The Golden Bride

Woodhouse continues her Daughters of the Mayflower series (after The Patriot Bride) with this rich tale set in San Francisco during the 1849 gold rush. Olivia Brighton has been married to Hezekiah Brighton for only six weeks, but she’s unhappy. On their way from San Jose to San Francisco, Hezekiah is killed in a hunting accident and Olivia must make it the rest of the way herself in search of her brother, who she hasn’t seen in 10 years. When Olivia arrives at her brother’s restaurant, she is unprepared for the wretchedness and filth that she finds in the city. Meanwhile, her brother’s friend, devout Joseph Sawyer, is working to clean up immoral San Francisco and fight for better working conditions for Chinese immigrants. Though Olivia is happy to be reunited with her brother, she doesn’t feel safe in the booming, crime-ridden city, and as she is one of the few single, upstanding women in town, she is bombarded with ball invitations and marriage proposals. However, it is Joseph who slowly captures her heart. When Joseph uncovers an underground slavery operation and Olivia gets involved in Joseph’s work, they face grave danger. Woodhouse’s love story rises above other historical romances with its engrossing setup of virtue resisting rampant sin. (Apr.)