Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman

Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: Jan. 2002 by Berkley Trade (First published 1947), 320 pp.
Source: Library
Review: 5/5 stars

Brief Summary: (From Goodreads.com) 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.


My Thoughts: The reason I posted a review of These Is My Words recently was because I wanted to be able to compare it to Mrs. Mike.  I loved this book.  I read it several years ago when I was pregnant with my first child.  I really liked it then but my taste in books has changed a little over the last few years so I wasn't sure if I would like it as much this time around.  It was just as good, if not better.  To me, Mrs. Mike and These Is My Words are very similar in the following ways:

• Both are told by a young female protagonist in first person
• Similar historic time period (one set in late 1800's, the other in early 1900's)
• Both protagonists absolutely adore their husbands
• Each of them endure severe trials
• Both married peace-keeping military men

Even though they are similar I much prefer Mrs. Mike.  She seemed so much more real to me than Sarah Prine did.  Maybe that's just because Katherine Flannigan was a real person but many fictional characters can seem very real.  Katherine had flaws and I enjoyed watching her overcome them.  Sarah was always just too perfect and too strong for every occasion.  I also preferred Katherine and Sergeant Mike's relationship over Sarah and Captain Elliot's relationship.

Mrs. Mike made me laugh out loud but also made me cry.  That's a great combination in my book.

Recommendations:  I would recommend this book to all those who loved, or didn't love, These Is My Words.  If you haven't read that book but you like a sweet romance and a historical book that will make you laugh and cry, then this is a great book for you.  The best part, it's a clean read.


Ratings:  1.3.2  There is a some violence dealing with the dangers of frontier life, and there's also some profanity but fairly mild if I remember right.


Thanks for reading!