{Review} THE ACCIDENTAL MARRIAGE by Annette Haws

ASIN #: B00HEVJFNQ

File Size: 1515KB

Page Count: 336

Copyright: December 10, 2013

Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Standing on a Scottish tower high above the North Sea, Nina Rushforth gazed into the eyes of a lanky young man and made a big mistake—she fell in love. Six months later, she’s back in Utah with a ring on her finger, standing in front of a classroom of farm kids, discussing the dangers of dangling participles.

Instead of the sophisticated life she had imagined, Nina is keeping house in a minuscule apartment and living with a young husband who knows nothing more about being married than she does. Beset with cooking mishaps, lesson plans, and interfering in-laws, the newlyweds find themselves teetering on the brink of disaster—and neither knows know how to stop from going over the edge.

Award-winning author Annette Haws brilliantly captures the comic strife of young LDS love caught in the turbulent social crosscurrents of the 1970s. As Nina and her husband struggle with these first-year missteps, they must learn to trust the love that brought them together.

Mandy's Review:

First, I'd like to clarify something in case you're like me and you have no idea what LDS might mean (see book summary above, if you haven't read it yet). LDS is short for Latter-Day Saints.

While Nina and Elliott were both raised as Mormons, their families raised them in completely different environments. Nina's family raised her to be "one of the guys," strong, independent, and to use her brain. Elliott's family raised him in an environment that was more traditional. His mother ruled the house as strict as a captain runs his ship. Elliott, being the oldest, was the alpha male of the family (even though his father was still alive). Everyone looked up to Elliott and followed his leadership.

When Nina and Elliott meet in Scotland, it's almost as if they fall in love at first sight ... even though they were both dating someone else at the time. Some would say it's kismet that two Utah college students meet overseas in Scotland. Their arrival back in the States begins a tenuous relationship that seems doomed to fail. Despite all the obstacles, they both decide to give their love a chance and that's when they decide to get married ... six months after they meet.

I'm not saying they married too soon. I know a couple who was married six weeks after they met and their marriage lasted over 30 years, until the husband passed. Elliott and Nina's biggest mistake was not talking about important situations before they got married. Which of them would continue their schooling and which would be the bread winner to pay the bills? With this being a time of women realizing their true independence, does having a family right away make sense for Nina and Elliott? Do they want to live the rest of their lives in a small Utah town up the road from Elliott's family? What does Elliott expect of Nina in their marriage and vice versa? Those are just a few of the many conversations they should've had before they were wed, but they didn't.

Can Elliott cut the apron strings and make a life with Nina? Will the many arguments finally be too much for either of them to deal with?

While reading this novel, I kept expecting something monumental to happen. There were incidents that might surprise you but, really, nothing that wasn't unexpected. For me the novel was merely 'meh.' I, too, was tired of all the arguing and was about to divorce both of them from my life. I don't know that I would read this novel again.


*An ecopy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.