Annalisa is a recent widow with a young daughter and another baby on the way. She cannot manage the farm alone so her father sends to Germany for a groom.         A Noble Groom Jody Hedlund Bethany House April 2013 A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund is a wonderful historical romance novel that is set in Michigan and takes place from 1880 to 1881. Annalisa Werner is a recent widow with a young daughter and another baby on the way. She feels that her husband was murdered but she cannot prove it. She cannot take care of the farm alone so she agreed to let her father write to his brother in Germany asking him to send a man to America to be her husband. Carl Richards, a nobleman in disguise, arrived at the farm after fleeing England where he was accused of a murder that he did not commit. Many thought he was the groom and were set for a wedding but being a Christian and an honest man, he told them that he was not the anticipated groom. He knew absolutely nothing about farming or any kind of manual work but he agreed to help Annalisa until her groom would arrive. Annalisa’s late husband was cruel and unloving and she thought that was the norm and did not expect to have a happily ever after marriage. As can be expected, Carl and Annalisa began to care for each other but she had a groom coming and he wanted to leave the farm and go to Chicago to teach. The author did a great job in developing all elements of the story. The characters came alive on the pages of the book and the plot had several twists and turns that provided a good deal of suspense. The dialogue had German words scattered throughout the book and it is very evident that the author did a great deal of research before writing this story. Not only was I entertained by the reading of a very good story but I also learned some history at the same time. I was very impressed with the way the author showed exactly how hard life was for the German immigrants in the late nineteenth century. Her development of Carl’s character added so much to the book with one example being how his strong beliefs in God helped Annalisa regain her faith. She kept the suspense going through the entire book with destructive fires, childbirth, lice, murder, Carl’s fear of his identify being revealed, attempted extortion, lack of rain, and waiting for a groom to arrive. I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of some of Carl’s “inventions” that made life and work easier for Annalisa. I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a well written and heart warming historical book that also shows God’s love and forgiveness throughout the story.