Blackthorne’s Bride: Mail Order Bride, Book 4

Johnston’s gloriously dramatic 12th Bitter Creek novel, the fourth installment in her Mail Order Bride subseries (after Montana Bride), whisks readers across the Atlantic. In the late 19th century, Englishman Marcus Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne, is visiting the western part of America when he comes across a young woman, Josie Wentworth, being whipped by a Sioux warrior. Blackthorne rescues her and takes her back to England, nursing her himself as they make the ocean crossing. Two years later, his young wife, Fanny, dies, and Blackthorne needs to remarry someone wealthy. Josie has been working as a maid in one of Blackthorne’s homes, Tearlach Castle, where Blackthorne’s nephews are housed; thoughtful Fanny had her installed there so that he would have someone to turn to when she died. After Josie learns that she has inherited a fortune, she agrees to become Blackthorne’s new wife, hoping to learn why he abandoned his nephews to the horrible treatment they received at the castle. Johnston’s page-turner is replete with romantic angst, sizzling sex, and the promise of an enduring love. Agent: Katie Kotchman, Don Congdon Associates. (July)