Here’s the part where you may expect me to say that Mail-Order Bride surprises the reader with daring originality that makes a worn-out plot new again. But it doesn’t. In fact, the storyline is about as generic as the title, but -- here’s the surprise -- originality isn’t everything. In the right hands, you begin to feel that maybe there’s a reason some plots are tried and true, and Ms. McKade’s hands certainly fit the bill.

Kathleen Murphy is the requisite mail-order bride, and Trev Trevelyan (I’ve got to assume the first name is a nickname from the second, but I never saw a “real” first name mentioned) is the aforementioned handsome widower. He has two children -- one an infant son, the other a four-year-old daughter rendered mute by her grief over her mother’s death. Could Kate be the woman to win the heart of a man soured on love by a bad first marriage? Can she find a way to be a mother to little Brynn and coax Annabel Lee to speak again? Well, take a wild guess.

But as I said, originality isn’t everything, and the author manages to make these characters come gently to life. She rarely strikes a wrong note in Kate, who is burdened by her memories of a terrible childhood, yet faces her life with strength and cheer. It’s easy to like Kate, and easy to root for her happy ending.

And Trev is a worthy match for her. He’s a gentle father and a good, caring man, yet still appropriately proud and manly, and he and Kate are clearly right for each other. There’s plenty of light teasing and flirtation between them, as well as slow sexual tension, and it all flows from page to page with perfectly natural ease. The clear mutual respect between them doesn’t hurt, either, or the fact that they both know how to act like rational adults.

Adding interest to the story is the subplot involving Trev’s job as a mine supervisor. There’s simmering conflict between the hard-working miners and the fat-cat rich mine owner, and Trev’s stuck squarely in the middle, constantly weighing his conscience against the job he has to do to ensure security for his children. Kate finds herself torn as well, sympathizing with the plight of the miners yet increasingly convinced of Trev’s fairness and good intentions.

The mining subplot brings fresh conflict to the love story, too. The more Kate learns about the dangers of a miner’s life, the more she becomes convinced she could never marry a man with such a precarious occupation. But Trev is a miner born and bred, so hers becomes a battle of head versus heart.

All in all, Mail-Order Bride is a gentle, enjoyable love story with all the right elements. If you’re just sick to death of mail-order bride stories, this might not be the book for you, but I think most readers will find that Ms. McKade makes a tried-and-true story feel like a reliable old friend you’re happy to meet again.

-- Ellen Hestand