Have you ever read a romance that left you with a big, giant, foolish grin on your face? Amy Barry’s westerns do that for me; they’re delightful hoots with lovable characters and this one tops her last. Marrying off Morgan McBride continues Junebug McBride’s quest to get all of her older brothers happily married off, come hell or high water. There are hijinks to be had, kisses to be shared, and a very sweet romance at the center of it all.

Junebug McBride may just be the very best historical romance PoV character of all time. The funny, witty fifteen-year-old tomboy tries her darndest to take care of her four brothers, but she was not cut out for chores and housewifely burdens and – darn it – she wants some space of her own, too. With one brother, Kit, married off to Maddy (Kit McBride Gets a Wife) a year before, Junebug now has her eldest brother, Morgan, in her matchmaking sights.

Morgan, meanwhile, is planning on going back on the trail after years of tending to his siblings now that Maddy and Kit can watch over the place together. But Junebug wants to marry Morgan off – to keep him from leaving their little hometown of Bear Creek, Montana. This is going to be difficult as Morgan has “as much poetry in him as a cooking pot.” Her serious, stolid, bullheaded brother drives her crazy – but she, naturally, also loves him a bunch.

Junebug’s ad selling Morgan’s best (and worst) qualities reach Epiphany – Pip - Hopgood in Nebraska, but she picks it out of desperation more than anything. Pip is the last unmarried sister in her family and she definitely doesn’t want to end up an old maid. But Pip is not conventional in any respect – she’s much taller than most of the men in her hometown, and she is plain of face and filled with fearless opinions and brio. Her parents are getting desperate, and not a single man seems interested in her; in fact, her ancient last prospect has turned her down for a mail order bride. Out of desperation she turns to the Matrimonial Times, and picks out Morgan’s advertisement.

The problem is that when Pip arrives in Montana expecting to marry Morgan, he’s quite confused, as he’s definitely not looking for true love. A comedy of manners ensues as Morgan and Pip try to figure out how to fall in love (or if they even want to BE in love), Junebug tries to defend her actions, and the McBride boys try to take high tea. Can true love sprout from these humble starts?

Man, does this one sparkle, and the comedy flows with just as much speed as the romance does. Pip is a great heroine, looking for a household of her own but finding something much more interesting. She thinks the ultimate solution to her problems is to project ladylike elegance, but naturally that’s not gonna win her points in the McBride household. Only by convincing Morgan to accept the real her does she find love.

I actually sympathized with Morgan’s desire for freedom over romance; when you’re the responsible adult who’s dedicated your whole life to raising your siblings, of course you want to experience something outside of the small world you’ve made for yourself. That made him stand out from the many, many dukes, cowboys and pirates who have refused the call of true love because of their bad family experiences. The McBrides are close-knit, exasperated, loving, and anything but horrible people.

The romance that results has a lot of tension but it’s sensible tension; he’s being stubborn for a sensible reason; she’s trying to be someone else because she’s not going home. The end solution is the best possible one, and it even teaches Junebug a lesson or two

In fact, every character is memorable, even off-page ones who score passing mentions. I want a whole novel about the miners who live and work in Bear Creek. Heck, I want a YA novel about Junebug!

If you have any fondness at all for western romances, then make Marrying off Morgan McBride a part of your summer romance reading list.

Another hilarious, fun, sweet, and quirky Western romantic romp from Amy Barry! I absolutely adore the McBrides and their beloved Buck’s Creek. While I do think this one didn’t surpass Kit’s story for me and the fast-burn didn’t work as well with so much of the story happening before Morgan and Pip even met, this book was endlessly fun. I can’t wait to read about all the shenanigans Junebug gets her family embroiled in next!

Thank you to Berkley Romance and Let'sTalk Books for the advanced reader copy and to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

This is the second book in the McBrides of Montana series. Though it can stand alone, I recommend reading Kit's book first for background.

Morgan McBride is the eldest brother, and he moved back home to Buck's Creek to honor his mother's dying wish. Now that he has successfully raised his siblings, he's ready to return to the trail. But his little sister, Junebug, has different ideas. She advertises for another wife.

Junebug remains my favorite part of this series. I adore her so much and really enjoyed seeing her interactions with Morgan. At a few points, the book indicated that Morgan and Junebug were the most similar of the McBride siblings, and I would have liked to see that explored even more.

Epiphany (Pip) was an amazing heroine to add to the mix. It was great watching her come into her own throughout the story. And her grandmother was perfection and added even more.

Put together, I love all of the characters and enjoyed the book. But the romance itself didn't really grab me. It felt fairly instalove, and I didn't find the chemistry or relationship particularly believable. And the steamy scenes felt extraneous and didn't really fit the plot (a critique I never thought I'd give, as I prefer my romances pretty steamy). But I'll keep coming back for more in this series given my love of the McBride family. The set-up for the next book already has me excited for that one.

3.5 stars rounded up

Welcome back to Buck's Creek, Montana, circa 1887! Junebug McBride is at it again, secretly placing matrimonial ads for one of her brothers in hopes of a little female help around camp. This time she's matchmaking eldest brother Morgan, a former cattle trail cowboy, who promised their dying mother he'd raise his younger siblings. Now that Kit's married and the others are older, Morgan figures he's done his time and he's stir-crazy for the independent, quiet, open trail life ASAP. Not so fast, thinks Junebug, as she poses as Morgan through written letters. Epiphany Hopgood from Nebraska is just who Junebug's dreamt up. Her cooking skills will keep Morgan in Montana and also relieve Junebug of her hated cookhouse duties. When Pip shows up in Montana for matrimony, a blindsided Morgan sparks with fury...and interest?

This series is such a fun departure from my usual contemporary reads and I love it for that. Between the details of the time - cookhouses, outhouses, washing dishes in the creek, getting around on horse and carriage and trains - the rugged Montana setting, and dialogue of both the era and backwoods life, I'm truly transported from my everyday life. And yet so many of the themes are timeless, family, love, romantic interest, frustration, shame, fear, following your dreams and finding your path, the storytelling is a compelling mix of escapism and!recognizable complexities and emotions.

This installment carries some steam in the storyline that Kit's story didn't explore. It took a while for Pip and Morgan to forge a connection, other than initial lust. While normally I like to see a deeper connection sooner, this story was such a fun, hilarious, twisty and atmospheric ride to get there, that I really didn't care. Junebug sure is a standout in these books, she is a hoot, and I loved the preview that she and Beau make a matchmaking bet, seemingly for his story? Whenever the next book comes out, and whichever McBride it's about, I'll absolutely be reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the advanced copy.

4.5 stars!

I am loving The McBrides of Montana series, and Morgan McBride is certainly no exception.

Morgan McBride is the eldest McBride and now that one of his brothers is happily married, he feels he can leave the family. He has been itching to get back out and head up a cattle drive… to see the country. But Junebug has a fierce attachment to him and refuses to let him leave. Figuring that since her first advertisement for a wife for her brother worked so well, she would try again and find one for Morgan.

Epiphany (Pip) Hopgood has been lead to believe that she is very plain and will become a spinster. Every prospect that her family lined up in Nebraska has declined. And now Pip doesn’t want to be beholden to taking care of her parents. With help from her spritely grandmother, they respond to an ad and find themselves headed to Montana. Only problem is, Morgan has no idea she is coming or that she is his intended fiancé. Being fiercely stubborn, Pip isn’t going to take no for an answer or tuck tale and head back home.

So what happens? You will definitely want to one click this hilarious, endearing story. And rest assured things will get steamy between Morgan and Pip.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the chance to read and review this book.

June Bug and the McBrides are back in this second hilarious mail order bride historical romance set in the remote Montana wilderness.

June Bug is one of the best young protagonists! I love these books so much as she secretly schemes to arrange brides for each of her brothers. In this book she's looking for someone who will put up with her grumpy eldest brother who yearns to leave the home for adventure after being tied down looking after everyone else.

Red-headed, Nebraska spinster, Epiphany "Pip," along with her spunky grandmother are the ones who answer June Bug's ad, not realizing that Morgan has no interest in getting married. Despite his protests, Morgan can't help falling for Pip but decides to leave anyways. Naturally June Bug doesn't let him get away and arranges for Pip, granny and herself to chase after him.

Lots of adventures follow in this slow burn, romantically charged Western that is sure to have you laughing out loud and swooning when Morgan and Pip finally give in to their mutual attraction. Many thanks to NetGalley and @prhaudio for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review! I cannot wait for the next book in this series!!!

Welcome back to Buck's Creek!

Junebug is back on the hunt for a mail-order bride for her oldest brother Morgan, the rough-n-tough Cowboy of the family. Morgan is a romantic at heart once a women gets under his skin, and I am smitten!.

Epiphany Hopgood arrives under the impression someone desires her only to discover the ruse she's fallen. She's been repeatedly been disappointed in her prospects for marriage, and now she's determined to prove she's a worthy wife. Morgan feels he's finally ready for his "freedom" after caring for his brothers and sister for the past six years. All he wants is to saddle-up, and re-join his cattle crew.

What happens over the course of the story is pure mayhem as Morgan is sticking to his guns on leaving home. Lasso in the laughs as Junebug takes the reigns to help Morgan to open his heart for love and marriage.

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the complimentary copy.

Junebug McBride is at it again.

In an attempt to keep oldest brother, Morgan, from returning to his life as a cattle driver, Junebug places another ad for a wife - one that actually knows how to cook. What arrives in Bitterroot is Pip Hopgood, cook extraordinaire and a whole lotta woman. Pip has a long road ahead of her trying to break through the walls Morgan has put up for years, but she’s not going to shy away from the challenge.

I was hoping for some spice from Kit’s story so I was pleasantly surprised we get a a taste with this book. It looks like Beau is going to be up next and I’m glad it’s not going to be another bride-by-surprise story…I mean it would be pretty hard to surprise one family for a third time.

CW/TW: death of loved ones, grief, abandonment

This is my first time reading a western historical romance, especially one with a mail-order-bride trope, and I have since learned this is not for me. I think this is a good one for anyone who may be starting off with this subgenre, due to its humor and use of 1800s language.

This series is always fun to read. Pip, Morgan, Granny, and Junebug are such fun characters. Of course that awful Willabelle had to make an appearance. The setting on the mountain where the McBride’s live sounds beautiful.

There were times I was laughing, smiling, fighting tears, ranting at Morgan in my head, and wishing I could try Pip’s cooking.

I am not a fan of instalove or miscommunication and there was both in this….but it somehow worked? Morgan defines miscommunication with his grunting and not listening when he’s in a temper fit. Junebug broke my heart a time or two and Pip’s low self esteem was annoying at times. She was treated awful by most people in her life though, so it makes sense why she feels that way.

Beau is trouble and he has trouble coming his way too. I keep wondering if Charlie will show up soon. Hopefully their long lost father never returns. The garbage.

This is the second book in Barry's McBride series, and I remain thoroughly charmed. I've taken to describing this series as "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers -- but with less problematic consent issues!" to my customers/friends.

Barry has a real knack for creating colorful characters (Junebug remains SUCH a stellar hellion) and slathering on the romantic tension until we, the audience, start screaming, "JUST KISS, YOU IDIOTS!" It can be infuriating watching the leads get too caught up in their own heads/own issues to recognize what's staring them right in the face, but those conflicts are done SO WELL, too. Barry really makes it understandable why her hero and heroine aren't immediately skipping off into the Happily Ever After horizon; she makes them, and us, really work for adn earn that HEA, dadgummit!

"Morgan McBride", like the "Kit McBride" book that came before it, is a pretty fast read that I very much wanted to finish in a single sitting. Now that it's over, I'm already impatient for the next installment in the series, about the pretty boy of the family, Beau. (And I sincerely hope the final book is all about Miss Unrepentant Matchmaker herself, Junebug!)

I received a complimentary advanced copy of MARRYING OFF MORGAN McBRIDE by Amy Barry. Thank you to Berkley Publishing and PRH Audio for the chance to provide an honest review.

MARRYING OFF MORGAN McBRIDE is the second installment in the historical romance series, The McBrides of Montana. This time Junebug is once again getting in the middle of her older brothers’ personal lives. Morgan is the oldest of the McBride family and the one who had to step up to raise Junebug and their brothers when they lost their parents. He’s dreamed of being free from family obligations, so now that he has one brother successfully married with a wife able to help take care of Junebug, he’s ready to hit the trail.

Epiphany doesn’t consider herself the ideal woman, but she’s eager to find her own path in life. When she sees an ad for a bride, she answers the call with her grandmother in full support. Little does she know that it is Junebug she’s been speaking with via mail instead of Morgan himself.

I generally don’t gravitate toward historical romance, but this period of time and this series do keep me well entertained. I really enjoyed returning to Junebug’s antics and the way this romance gets the additional, often amusing, perspective of a meddlesome baby sister. She loves her family and while her motives are somewhat self serving having other women around to share the womanly work, she also has a heart of gold and a good eye for a successful match for her brother.

This was a fun and quick read!

I received a reviewer copy of Marrying Off Morgan McBride by Amy Barry from the publisher Berkley from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: We are back in Bucks Creek, Montana with the McBride siblings in this second in a series (no need to read the first prior but you'll wanna). The oldest of the McBride siblings, Morgan, has been left in charge of his family's estate and his siblings since his mother died and his dad left, but he has longed to return to the trail! Now that second oldest Kit is married and settled, it seems he can finally get back and leave his family in good hands. However, his little sister Junebug is dead set against it and decides to write another honest advertisement in The Matrimonial News to find him a wife and keep him in Buck's Creek. Epiphany Hopgood has always wanted to get married but no one will agree causes she's too much, so when she answers a marriage ad it seems fated, but alas shock awaits.

What I Loved: Well spit, I love this series. I love Junebug's scheming and this ranch in historic Montana. The dialogue is fun, the characters are wonderful and their are so many antics. This book is the definition of rom-com, it gets pretty funny and I will laugh so much! I love Junebug and her family and the trappers. It made me want to return to Montana. I loved our leading lady this time, Pip is just a delight and I really love her and her story and could relate to never feeling wanted. I truly just adored her. Also the chemistry is fire.

What I didn’t like so much: I know this is the time period, but damn there's some problems here, especially sexism. I wanna scream at times, but I think the author might also be pointing out how dumb this viewpoint is but it makes me like the book less. This also caused me to like our lead less.

Who Should Read It: People who love westerns. People who love scheming in their books. People who love families in their romance. People who love historical romance.

Summary: A rancher finds an unwanted wife.

This book brought me such joy and the nonsense level of the series is amazing. A must purchase for harlequin heavy collections that need a fresh series in the mix

This is the second book in a companion series so you don’t need to read the first book before this one. However, I do think you could benefit from it since I was slightly confused when I started Marrying Off Morgan McBride.

The story begins with Junebug posting an ad for a wife for her brother, Morgan. Junebug wants someone to help around the house, especially with cooking and she also wants to give Morgan a reason to stay. In comes Epiphany or Pip who answers “Morgan’s ad” looking for a wife.

As you might imagine, Morgan quickly learns of Junebug’s scheming to arrange a marriage for him and it all sort of goes from there. Pip wants to get married and she decides to do every single thing she can to ensure it happens. Morgan is reluctant and the two have this push-and-pull which culminates in some delicious tension and a bit more.

Regardless, Morgan still decides to leave, causing Pip to decide if she wants to follow him or go back home, husbandless. Since this is a romance, I’m sure you can guess what she decides to do but it ends up being a rip-roaring time for all of the characters but especially Pip.

Despite being marketed as a romance, I feel like this was basically a coming-of-age story for both Morgan and Pip. Morgan needed to come to terms with his childhood while Pip needed to grow more confident in herself. While I did enjoy seeing these two eventually realize their feelings for each other, it felt like a little too late.

While I didn’t absolutely love this one, I’m sure historical romance readers will enjoy it and end up liking it more than I did. Marrying Off Morgan McBride wasn’t a bad book but it just wasn’t for me. Regardless, I know this series has its audience out there so if the concept sounds enjoyable to you, it’s worth checking out.

Read if you like:
🤠 Westerns
📕 Historical Romances
🤠 Cowboys
🥰 Romance
🥵 A Little Spice

This one was a bit different from the first in the biggest way that there was some steamy scene goodness in this one and it was well done!

I really loved the character growth and being back with this group to continue the series and truly am looking forward to book 3 so much!

The pace in this one does move quite a bit slower than the first book and has different plot points happening, but all in all was still very enjoyable!

If you love books with casts of characters, I highly recommend checking this one out!

I liked the sound of the premise of this book - I'm a bit of a sucker for mail order bride stories, 2 complete strangers trying to figure out how to suddenly live together - always while fighting the elements to create a livable home - but I just couldn't get past the writing style. To me it felt like the author was trying too hard to "sound" like the past, but unfortunately the past we hear in a bad western.

I didn't make it past the first chapter. :(

I'll keep my review here on Netgalley only.

I knew this book was the second in the series, and despite not having read the first book, I was okay diving into this story. I knew lots of people who had read the first one and wanted to read this book, and these people read “clean romance” so I didn’t think much of it. And while I did love the book, plot, and characters, it did include quite a few innuendos, graphic descriptions, and an open door scene (which can be skipped).
This makes it hard for me to leave a review because everything but these parts made this a five-star read, I really loved this story so much. But these scenes, mostly at the end of the book, took away from the story. I know many readers won’t mind that aspect and it doesn’t take away from their reading experience, but for me it did.
As for my feelings about all the great parts of this story? I loved the McBride siblings and each of their personalities, especially Junebug. Pip and her granny were so fun and I loved their interactions and spunk. Morgan was a perfect grumpy, swoony hero. And all the beautiful descriptions put me right in Buck’s Creek and surrounded by all that Montana beauty.
So while I did enjoy this book, I probably won’t read the others in the series because I won’t be sure how clean they’ll be.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

It's always a good time being with the McBrides! Junebug was looking to find a wife for Morgan this time with the objective of finding a women who could assume all her housekeeping duties.

That woman was Pip, and I have to say, she was a fantastic heroine. Pip was under appreciated by almost all the people in her life. They made her feel that she was not attractive enough, womanly enough, small enough, and should just accept her life as a spinster. This just made me root harder for her. Once she left home, Pip was able to be more herself, and that self was someone worth knowing and loving.

Morgan was a tough nut to crack. He seemed like the grump of the family, but he really was quite tender hearted. He carried a lot of guilt related to his mother's death and the ways he thought he failed her when she was alive. My heart ached for Morgan, and I hoped that after six years, he would be able to heal. Maybe all her needed was someone to walk along side him.

For all the Junebug lovers out there, she was back in full-force, and she was joined by a few new colorful characters. The ending set up the next book which holds the promise of another full-filled adventure with this charming family.

Marrying Off Morgan McBride is a delightful romantic comedy that will leave readers grinning from ear to ear and their hearts all aflutter. Set in the wilds of Montana, the story follows the plucky and endearing heroine, Maddy Mooney, as she sets out to marry off the rugged frontiersman, Kit McBride. Along the way, readers will be introduced to a cast of delightful secondary characters, including the irrepressible younger sister, Junebug. This charming romance is perfect for anyone who loves a good laugh-out-loud love story. With its witty dialogue, engaging plot, and lovable characters, Marrying Off Morgan McBride is sure to become a beloved addition to your keeper shelf.