Review: The Accidental Marriage

Blurb: Elliot was taller than Nina was, but not by much, and her blocky heels gave her the inch or two needed to engage him eye to eye. “I am woman. Hear me roar. Welcome to the seventies,” she said.

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 miniscule 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.

My Review: ****1/2 Stars

I remember getting married...a long time ago...and having quite an adjustment. I had dreams of getting married and living life in a fairy tale--happily ever after. Little did I know, there would be a lot of work and comprise to get to the happily ever after. Meshing two people from different backgrounds with different expectations isn't an easy task. I didn't go through nearly the amount of things that Nina did, thank goodness. I thought this was a great book--it was real and raw and really showed the emotion, strain, and ups and downs that newlyweds face. I especially enjoyed the time in history that it was set in--the 70s. Nina was so determined to be who she wanted to be and she didn't want to be set back by some outdated ideas. She was a trailblazer for women in her time. There were struggles that I didn't realize women faced at that time. My parents were newlyweds around the same time and it helped me relate to the place in history that they lived and build their lives together. 

These two were quite stubborn and headstrong, which was good and bad. I loved watching them grow and learn. Reading this book was a very emotional ride.

Content: kissing; intimacy between a married couple is eluded to, but in no way descriptive. Clean.

 

Meet the Author:

After fourteen years teaching in the public school system, Annette Haws set aside her denim jumpers and sturdy shoes to pursue her interest in writing fiction. A native of a small college town on the northern edge of Utah and a people watcher from an early age, Ms. Haws examines the tribulations and the foibles of characters playing their parts on a small stage. Her first novel, Waiting for the Light to Change, won Best of State, A Whitney Award for Best Fiction, and the League of Utah Writers award for best published fiction. She’s been published in Sunstone and Dialogue. She is the mother of four above average children and is the spouse of a patient husband. She blogs at annettehaws.com.