Mail Order Brides of the West: Bertha — Debra Holland

MAIL-ORDER BRIDES OF THE WEST: BERTHA, a Montana Sky Series Novella by NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Debra Holland

Bertha Bucholtz returns to her St. Louis home after an unsuccessful stay at the mail-order bridal agency. Her family house is overflowing with her thin, beautiful sisters and their many suitors, and shy, overweight Bertha is lost among the chaos. Even her baking skills -- so praised at the agency -- aren't special, for her six sisters and her mother are also excellent cooks. Desperate to be living on her own, Bertha searches for a job as a cook but with little success.

Then a letter arrives from her nemesis at the bridal agency. Shrewish Prudence Crawford, now Mrs. Michael Morgan, invites Bertha to move to Morgan's Crossing, Montana Territory and work as a cook and housekeeper at the boarding house for her husband's miners.

Upon her arrival in Morgan's Crossing, Bertha has to contend with Prudence, who seems to have mellowed -- or has she? The boarding house is dirty, run-down, and full of uncouth miners. As the only single woman for miles around and a lauded cook, Bertha quickly becomes the siren of the tiny town as well as nearby Sweetwater Springs, as miners and cowboys flock to court her. Now the shy woman who had no choice of suitors has an abundance of them to pick from. She never would have dreamt having too many swains was a bigger problem than having none at all.

1880s Mail-Order Brides of the West Series:
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Trudy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Evie
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Heather
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Lina
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Darcy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Katherine
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Prudence
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha

Montana Sky Series in Chronological Order:

1892
Beneath Montana's Sky

1886
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Trudy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Lina
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Darcy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Prudence
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha

1890s
Grace: Bride of Montana

Wild Montana Sky
Starry Montana Sky
Stormy Montana Sky
Montana Sky Christmas
A Valentine's Choice
An Irish Blessing
A Rolling Stone
Painted Montana Sky
Glorious Montana Sky
Healing Montana Sky
Sweetwater Springs Scrooge
Sweetwater Springs Christmas
Mystic Montana Sky
Singing Montana Sky
Bright Montana Sky (March 2018)
Montana Sky Justice (August 2018)

2015
Angel in Paradise