. I felt so close to Arabella, I truly felt for her. I loved the history that this book was so full of. There is Canadian history as a colony, the small pox with the Indians, the bride ships, as well as the way baking bread was done in a bakery. Arabella has so much courage to embark on a journey that could very well lead her back into the darkness she escaped. This story has so much depth and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There are so many twist and turns that the reader can only delight in every page turned. The romance is sweet and clean, a brave woman daring to let go of societies rules. Jody Hedlund writes stories that gets into the heart and sole of the reader. This is sure to be a best seller!
Was given a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I love Jody Hedlund’s book and she has done a great job on this series! I had heard about mail-order brides in America but I hadn’t ever heard of bride ships from England to Canada. I thought this was a great view into history. I loved the romance between the two main characters and how patient Pete was with Arabella when he realized that someone had hurt her in the past. I thought Jody did a wonderful job of making the characters likable and of showing us a period in time that many of us may not be aware of. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

The Runaway Bride
By Jody Hedlund
This is the second book of the Bride Ship series.
Fleeing an arranged marriage, socialite Arabella Lawrence joins a bride ship sailing to British Columbia. Arriving after a challenging journey Arabella is ready to choose her future on her own. Is she ready to put convention and expectations aside to live the life she desires?
Peter Kelly is busy turning his life around. He has a booming bread house but is missing something. With the recent arrival of the bride ship, Peter realizes he is ready to find a wife and start a family. After charming his way into the position of baker for the newly arrived brides will Peter be able to catch the heart of the upper-class beauty, he sets his heart on?
I found this book to be enjoyable to read. It was well written and the characters were easy to like. With romance, two suitors, and Indians there was enough excitement to keep my nose in this book. Through the characters' trials Hedlund sprinkled in faith-based wisdom that made this book all the better.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

*4.5 stars*
After devouring the first book in this series I've been impatiently awaiting the release of this one. Yet again, Jody Hedlund has penned an engaging read that the reader is sure to enjoy.

Arabella was a wonderful character. It was interesting to see the series continue with a leading character in very different circumstances from the first. She was born into privilege but found herself aboard the ship to due to desperate circumstances that was able to escape from. She was considered a higher class than many of the other women aboard the ship and while on her own she had to learn how to decide things for herself instead of listening to other around her. I felt that her growth as a character was very well written and it was easy for me to get inside her head and really root for her.

Both a pro and a con, this book read as more of a standalone than I was expecting. There were a few brief clips that mentioned other characters from the first book, but this ended up being more Arabella's story outside of the journey aboard the ship. I would have liked to see more female companionship with other women who were aboard with her, but I can also understand why it made sense for her growth to be more on her own. I'm curious to see what the next in the series will read like.

Peter Kelly? Oh, how I loved Peter Kelly. But I won't spoil him for you. You'll have to read about him for yourself. But his witty, fun personality made me love him and I'm sure others will feel the same way.

This was another one that I enjoyed and I look forward to continuing with the next one in the series :)

*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Runaway Bride by Jody Hedlund is the second installment of The Bride Ships series, and it did not disappoint.

This time the author focuses on brides from a higher class, who chose to seek a husband across the sea. In this case, our main character, Arabella Lawrence, is running away from a cruel man she was supposed to marry. Old enough to be her grandfather and a despicable character, she flees to Canada, where she hopes no one will find her. By accident, she meets Peter Kelly, the town's baker. Someone, she reminds herself, that is totally beneath her station in life. She also meets Lieutenant Richard Drummond, a correct choice for her class, but not for a girl looking for love. Fortunately, Peter Kelly doesn't care about class distinctions and pursues her right from the start.

I loved the interaction between these characters. Peter was cocky, charming, compassionate towards the less fortunate, and determined to win Arabella. Arabella, on the other hand, was stuck in the rut of thinking she needed to marry someone of her "class." Slowly she starts to see how a class distinction isn't what matters, but rather the character and heart of a person. I loved how Peter wouldn't give up, despite how everything was stacked against him.

This was a delightful story, and I'm looking forward to book three. I highly recommend it.

I received this book courtesy of Bethany House, through NetGalley, for my honest opinion.

When wealthy Arabella Lawrence flees to British Columbia on a bride ship still wearing the scars of past mistakes, can she find her courage and her voice to stand for what is right?

An incredible story with unforgettable characters and exciting and thoughtful real-life roots, "The Runaway Bride" is a beautiful second installment to Jody Hedlund's Bride Ship series, filled with beautiful lessons in life, faith, and love.

I had high hopes for this novel after being offered a small sneak peek several months ago, and I'm thrilled to say my expectations were greatly exceeded by this true gem of a novel. Hedlund has truly outdone herself with this story and its characters. Pete is a charming yet humble hero (and is one of my new favorites of Hedlund's heroes), and Arabella is a truly inspirational heroine as she grows into her courage.

This story also offered an intriguing sneak peek into the next book's hero, and I absolutely cannot wait for the third and fourth novels in this series!

The Bride Ships series includes: "A Reluctant Bride" (now available), "The Runaway Bride" (March 3, 2020), "A Bride of Convenience" (June 30, 2020), and "Almost a Bride" (August 25, 2020).

Disclaimer: I received a free advance copy of this book from the author. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

I loved the first book in this series with a passion, which always leaves high expectations for what follows. Honestly, I struggled a little to get into this story in the beginning. I hadn’t connected much depth of connection to Arabella in the first book and so it took time to make those empathetic connections. Pete is quickly likable and is quite the character.

As always I enjoy learning so much about little known history from the books that Jody Hedlund writes. This is her forte, and yet again she excels.

Sometimes I tire of the same thoughts being regurgitated and I realize that for Arabella she had preconceived ideas about who and how she would marry. Considering all of the past experiences she had had you would think she would have let them go a little easier than she does. I found it frustrating that she would realize how good life would be with Pete, or how free she feels or how much better she is being treated. Then in an attempt to draw the whole thing out, she’s returning back to the same old thoughts for why she can’t.

Overall, an enjoyable story that’s not to be missed. The Bride Ships series is a historical fiction read with strong romance elements.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC. This is my honest review.

What a heartfelt story!

Jody Hedlund has the gift of bringing together the most unlikely couple and creating the most endearing venture. More so, she lets these differences bring out the best in each other, such that their differences are only tools to make each other better. I won't forget this story so soon.

Arabella Lawrence has been trained on how to be a proper lady. She would surely agree "training" is all it was as there was no place for error, no place for imperfection or frailty. But there is a limit to which the body and soul can take demand until it breaks to never be repaired. Hence why a gentleman's daughter finds herself on a Brides ship to the untamed settlement land. There her shortcomings are only highlighted, but also, there is where she find the most unusual sense of purpose with the help of a skittish indigenous girl, an almost blind grumpy old man, and their beloved baker.

This book had me up late at night and getting grumping at anything that dared to bother my reading time. I am very much looking forward to Abe’s story!!

Jody Hedlund does an amazing job of setting the scene and drawing the reader into the story. In this case, she's taken a wealthy British socialite who fell into a difficult situation and thrown her into a rough and tumble area of the Pacific Northwest, along with several other women of various classes, on a bride ship. The whole purpose of these ladies' arrival is to marry the men who are in the area. A romantic triangle ensues, covering various classes and social stations, and ethical issues arise stemming from the Native American population. While the reader has the benefit of omniscience, it's very easy to see how confused our protagonist must be....until she isn't. It wasn't until the afterword that I realized this book was part of a series, which is a testament to how well it works as a stand alone novel!

The Runaway Bride is book 2 in The Bride Ships series by Jody Hedlund. Although we were introduced to Arabella Lawrence in book 1, A Reluctant Bride, this story can be read as a stand-a-lone.

When we “met” Arabella in A Reluctant Bride, we did not know much about her. All we really knew was that she was on the bride ship for some reason and that she had some interesting scars. In this book, we not only learn about her past, we also get a wonderful love story. I loved Arabella’s growth throughout her story as it felt very realistic.

There are so many good characters in this book, including some great secondary characters. But my favorite character, by far, is Peter. He is arrogantly confident, but somehow loveable at the same time. I think it’s his heart and sense of humor that really drew me to his character. He is the perfect match for Arabella no matter how hard she fights it!

I am really liking this series! There is so much actual history that influences the storylines and the setting is not one I’ve read often. Once you start reading this story, you don’t want to stop.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This second installment in the Bride Ships Series "The Runaway Bride" is a wonderful follow-up to "The Reluctant Bride" where we first met the runaway bride Arabella. Jody Hedlund gives us a glimpse inside the history of Vancouver Island around 1862 through this book and how social class influenced the decisions individuals of that time made. She also portrays the attitudes of the day towards Native Americans and the spread of smallpox throughout their communities from different character perspectives which is a good history lesson to us all.

In this book, Arabella flees would would be a disastrous marriage in England to go into an unknown future in British Columbia. She lands there and then is courted by two men upon her arrival, Lieutenant Drummond and Baker Peter Kelly. The two men could not be any different in how they live their lives and interact with those around them. She struggles between the expectations of who she should marry in light of how her step-mother in England raised her and taught her to think verses the hopes that the servant Hayward who raised her had for her future.

God's love shows through in this book as there is a lot about giving forgiveness and forgiving others. I pray that those that read this book enjoy the story as much as I did!

Ms. Hedlund has done it again! She's written another page-turning story! I loved the story of Arabella, Pete, and Lieutenant Drummond. Ms. Hedlund does a wonderful job of developing the characters and setting. Additionally, this story is based on stories of actual bride ships, something I'd never heard of until reading this series. Read and enjoy learning about the struggles of being stuck in a certain class with so many expectations and how one woman's courage to break the barriers changes her life and the lives of so many of those around her.

I highly recommend this story for lovers of history and Christian fiction.