The Chapel Car Bride

The Chapel Car Bride by Judith Miller begins in the spring of 1913. Hope Irvine along with her father, Reverend Layton Irvine, a traveling missionary, are traveling on Herald of Hope chapel car train. Hope had been living with her Aunt Mattie in Pittsburgh until her passing. It took some work, but Hope convinced her father to let her travel with him. She will be able to assist with the children and play the organ for the services. Their new assignment will take them to Finch, West Virginia. They temporarily stop in Brookfield where Hope is accosted by four ruffians and a miner traveling through town comes to her rescue. They finally arrive in Finch and Hope meets the miner once again. Luke Hughes works for the Finch Mining and Company along with everyone else who lives on the hill in Finch. Miners are having a hard time since hours have been cut and they are finding other ways to make money. Kirby Finch got into trouble once again and his father has sent him to Finch to work. Kirby is more interested in making quick, easy money that will allow him to escape what he considers a backwater town. Kirby believes Hope will provide a nice diversion while he is in town and then he comes up with a plan. Kirby offers to drive Hope to neighboring towns where she can teach the children about God and the Bible. Luke knows that there must be another reason for Kirby’s generosity, and he is determined to find out the reason. Luke is jealous of the time Kirby is spending with Hope. He has gotten to know Hope and is falling in love. But he does not feel worthy of such a wonderful woman. What is Kirby up to and is Hope being put in danger? Is there a chance for a future between Hope and Luke? The Chapel Car Bride is nicely written and has an interesting concept. I had not heard about chapel cars previously and it was interesting to find out more about them. I was, though, disappointed with Judith Miller’s latest work. It was nicely written, but it was not up to her usual standard. The characters were not fleshed out or brought to life (flat). Hope is a naïve, upbeat, devout young woman who believes the best in everyone (I am surprised little birds did not fly around her head singing sweet tunes). Luke is the poor, handsome yet godly man who struggles with his cynicism of Kirby (yawn). The story builds up to Kirby and what he has been doing in Finch. The conclusion to this storyline is very anticlimactic. All the sudden it is over. I thought it was wrapped up to quickly and neatly. The pace of the book is slow. When you keep checking to see if you are closer to the end, you know the book is creeping along. I give The Chapel Car Bride 3 out of 5 stars (it is okay). It is a sweet romance novel, but I just thought it needed more (complexity, depth, feeling). It was too predictable for me. Some issues are never discussed in detail (the father’s illness and recovery as well as the mining accident are good examples). There is a light, Christian element throughout the book (information about Bible stories and prayer). I have read all of Judith Miller’s works, and this is the first one to disappoint me.

Actually 3.5 - 4.0 stars I have read other Judith Miller stories that I enjoy more than this one. It was not my favorite but is was not to bad either. The plot does tend to drag a bit, yet I wanted to find out how it would end in the long run. Hope Irvine is the chapel car preachers daughter. She has a love for the Lord and a willingness to serve him in some difficult circumstances. She tends to think the best of all even to a fault. Luke Hughes is a rugged mine worker who too loves the Lord and feels a desire to preach. When he finds he has feelings for Hope will it ever work out or are there just to many differences. Kirby Finch, the mine owners son, also plays an important part in this novel. Will he ever truly change his ways or is he just to far gone?