The Pelican Bride

February 3, 2014
White (Crescent City Courtship) takes liberties with historical fact in this inspirational and sweet historical romance. Readers are introduced to the lives and times of the “Pelican Girls,” brides brought to the New World’s Gulf Coast in 1704 to help begin the colonization process. While little is known about the actual Pelican Girls, aside from what is contained in church records, the fictionalized ladies are brought to life in a sanitized, genteel fashion. Genevieve Gaillain, a young Frenchwoman, arrives in Louisiana with her sister, both as mail-order brides, in hopes of building new lives better than those they’re escaping in Old World France, where they suffered from religious persecution. Their journey intertwines with that of the Native Americans and other colonists in a convoluted web of lies, deceit, and sin, challenging Genevieve to stay true to her faith, herself, and her new husband. New France comes alive thanks to intricate detail, though the effect is tempered by the sheer volume of secondary characters and Byzantine plot.

April 15, 2014
Based on a little-known true story of "The Pelican Girls," this first installment in a new trilogy is set in the Louisiana Territory in 1704. The novel centers on a feisty young Frenchwoman named Genevieve Gaillain and her sister, Aimee, who escape France for a greater life in the New World as mail-order brides. Life in the colonies lacks the creature comforts of France, but it's better than a French jail, where Genevieve was held prisoner before her aided escape. Genevieve's husband, Tristan Lanier, also has secrets of his own that could destroy their marriage and their lives. VERDICT A lush and highly detailed historical setting sets an atmospheric tone for this tale of love and life in New France. The well-researched story of the Pelican Girls, so named for the ship that brought them, is an unembellished look at a slice of the human experience not often told. Recommended for fans of historical fiction.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2014
Dragoons take Genevi've Gaillain's Huguenot father from his home and viciously execute him right in front of her. Turning a blind eye to her illegal faith, a kindly priest smuggles Genevi've and her flighty, immature, less-religious sister, Aim'e, out of France to start new lives in America as mail-order brides. However, even in the New World, Genevi've's religion has to be kept under wraps. Both Genevi've and Aim'e, along with the other Pelican Girls, are contractually bound to marry the French Canadians who have explored the southern frontiers and are now ready to settle down. Brothers Tristan and Marc-Antoine Lanier, born on the wrong side of the blanket to a French nobleman, crossed the ocean and established themselves as translators and respected diplomats between the white and native populations. Times are troubled, and the last thing the siblings are interested in is competing for a bride. But once Tristan sees Genevi've, it's instant attraction, one both of them are determined to overcome. White's carefully researched story, set in what would become Mobile, Alabama, is filled with duplicity, danger, political intrigue, and adventure. This unique book will appeal to a wide range of readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)