The Sister Wife

Summary (from the publisher): What if the man you loved told you God wanted him to take another wife? What if that woman was your best friend?


Set in the heart of the earliest days of a new nineteenth-century sect known as the Saints, The Sister Wife is a riveting account of two women forced into a practice they don't understand, bound by their devotion to Prophet Joseph Smith. When Mary Rose marries Gabriel, neither of them could foresee how quickly the community would turn to the practice of plural marriage. Devastated when Gabe is faced with an order from the Prophet to marry her best friend, Bronwyn, Mary Rose tries to have the faith to carry through with the marriage. But can she really be married to the same man as her very best friend? Can Mary Rose and Bronwyn face betraying both their husband and their God to do what they feel is right?

Review: Mary Rose is a young English lady who meets her future husband on her journey to America during the time period when Prophet Joseph Smith was just initiating his branch of the Mormon faith now known as the Saints. The premise of the novel rests around Mary Rose's crisis - What if the man you loved told you God wanted him to take another wife? What if that woman was your best friend? While I liked the general premise, the overall effect reminded me of a hallmark movie. And I didn't like Gabriel at all. I don't believe that Mary Rose would fall so madly in love with such a jerk who basically said accept that I'm going to marry and screw your best friend or you're going to hell - literally.

Stars: 3