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A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist is set in 1860s Seattle. Joe Denton is a logger who needs a bride to keep his land. Anna Ivey comes west to get away from her cruel boss, believing that she will be the cook for Joe’s crew. He discovers that she is way to pretty to be a mail-order bride and she begins to reconsider her stance against marriage.
Gist is talented at creating a inspirational historical fiction that is fun and slightly steamy (within the bounds of propriety, of course) without going over the edge into preachy.