Golden State Brides by Keli Gwyn and Erica Vetsch ~ Review

Lucie's Review: Two heartwarming romances set under a California sky.

Previously published as two separate novels, A Bride Opens Shop in Eldorado, California and A Bride Sews in Needles, California.

In A Bride Opens Shop in Eldorado, California, Elenora Watkins agrees to become Miles Ruttledge's business partner, but when she and her daughter arrive, she finds that he is less willing to be her business partner than she believed. So she decides to open her own store...next door!

It is a fun filled adventure, I liked how Elenora and  Miles went back and forth with competing sales between their stores, and thinking up great ways to draw in customers with guest loyalty programs.

Mile and Elenora both had their scars from the past, but they grew and found healing from their faith. I loved the character of Matilda, she was just so cute! Another great character was Miles' mother, who was so sweet and definitely scheming!This was such a fun read and I loved how the story came together with the plot and character interactions.


In A Bride Sews in Needles, California Megan dreams of becoming a Harvey Girl, but instead she finds herself almost over her head after only a few short hours of training and being assigned to Needles, California the one place that nobody else wanted to be, because it is in the middle of the desert.
There she meets the mysterious Caleb McBride, who longs to join the countless other young men on the battlefields of Europe, but he has a secret that prevents him from doing so.
Can Megan help to heal his wounded heart?

I loved the setting of California, during WWI. It was fun learning about the Harvey Girls and life in the desert, along with the hardships they faced.

Caleb was a brave and honorable character, and I respected him deeply because he had such a strong sense of self-control and it took real courage for him to do what he did. What a great, true hero. Megan had such a kind and compassionate heart, and was a fantastic heroine.

Overall, this story was just so touching, and so good that I hated to put it down. I think I read the whole thing in less than a day, and honestly I haven't read a book by Erica Vetsch that I haven't loved :) 

I would definitely recommend both of these wonderful novels!

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