The Marriage Market

From best-selling author Stevie MacFarlane comes the final book in The Marriage Market series!

Martha Jonas can't seem to help feeling a bit sorry for herself. Ever since the accident that nearly took Euphemia and Suzanna from them, the men are more determined than ever to assert their authority. Even her gentle Ethan, the man she plans to marry, has put his foot down, telling her what she must and must not do. It's appalling! The very idea that, as her husband, the big Swede would feel justified - no, worse than that - entitled to pull her over his lap and smack her bottom when she displeases him is simply too much to bear.

Perhaps she won't marry at all. Yes, she is on the other side of 25, but she's also smart, talented, and turned a tidy profit with her dress shop in Philadelphia before she foolishly replied to that darn advertisement of Hugh's. He'd wanted a bride...one. He got dozens of offers, which, of course, made the women-hungry men of Seattle happy, but didn't do much for her. Many of the other applicants were younger, prettier, and often so flighty she wanted to box their ears.

Martha didn't see herself as silly. An independent woman was not a good match for a dominating man. Not at all, and Ethan was becoming more so by the day. No, she would not marry. The money she had in the bank would help her get started and her friends would help. The new Ladies Aide Society would give her plenty to do outside of her shop and she would dedicate herself to serving those women less fortunate than she, and to shutting down Seattle's saloons. While Martha was a novice to the Temperance Movement, Clara Webster, another unmarried bride, seemed to know exactly how to proceed.

That, of course, is before all hell breaks loose.

In the space of a few days, everything changes. The men find out about the secret plans for ‘that temperance nonsense.’ They are not amused. Jane’s children go missing on their way west, and their escort turns out to be less than desirable. Dr. Martin is furious. She does not come home that night.
Clara Webster falls into the hands of Lucas Armstrong, the owner of The Bucket of Blood, one of the most notorious saloons in Seattle. Mary disappears entirely, and Ethan finally decides he’s had enough of Martha’s wishy-washy attitude toward marriage.
With Amelia, Effie, Grace, and Tempest already in trouble and Suzanna off on her honeymoon, Martha works frantically to put everything to rights. Elinore is no help. She has her hands full trying to manage her Mr. Ferguson while he’s determined to keep Ellie from damaging his business. Come along for the ride. Will the last bride bow to convention and accept the love and authority of the man who offers what might be her last chance for wedded bliss?