If you like Historical fiction based on facts this is a very good story.
It is about the women who were sent to the Americas to find either husbands or work a board the Bride Ships from England and their hardships.
Good interesting story, drama ,angst, romance.
Enjoyed learning about this part of history.
Voluntarily reviewed

This novel was beautifully written from beginning to end! It begins in 1862, by introducing us to Charlotte, a 21 year old who is living with her older, married sister Harriet and her husband. She is being pressured to marry well and is being encouraged by Charles (her brother in law) to try to get in good graces with a man in high social standings and has many connections. After a party where things go very poorly with this man, rumors about Charlotte start spreading, this along with other mishaps, cause Charles to send both Charlotte and Harriet away on a Brideship heading to North America.
This novel does well to transition from events before the voyage, to the voyage and then after. Charlotte is a strong, independent woman who has been discouraged by others to think and do things on her own, due to her social obligation to marry well and and fall into society. During her voyage, she meets the lower class women who are going to North America for a chance to work or find husbands, she feels more kin towards them and cares about their treatment. Without giving too much away, she finds her passion on the ship in helping people and works to build a life for herself after they get to land.
The ending of this book was exactly what I was hoping for! It had closure, and was believable to the reader.
Thank you @Netgalley and @SimonandSchuster publishing for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Easy read, sweet story despite the hardships shared by the women of the era. You can not dismiss the hopeful disposition of the many who travelled long distances to start a new life. This book did not delve into the deep history of the Canadian west coast and this was disappointing to me. Still a good read but don't look to it for a historical learning experience.

This time period this book is written is one of my favorites. However, the subject matter is new to me. I wasn't aware that Brideships were sent to Canada nor that they went all around South America to land on Vancouver Island!
Overall an enjorable read. I would have liked a bit more about the Brideships and the program itself. While the main character was ultimately in no better situation than many of those women she was a mid upper class woman and was given opportunities they weren't. She wasn't actually one of the Brides even though the intention was for her to be married off to a respectable man.
I really enjoyed learning this ore about how the gold rush happened in Canada and how shared worked. I've been to many of the places mentioned in the book so it was interesting to have a story unfold about those tiny communities in the Fraser Canyon of B.C.

This was the perfect book to read before The International Women's Day. This was an unexpected gem. I was not aware of the Brideships that sailed from England to the New World during 1800's.
This ships carried young single women to British Columbia to be married to the single men in the colonies. The British government felt that bringing women in to marry these "wild" men would some how tame them and rein them in to live a proper British lifestyle.
Charolette is a young woman at the age that she should be married the problem is her father passed away and left no dowery for her or her sister. Harriet, her older sister, manages to marry well. Harriet's husband begins to push for Charolette to be wed. He would like her to marry a man that will help to better his position in the government.
I have often wondered how the people who moved to the new world could basically treat the native peoples as nonhuman. This book gave me much insight into the way of thinking of the time.
The Social pressure placed on women to marry and keep up appearances is astounding.
The conclusion of this book tells a bit more about these brave women who took on the journey to the new world. Not all wanted to find a husband in fact many were looking for a better life and a chance to make a life on their own.
This was a wonderful story and I hope that it becomes a classic.
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy. I am so happy to read and review such a true gem.

This book is a definite must read for a time in history that isn't well known. I never knew about these brideships, fascinating! Highly recommend.

Charlotte and her sister Harriet live-in Victorian-era England. Harriet is married, but Charlotte has not found a husband. Some rules dictate what a woman can do in Victorian Society.




Eventually, Charlotte and her sister leave England to forge a new path and hopefully find a husband for Charlötte. They head to British Columbia. This is a story of strong women in challenging times. As the two women sail from England to British Columbia, they encounter different people and adventures.

Told from Charlotte's point of view, I learned about Victorian society and the roles of women during that time. I enjoyed this book. The characters we're were exciting and well developed.

Lovers of historical fiction will not be disappointed with this story of love life and the challenges of living as a woman in the Victorian era.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was inspired by the British "Brideships" in 1862 bringing brides to British Columbia, Canada. A well researched book on a forgotten part of history. It recounts the stories of these courageous women who left the homes they knew for the great unknown.

While it was a truly lovely read, the pace at the beginning could have been a bit faster to capture the reader from the start.

I’m not sure how to feel about this book. I love the premise; it’s not an area of history that I’ve read about before. Ms. Howard does add some history, enough to make it truly historical fiction. However, it has too much fluff which makes it much too long. I found myself skipping over descriptions of clothing and appearances of characters, I kept reading to find out Charlotte’s fate but that too was very predictable. It’s a good book for those who love historical fiction and don’t mind the fluff. I would have traded that for more historical background

Leslie Howard delivers a novel of the Brideship Tyndale that keeps readers entertained from beginning to end through the main character Charlotte. We first see Charlotte in England living with her sister and her husband. Through a series of events, her and her sister Harriett end up on their way to Vancouver Island on the Tyndale to start a new life.

On the ship, Charlotte meets Dr. Carson who she assists during the journey as a nurse despite her sister's protests. Charlotte's passion for healing helps introduce her to the lower class brides in steerage and to the various members of the ship's crew. She also meets Reverend John Crossman, a man who is on his way to the colonies to assist the native people's with battling the smallpox epidemic. He brings vaccines with him to try and prevent the spread of the disease.

Charlotte's journey continues through Vancouver Island and up into the British Columbia territory as she finds her place in this new world.

I recommend this book to others as it gives us a glimpse into the history of North America. Leslie Howard has an excellent debut novel and I'd love to see what she comes up with next!

Thank you #netgalley and #simonshuster for this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! Wonderful read and I highly recommended it to my friends and family . A must read!

This is a first time read for me by Leslie Howard. When beginning my read of The Brideship Wife, I was tempted to stop as it was a bit slow. However, as I continued to read I found the story well-written and the story lovely.
I loved the history and how the plot flowed until ending. The descriptions and main characters were very nice and I became drawn into the story because of the writing. Very nicely done and would love to listen as an audio.

I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for this complimentary ARC. All opinions in this review are solely mine.

3.5 - Stars

Interesting historical fiction. Somewhat predictable but still entertaining. I did enjoy the characters and their story.

Charlotte Harding is one of the potential British brides bound for the colony of British Columbia. Unlike the majority of her fellow travelers, she had a more advantaged upbringing but has become dependent on an unscrupulous brother-in-law and a victim of a cruel assault. She must leave if she hopes to start anew. At first it seems Harriet, her sister, is accompanying her; as the long and arduous voyage continues, she receives notice of her husband’s accusations against her concerning adultery, divorce proceedings and remarriage. Charlotte has befriended the second-class women and grown close to them through her nursing talents. She arrives in the frontier towns with determination to achieve her dream, readiness to learn, and fierce devotion to the.memory of her loved ones. Leslie Howard has based her plot and characters on actual events and people, enriching the story of Charlotte and enlightening her readers on a unique period of history.

This book was so well done, the words flowed beautifully and the story was lovely. The world building was excellent and I could easily picture the setting and the main characters. I was sucked into this beautiful story from the get go and would definitely would reading something else from this author

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a wonderfully written book about the shipment of women from London to the gold fields in British Columbia. These women are to become wives of the early settlers located there. I did not know much about this process but Leslie did extensive research and was able to locate the manifest of one of the actual ships upon which she based her fictitious story. History comes to life as you learn why the women came, their journey across the seas and what happens to them once they arrive in a strange place and meet the prospective husbands. She covers all topics pertinent to that period of history and I found myself involved with the characters and just could not put the book down. In the final chapters of the book she explains how she learned about the bride ships and the truths behind the fiction. The story flows well but is a bit predictable. In this case, in this book predictable is okay.

If you love historical fiction as I do, you will love this one. I highly recommend it and if I could give it more stars I would

A nice debut. with a very predictable plot. The main character is well-developed., but many of the others are also predictable. However, the author shows promise and I'd read another.

I received a complimentary copy of The Brideship Wife from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love this series, but it always leaves me wanting more! Facts and general historical information woven into a beautiful but difficult path create a very interesting novel. Drama, blackmail, danger, disease, murder, scandal, addiction, theft, prospecting, bigotry--everything was included in this book! My only wish was for a bit more romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book. I was not familiar with the bride ship from England to Canada that this book of historical fiction was based upon. It was interesting to learn about it. The book touched upon a great many social topics; the treatment of the Natives living in Canada at that time, the use of opium, the class distinctions, and the treatment of women. That's quite a bit to go into one book but the author did a good job of incorporating it into the story without getting too specific. It made you want to find out more on these topics during that time period. I found the writing easy to read and the story line flowed along at times painting a picture of what life was like then. The fire scene was so vivid to me. If you like historical fiction this is a book not to be missed.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent and riveting historical fiction piece! This novel chronicled the history of Great Britain's "Brideships'. Haunting and Unforgettable. This book is going to stay with me for a long time. I will be thinking of these women. for days to come. The marking of a good historical fiction author is the ability to transport a reader to a certain era. Leslie Howard did exactly that! When I was reading this book.. I forgot where I was! I had to literally pull myself back to the present. However.. I wished I could just stay suspended in this rich, historical tale that Howard so expertly wove. Recommended! Will definitely recommend to customers.