Ruby's Risk

Westward Home and Hearts Mail-Order Brides, Book 2

By: Marisa Masterson

Narrated by: Caroline Turner Cole

A man might homestead, but it takes a woman to turn that place into a home! This matchmaker will settle the West one couple at a time.

Under suspicion after his wife’s murder, Elias Kline knows he has to leave Mills Bluff. Learning a lynch mob is planning to kill him, he slips away from town. Taking only his smithy tools and his young son, he chooses a new name — Ezra King. Heading west seems a fine way to start over, but he’ll need a wife to raise his son and cook his meals. One sent by an agency shouldn’t expect love, he decides.

A matchmaker convinces lonely Ruby Hastings to take a risk on Ezra King. After all, the man is helping fulfill the nation's destiny of settling the west. Reading the man’s letter, Ruby aches for the widower's little boy and seizes on this chance to be a mama to him. After all, with a brother on the run from the law and a newly married sister, her siblings no longer need Ruby and this motherless boy does.

It should be a convenient arrangement. What happens when the mail-order wife begins to push past the walls guarding Elias’s heart, challenging him spiritually and emotionally? When danger follows him from Mills Bluff, will Elias be able to keep his family together?

©2019 Marisa Masterson (P)2020 Marisa Masterson

Romance, Action and Great Characters

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator and the story. I could just picture the bride and groom meeting and the trip west. Rest assured there is going to be trouble when someone wants the son of Elias (Ezra). I loved Ruby and her characterization. She was kind and took care of her siblings taking no thought of herself until she raised all of them.
Romance, action and great characters, that’s what makes a great book!
I received a free audiobook but was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Well done!

I so enjoyed Ruby and Elias’ story. Such a sweet romance. The characters were well developed and, even though the story is short, I fell in love with the main characters. The tension was good, so the story kept my interest.

The author did a great job with writing this novella and the narrator did a great job with the audiobook.

Fantastic

Loved this book! Hard to stop listening to from the first words. The mystery mixed in with the romance was wonderful.

Wonderful!

A story of loss and love found with a little mystery along the way. I love stories on settling in the west and mail order brides so this was perfect!

Being accused of murdering his wife, Elias takes off with his young son to fiind a new place to settle far from his accusers. But he knows he needs a wife to take care of his son and hone and sends off a mail order bride. Plus she would not expect love which he knew after his first wife, he might never feel again.

Ruby is lonely. Her sister is married and her brother is on the run. She hopes by answering the ad she can be a mother to Ezra’s son. Right before she begins her trip to marry, she is left with a surprise. .

A journey of unexpected trials and joy that warms the heart. The narrator Caroline Cole did a wonderful job and I did not want it to end!

Faith and faithfulness

This is a marriage of convenience / mail order bride book. Their isn’t a lot of build up in the relationship but it is a sweet arrangement and all involved are happy. It has a bit of an adventure with the man having to change his name and move to protect himself and his son from the person who murdered his wife. Another child is also involved when he marries his new wife.
The narrator did a good job but there was a bit of change in volume occasionally.

Exciting

This was a sweet clean historical western romance with plenty of excitement to go around! I loved how the main characters grew throughout the story and how all of the loose ends were taken care of.

Chance Meeting

A chance meeting with a matchmaker, Ruby Hastings decides she has been a spinster long enough. However, life was not done with her yet and she becomes a mail-order bride with a child – her brother’s child. Betrothed to Ezra King, Ruby takes on relocating and becoming a mother not once but twice! Unfortunately, Ezra has a secret … and a lynch mob is coming for him!

A delightful romance story in days of settling the west. Well told, the author, Marisa Masterson weaves a beautiful story of a romance between two people and how they combine two families into one. Masterson is detailed in her descriptions and builds connections between the characters and the listener. One can easily visualize the story and feel the raw emotions of jealousy, hate, love, and passion.

The narrator, Caroline Turner Cole gives a notable performance. Her cadence is smooth and steady. Her voice is pleasing and keeps the story moving along with her clear articulation and delivery.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook, it was clear and well-produced
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Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

A good story!!

I really enjoyed this story! I loved the characters and the narrator did a good job with it. In fact, I wish that there had been more to it- it ended to quickly! I would of loved for issues to have taken more time and depth to resolve and the story to have take a couple more hours! Would definitely read this author again.

I received this copy in exchange for an honest review and these opinions are my own.

New Approach

I enjoyed reading a mail-order bride book where there wasn't a struggle to fall in love, even though Elias took some time to admit it out loud, his feelings for Ruby were clear from the beginning. There was murder, suspense, adventure, and romance. All making this a real hard-to-set-aside audio book. My Monday chores took a hit! :) I'm just recently reading books my Ms. Masterson and am so glad I discovered her work. Pleasantly clean both in language and content. I will be recommending her books for sure.

Ms. Cole did a wonder job of narrating this book. That made the book even more enjoyable. The sound on Chapter Nine had some sound issues and needs some work. This were strictly technical problems and had nothing to do with the narration.

Thanks to the author for providing me with this audio book review copy. I am voluntarily leaving this review.

An absolutely enjoyable sweet MOB!

It is usually inevitable that I find something distracting or unlikable about a mail order bride book, but I must say this one had nothing in it that I didn’t like. Ruby who spent her marrying years raising her brother and sister married her sister off after her brother runs from the law, although it is an assent. She doesn’t know what she is going to do and then she meets a woman from westward hearts matrimonial agency and decide maybe it is her third for love. She travels to Saint Joseph Minnesota to meet a man alive again who is actually it’s real king he too is running, but not from the law from a lynch mob who wants to listen because they think he kill their daughter his sons mother. Soon after meeting she realizations what a great idea this was in it is it long before she is in love with them and heat with her, but the people who want him dead or hot on the trail. This book is so good and there is so much more to the story than what I put in the summary there’s a point where her brother joins them it’s just good edit she also has her brothers baby because his wife died the whole book is good and although this sounds like a crazy description it all makes sense once you read the book I just love that I can’t recommend it more the narrator was so good I thought you did an awesome job. This book is great. Please forgive any mistakes in this review as it is impossible to fix them when using a screen reader on Audible. Just know the book is awesome and if you love mail order bride books you love this book.