Review: The Wives of Henry Oades

The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran

Summary (from Goodreads): When Henry Oades accepts an accountancy post in New Zealand, his wife, Margaret, and their children follow him to exotic Wellington. But while Henry is an adventurer, Margaret is not. Their new home is rougher and more rustic than they expected—and a single night of tragedy shatters the family when the native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret and her children.

For months, Henry scours the surrounding wilderness, until all hope is lost and his wife and children are presumed dead. Grief-stricken, he books passage to California. There he marries Nancy Foreland, a young widow with a new baby, and it seems they’ve both found happiness in the midst of their mourning—until Henry’s first wife and children show up, alive and having finally escaped captivity.

My Thoughts: This was a very well-written book with interesting characters and quite the moral dilemma. What is the right thing to do here? Who’s to say? And, honestly, I could completely understand Henry’s predicament. He nearly lost himself grieving for his wife and children, all of whom he thought had been killed. He headed to America for a fresh start, and I believe to get away from the pain and daily reminders of his lost family. He had no way to know they were still alive. One might ask why he didn’t look for them or hold onto hope, and that’s easy – there was an adult woman’s skeleton recovered from the remains of their home (which was burned down). What compelled him to propose to Nancy isn’t quite as clear to me, but it was clear that by the time Margaret and their children arrived he had fallen in love with Nancy.

I found myself unable to pick a side. I waffled back and forth. Well, sorta. I didn’t like Nancy very much. Her youth seemed quite evident at times; she was rather immature. So, I didn’t really have sympathy for her. I did, however, have sympathy for Margaret. Her hurt when she realized that Henry moved to America. Her grief when she realized that he had moved on, created a new life for himself. Perhaps my feelings came from knowing how I’d feel if I was in her shoes. If my husband thought me gone and moved on, replaced me. But, then, they were gone for SEVEN years. That’s a long, long time to wait for someone to return …

This was a very interesting story that kept me reading for more. I didn’t plow through it as quickly as I do others, but I think it was because it’s a bittersweet story. You see the pain all parties go through, but you also see healing and friendships develop. I can only imagine how I’d handle such a situation, and how these people felt. What I did like was that there wasn’t any funny business going on. Henry chose to stay with one as his true wife, and just provided for the other because he felt it was the right thing to do. And no, I’m not telling which is which! If you wanna know, you gotta read it!

Overall, this is a very good story and I would definitely recommend it to my friends and readers.

My Rating: 4 stars

Source: Received through Crazy Book Tours for review.

Read It: You can get your own copy HERE. (This is an Amazon link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission. Your support is appreciated!)

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FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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