Disguised Love by Marie E. Bast

Disguised Love: An Inspirational Victorian-Era Marriage of Convenience Romance Set on the Western Frontier During the Cholera Epidemic with Reading Guide

                                 

He longed for freedom and land. She longed for a man who would love her. Opposite goals but could they make it work and both get what they wanted?

Disguised Love (Pre-order Now)

Marie E. Bast 

Paperback and Kindle

July 21, 2026

270 pages

Ethan Tree Road Press

                                                             

In 1849, their parents' death from cholera forces Swedish immigrants Ingrid Swanson and Lars Nelson to wed in order to rescue their four siblings from an orphanage and adoption. But that's the least of Ingrid's worries. She agrees to a fake marriage, in name only, until she can earn enough money for passage back to Sweden and her fiancé, Christof, before he finds out.

Lars' heart shatters after the death of his fiancée, Mary, Ingrid's sister, which forces him into a marriage of convenience with the quick-witted but unhappy Ingrid and tosses his life further into trepidation. The gold rush of '48, entices many Iowa farmers to abandon their homesteads and head west, which allows Lars to purchase farmland at $1.25 an acre. He and Ingrid build a log cabin, work the land, and make a home for their grieving siblings, who are a handful.

Lars knows of Ingrid's intention to return to Sweden. Yet, after weeks together, Ingrid's advice and help prove invaluable, and her charming ways capture his heart. Lars sets a plan in motion to win Ingrid's love and convince her to stay. But when her fiancé arrives in the U.S., unexpectedly, who will she choose? Could hidden feelings have turned into disguised love?

COMMENTS:

It's historical fiction. It's rugged. It's about what the pioneers had to endure on the prairie. The hardships. The sacrifices. The loneliness. The strength that some had but many didn't possess to go on. It's about courage, faith, and the will to stay alive. To keep families together against the elements, to exist and to outlast the hardships. To survive and battle the obstacles that block their way. And it's why love would be disguised.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marie E. Bast is the Publishers Weekly bestselling author of: The Amish Baker, The Amish Baker's Rival and The Amish Marriage Bargain. Her other awards include: The Amish Baker's Rival, a 2021 finalist in the Mid-American Romance Authors' The Carla Awards Contest; The Amish Baker a finalist in the OCCRWA 2020 Book Buyers Best Book contest for published authors; contemporary book, The Perfect Client, won first place in contemporary for the Ignite the Flame Contest.                    

Ms. Bast’s books whisper words of hope, healing, and forgiveness through complex characters and twisting plots. She enjoys writing Amish, contemporary and historical stories. Married for thirty-five years, she and her husband live in northern Illinois. When she’s not writing, she’s walking, golfing, gardening, or spending time with her family.

Visit her website at www.MarieBastAuthor.com or follow her on social media: Twitter @mariebast1; Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest @mariebastauthor; or visit her blog mariebast.blogspot.com.