Masterpiece Marriage by Gina Welborn
Series: Quilts of Love
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Abingdon Press (December 16, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426773633
He wants to save his business. She wants to be a professor. But are they asking for more than they can really have?
After a flood damages the looms at Zenus Dane’s Philadelphia textile mill and the bank demands loan payment, Zenus turns to his aunt for help repurposing his textiles. Trouble is . . . his aunt has already been hired by the lovely yet secretive Englishwoman Mary Varrs.
Eager to acquire his aunt’s quilt patterns, Zenus attends the summer Quilting Bee, a social event his aunt has uniquely designed with the secret purpose of finding Zenus a wife. However Zenus only has eyes for Mary, but Mary has no such desire for him.
Though his aunt is determined to design a masterpiece marriage, both Zenus and Mary will have to overcome their stubborn ways. Can he realize that love requires stepping out of his routine? And will she recognize that following her heart doesn’t mean sacrificing her ambition?
My Thoughts
Set in the late 1800s when America was going through big changes in industry, women’s rights, and breakthroughs in science and knowledge in general, this was a book that I truly enjoyed! I haven’t read very many books set in this time period, and it has been a pleasure to plunge into that time!
Zenus Dane’s textile factory was horrifically damaged by flooding. His business future loomed very grim, until he decided to reconnect with his Aunt Priscilla in the hope that she can help him come up with a quilt pattern that he can market to try to salvage his loss.
Mary Varrs is Aunt Priscilla’s neighbor. Mary, who is working diligently to become a professor, becomes part of Aunt Priscilla’s plot to find her nephew a wife. Mary wants none of that. And really, neither does Zenus.
The story matter in this story was really very fresh and out-of-the box. Women’s suffrage, botany, textile mill–all of those combined into a novel centered around a quilting theme. Love it!
The characters were enjoyable. I found myself laughing quite a bit and definitely felt drawn in continually.
Loved this read, and I would highly recommend it!
About the Author
Gina Welborn is the author of several novels and novellas, including The Heiress’s Courtship. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers; the president of Faith, Hope and Love; and one of the founding members of InkwellInspirations.com. She lives in Cache, Oklahoma, with her pastor husband and their five children. Visit her online at GinaWelborn.com.
