Celebrate Lit / April 12, 2025

The Rancher’s Unexpected Bride

About the Book The Rancher’s Unexpected Bride

Book: The Rancher’s Unexpected Bride

Author: Lauralyn Keller

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: March 25, 2025

In the rugged Montana Territory, a Boston socialite’s bid for freedom collides with a rancher’s quest for a family.

According to Boston’s elite society, Ella Mountbatten has it all: status, prestige, and a bright future. What they don’t know is that her life as a socialite has become a gilded cage of abuse and oppression under the control of her cruel fiancé and domineering parents. Desperate to escape, Ella flees Boston and seeks refuge in the small town of Harmony Springs, Montana Territory, where her former friend now resides as the sheriff. But with her family determined to drag her back to Boston, Ella’s hard-won freedom—and her very life—hang precariously in the balance.

Rancher Cody Brooks is ill-equipped to be the guardian of three orphaned children.

But that’s the situation he’s in after the death of his best friend. Now, what he needs is a wife to help provide love and stability to his makeshift family. So when a runaway heiress arrives in need of protection, it seems a marriage of convenience may be the answer to both their prayers.

But with danger closing in from Boston and the challenges of building a new life together, Cody and Ella must confront their deepest fears and desires. Can their marriage of convenience blossom into true love, or will the shadows of Ella’s past tear apart the fragile hope they’ve found in Harmony Springs?

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My Thoughts on The Rancher’s Unexpected Bride

The Rancher’s Unexpected Bride is a wonderful historical fiction novel that you’re going to love, about a marriage of convenience. Oh, and a bachelor who inherits three orphans.

Ella has been through a lot. She may be high society, but that doesn’t mean her life is perfect. Her parents are harsh and unloving. Her fiancé is abusive and controlling. She’s in a cage with no real way out. When the opportunity presents itself for her to run away, she grabs it with both hands.

She runs off to the west where her friend lives. But how can she remain if people come for her?

Well, an easy answer is to be married!

Because her parents and an ex-fiancé can’t steal her away from her husband. She’s not in love. He doesn’t love her. But he can save her, and she can help raise the children he finds himself in possession of.

The characters are so amazing. They are strong and full of faith. Everything that Ella has been through and she still has a sweet and positive outlook on life. It’s definitely a novel I’d recommend and read again.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of The Rancher’s Unexpected Bride

Lauralyn Keller loves to combine history and romance in stories that touch the heart. She lives in beautiful Colorado and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and reading.

More from Lauralyn

Stories have a funny way of percolating in my mind. I’ll be driving or doing dishes or some other mundane activity, and all of a sudden, an idea pops into my head. What my mind does with it then determines the course of a story.

Here’s a peek at my thought process for The Rancher’s Unexpected Bride.

Marriage of convenience stories are fun—maybe I could write one. Oooh, and I love Montana. It should take place there. Historical, of course, since stepping back in time is also fun. Hmmm….who should the characters be? Maybe a socialite….or an heiress….where would someone like that be from? Philly? New York?

Ooh, I know—Boston!

Yeah, Boston. Let’s see, her name can be Ella, though that doesn’t sound terribly high society. Maybe Ariella, but she prefers being called Ella. And she wants to leave town because she feels that social life is suffocating her. Hmmm, that doesn’t quite seem like a strong enough reason. Oh! She comes from a stuffy family….with harsh parents….and an abusive fiancé.

That’s why she runs away. I can iron out the details later.

Okay, so Ella runs from Boston to Montana. Now, who’s her love interest? A farmer might work, but why would they agree to a marriage of convenience? I suppose Ella could be a mail-order bride….hmmm, no, that might not work. She needs to leave in a hurry (the why to be determined later). Maybe the guy (let’s call him Cody—that’s a good name) is a widower raising young kids and needs a wife to help. Or….no, he took in the kids after their parents died. That’ll create an immediate need for a wife. Perfect! Actually, I think he should be a rancher instead.

And just like that, a story is born. Sometimes it comes to me in moments, other times in weeks. This story developed over a couple of years. I wrote one draft, decided it was too fluffy, and ended up giving it a complete rewrite. I’m very happy with how Ella and Cody’s story turned out. It’s a sweet, love-comes-softly romance, and I hope you enjoy it.