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Martha Hix

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His Make-Believe Bride (Texan Brides Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Martha Hix (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 56 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Texan Brides

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She’s a bride with a secret as big as Texas…

Widowed and alone, Linnea Powell agrees to swap places with a reluctant mail-order bride. Arriving in Lubbock, Texas, armed only with her future husband’s letters promising a prosperous life, Linnea feels hopeful—until the stagecoach leaves her standing before a handsome stranger who has more ambition than he does prospects. Still, Linnea accepts Sam Kincaid’s proposal, knowing the moment he seals their vows with a hungry kiss, she’ll never be able to keep her past a secret. For her appealing new husband is all too eager to share the marriage bed….

Sam knows there’s something mysterious about his new bride. But that only adds to Linnea’s allure. And when he learns his wife is really a vulnerable widow, he’s even more determined to give her the life and family she dreams of. Sam’s not afraid of hard work, especially when the prize is Linnea’s love. What the rugged rancher doesn’t know is that Linnea has an even bigger secret, one that could destroy his reputation—and shatter his heart….

Praise for Martha Hix

“A romantic mixture of sensitivity, humor and spice, Martha Hix's delicious love story offers a refreshingly atypical heroine.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars, on Terrific Tom

“Filled with humor...and a wealth of love. Enjoy!” —RT Book Reviews on Magic and the Texan

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01BAZIDDY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lyrical Press (October 25, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 25, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 871 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 105 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,646,065 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #5,388 in Small Town Romance eBooks
- #18,793 in Western & Frontier Romance eBooks
- #27,093 in Western & Frontier Romance

Customer Reviews:
4.0 56 ratings

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Martha Hix

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Martha Hix grew up in Texas and didn’t mind listening to stories about how her ancestors had been in the place for a long, long time. Well, in Texas that just meant more than a hundred years. This weird kid soaked up the stories and became an ardent student of family and general history, which came in handy when she took to writing both fiction and non-fiction. Eventually, her books were translated into many foreign languages, some of them very foreign, like Japanese, Greek, and Turkish. On the home front, she lives in the fabulous Texas Hill Country with her husband and their spoiled four-legged kids.

As for books and interests, she says, "I would love to keep up with Facebook, not to mention Instagram and Twitter, but I stay active around town, and with the grandkids and their kids--plus my dear relatives!--not to mention my second career as a certified loan-signing agent and mobile notary--and then there are my WINOS and Slacker pals... I don't have time for social media.

Still, I always have time for anyone who reads my books. I love to hear from you. Write to me at IBHixup@yahoo.com."

"In fact, hearing from readers has gotten me through plenty of rough spots over the 33 years since my first book, PRISONER OF LOVE, co-authored as Maranda Catlin, hit the stands all over the world. Whenever I've felt my worst, I've gone back and picked up a nice random letter from a gracious reader. I've read words that kept me going. THANK YOU, all you wonderful folks who have stuck by me all these years. I do appreciate you. Now and always. I am, Martha Hix"

Customer reviews

4 out of 5

56 global ratings

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Bookworm32

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2016

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I Enjoyed His Make-Believe Bride.Linnea told a big lie, but so did Sam. Neither was in a position to back out on their mail-order marriage, and they didn't want to in this often funny, heartfelt tale of Texas. I did miss Hix's hot sex, but I guess she had her reasons and I'm not going to count her down for it. She understands how tough life was...just before Texas got great!

One person found this helpful

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Nancy Lynn White

Lies lead to love

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

A stone cold broke Texan stretches the truth to land a wife. And the mail order bride takes on an alias to land her dream Texan. A disaster in the making when the truths are revealed unwittingly or through a brief act of courage. A quick and enjoyable read.

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Gaele

sure to please readers who prefer a story that feels as if it could fit into the romance shelves of years gone by with no issue.

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2016

The book’s tagline is “she’s a bride with a secret as big as Texas”, and I couldn’t help but feel that her secret was her backstory. Let me explain, while the book itself was enjoyable, it didn’t reach the level of must read on for me. Much of this seemed to tie to the fact that it feels as if there is more that we needed to know of Linnea’s story – pieces that would have flushed out her character and given me a reason to want to know more…. In fact, want to know her ‘secret’.

Now I couldn’t be too upset with Linnea for her lack of forthrightness, as Sam – the man she is to marry, also didn’t portray his circumstances honestly. So going in, from the synopsis I knew that both were free with the truths and revelations they put out there…..

So – what emerges is a bit of “let’s do better” to some extent. Sam is willing and able to provide the dreams, the work and even the ambition. Linnea just didn’t seem to present me with the palpable sense of her determination or desire to make a new start…. And then…the secret.

I really am tiring of ‘secrets’ that aren’t really all that important in the grand scheme unless you consider the lack of honesty. Sure we are dealing with the morality of the time, and the rather fluid perceptions of what we are ‘told’ was reality and the actual reality. Life was tough and people had more to worry about in the frontier (or even small towns) than Linnea’s secret.

Sweet and chaste with the exception of a few minor descriptive passages, the story flowed well from its rather awkward and underdeveloped start point, and concluded as one would expect. A decent start to a new series, sure to please readers who prefer a story that feels as if it could fit into the romance shelves of years gone by with no issue.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

2 people found this helpful

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D. Gatrell

A very good historical novel with likable characters, and some not so likable.

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is a cute story with fun characters. Yes, there is the grouchy aunt, but she has good qualities. And Sam, he's one hot dude. This is a must read. You will enjoy this book. I know I did.

One person found this helpful

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Janet Kaderli

Enjoyed His Make-Believe Bride

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2017

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed reading this book by Martha Hix. It brings to life Lubbock, Texas, at the beginning of the 20th century. His Make Believe Bride had an O. Henry type twist in it that was enjoyable. I'm glad to get re-acquainted with Martha's books.

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2017

Verified Purchase

As in real life everyone wants to present themselves in a better light. I enjoyed reading. I have found a new Author.

One person found this helpful

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gigis

His Make-Believe Bride Review

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2016

She’s a bride with a secret as big as Texas…

Widowed and alone, Linnea Powell agrees to swap places with a reluctant mail-order bride. Arriving in Lubbock, Texas, armed only with her future husband’s letters promising a prosperous life, Linnea feels hopeful—until the stagecoach leaves her standing before a handsome stranger who has more ambition than he does prospects. Still, Linnea accepts Sam Kincaid’s proposal, knowing the moment he seals their vows with a hungry kiss, she’ll never be able to keep her past a secret. For her appealing new husband is all too eager to share the marriage bed….

Sam knows there’s something mysterious about his new bride. But that only adds to Linnea’s allure. And when he learns his wife is really a vulnerable widow, he’s even more determined to give her the life and family she dreams of. Sam’s not afraid of hard work, especially when the prize is Linnea’s love. What the rugged rancher doesn’t know is that Linnea has an even bigger secret, one that could destroy his reputation—and shatter his heart….

Review:

This is a sweet romance.

In this story we have Sam and Linnea who start off their relationship with lots of lies and misleading info. Sam has sent away for a mail-order bride, but through a turn of events Linnea, a widow takes the real mail-order brides place. So their marriage starts off on bad footing. They come together and start to fall in love while trying to make a go of their farm in turn of the century. Their lies and truths come about in a ala "Gift of the Magi" moment.

I enjoyed this story of Sam and Linnea. They are both interesting and likable characters. This is more a sweet romance, low on the sexy scenes, if that is what you are looking for. I had not read this author before but I really enjoyed her storytelling.

4Stars

*I VOLUNTARILY REVIEWED AN ADVANCE READER COPY OF THIS BOOK PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER*

One person found this helpful

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sandra mertz

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

I liked it very much. I could not put down.

One person found this helpful

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