Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman

One of my favorite things to do is to wander around thrift stores. I adore thrift stores!! I drag my children down every isle while I shop happily to the sound of their whines and "pleeeeease"s. The thrill of the hunt keeps me coming back week after week. Thrift stores are wonderful, because I never pay full price for anything, including books. As a young mother, it isn't often that I find myself with extra funds to purchase new reading material, and when I find an exciting new book at a thrift store or used book store, I am ecstatic. So today, I'd like to feature one of my amazing finds. It's a little book titled Mrs. Mike. This isn't a suspense, though it is very romantic! I'm veering a little off course today, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to review this book. It's definitely an oldie--published in 1947, but it's a story that will inspire and touch your heart forever.

Publisher's Note:  A moving love story set in the Canadian wilderness, Mrs. Mike is a classic tale that has enchanted millions of readers worldwide. It brings the fierce, stunning landscape of the Great North to life-and tenderly evokes the love that blossoms between Sergeant Mike Flannigan and beautiful young Katherine Mary O'Fallon.


Mandi's Review: This is the true story of Katherine Mary O'Fallon, a young sixteen-year-old girl, who travels to Calgary, Alberta in 1907  to live with her Uncle John. She has pleurisy and because of her illness she is being sent to the Great North West in the hopes that the cool, dry air will help cure her lungs. Her Uncle is a rancher and Kathy is amazed by the new experience of traveling so far from home. Ranch life is very different than the life she led in Boston. She soon meets Sergeant Mike Flannigan and the sparks immediately fly. One of my favorite scenes is when Kathy has just finished cooking current berry pies for her uncle and the ranch hands. Not used to cooking with dried fruit, she messes up the pies, much to her embarrassment---


 "Well," said Mike, "when are you going to teach Kathy how to shoot?"
"You mean go hunting?" I couldn't believe it.
"Johnny bought her a twenty-two in town," Uncle said.
"You won't be needing any ammunition," Mike said, and grinned at me.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Well, you can use the currants in those seven currant pies you baked."


Was there really something wrong with the pies? I'd been saving mine for later because I was full. But I walked to the table and took a big bite of it to show him. It was as if I had pebbles in my mouth. I wondered what was wrong. But I wasn't going to ask them because they were laughing at me and because my mouth was too full of that currant rock to talk. To spit them out would be defeat, so I made a fake gulp and tried to hold my mouth naturally as if I had swallowed them. 


Mike said good-by. I didn't answer because I couldn't. He took my hand and leaned toward me till my hair brushed his cheek.


"Spit 'em out," he said softly, "and the next time, cook 'em."


In that moment, you too will fall in love with the handsome Sergeant Mike Flannigan. This is a very moving love story. A story of survival and family. The Great Northwest is an amazing backdrop and this book will leave a lasting impression on your life. I give Mrs. Mike 5 out of 5 stars.  

You can purchase a copy of Mrs. Mike on Amazon.