The Mayflower Bride- Five Star Review

By: Kimberley Woodhouse

Book Blurb:

Mary Elizabeth Chapman boards the Speedwell in 1620 as a Separatist seeking a better life in the New World. William Lytton embarks on the Mayflower as a carpenter looking for opportunities to succeed—and he may have found one when a man from the Virginia Company offers William a hefty sum to keep a stealth eye on company interests in the new colony. The season is far too late for good sailing and storms rage, but reaching land is no better as food is scarce and the people are weak. Will Mary Elizabeth survive to face the spring planting and unknown natives? Will William be branded a traitor and expelled?

My Thoughts:

We all know the story.

But with The Mayflower Bride, you won’t just know what happened, you will live what happened!

“I keep asking the Lord for wisdom in how to rejoice through this, and even though I don’t know the answer fully, I am encouraged to keep living one moment at a time. To keep serving Him. That’s what this whole journey was about, my dear. To free ourselves from other restraints and be able to worship Him wholly. If we lose sight of that and dwell on our grief, we will tarnish the memories of those who’ve given up their lives on this venture.”

This book is not historical fiction. This is history come to life! The Daughters of the Mayflower series begins with The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse and I whole-heartedly give this book 5 stars. The amount of effort put into the historical research for this book was magnanimous. Of all the characters in the story, only seven of them are fictitious. I learned so much about the lives of those first settlers than I knew before.

The little group of Saints and Strangers had banded together in hopes to build a thriving colony across the ocean away from everyone and everything they’d known. Now those numbers had decreased, along with their supplies and so much of their strength.

As you experience the pain and struggles endured by the Mayflower voyagers, you will, as I was, be impressed by their strength and courage. Even the best laid plans often go awry, and for the Saints and Strangers on the Mayflower, sorrow and sickness plague their journey every step of the way.

God, I don’t understand what You are doing. I don’t want to complain, but we sure could use Your assistance.

These weary travelers learned to depend on God for strength to endure, courage to face the unknown, and to find joy in the little things. They believed God has sent them on this journey, like the Israelites in the wilderness, could they trust God to bring them safely to the promise land?

The drippy, leaky ship couldn’t take away that God’s mercy was forever sure. The winds and the rain couldn’t deny that His truth would endure. No matter if the mast was fixed or not. Nor if the ship even sank. God’s truth would endure.

The main character Mary Elizabeth struggles with fear. Along the way, she finds her faith tested more than she ever imagined and discovers the source of true courage.

Courage, she just needed courage. Why was that her constant prayer now? And why was she so weak when everyone else around her appeared to be strong?

William Lytton wants nothing more than to flee his past and make a new life for him in the New World, but along the journey he finds faith and family—two things he never thought he’d have.

Before meeting her, he’d thought all his dreams were to start a new life in Virginia Colony. To be a successful carpenter — a well – respected member of society. But now it had all changed. He’d begun to seek God. And he hoped for love.

There were many lessons to be learned through this journey:

Patience- If he’d ever prayed for patience, he knew now not to do it again. Learning how to be patient was proving to be his greatest enemy.

Joy- Amazing what a few months of hardship could teach. To find joy in even the smallest matters.

Getting out of our comfort zone- “If only I’d had the courage to do it long ago, things would be different. Maybe I could help you more. But I stayed in my comfortable place — even though the Lord prodded me.”

Praising him in the storm- Letting go was hard to do. Losing people you loved, even harder. But she needed to keep her focus on the source of true joy — the Lord. What could she praise Him for today?

Even as I added the quotes from the book, they again brought tears to my eyes. How we could all grow so much more in these areas! As a person often plagued by fears, the courage of Mary Elisabeth and the other “pilgrims” touched my heart. They left their homeland and loved ones on a journey to a New World. One where they would be free of religious persecution and allowed to worship him as they believed the Scriptures taught. They lost so many of their members through sickness that first winter and yet they praised him anyway. Oh, that I would remember to praise him in the storm and have patience that his timing is always best.

In the dead of night and the midst of those terrible winds, God had blown them directly into the place they had been trying to find. A safe harbor.

More to come in the Daughters of the Mayflower series:

The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1620 Atlantic Ocean (February 2018)
The Pirate Bride by Kathleen Y’Barbo – set 1725 New Orleans (April 2018)
The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep – set 1760 during the French and Indian War (June 2018)
The Patriot Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1774 Philadelphia (August 2018)
The Cumberland Bride by Shannon McNear – set 1794 on the Wilderness Road (October 2018)
The Liberty Bride by MaryLu Tyndall – set 1814 Baltimore (December 2018)

 

About the Author:

Kimberley Woodhouse is the best-selling and award-winning author of more than a dozen books. She is a wife, mother, author, and musician with a quick wit and positive outlook despite difficult circumstances. A popular speaker, she’s shared at more than 2,000 venues across the country. Kimberley and her family’s story have garnered national media attention for many years including ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Montel Williams Show, Discovery Health channel’s Mystery ER, The Hour of Power, The Harvest Show, and over 1,000 other TV appearances and radio interviews. She lives and writes in Colorado with her husband of twenty-five years and their two amazing kids. kimberleywoodhouse.com
Find Kim on twitter and facebook:
twitter.com/kimwoodhouse