Brides and Brothers by Anneka R. Walker

 Camille Kelly is pushing 30 and feeling like her dreams of becoming and wife and mother are slipping away.  She lives with roomates who are also dear friends, but she is about to become ineligible to live in the single's appartment because of her age. One of her roomates, Amy, introduces Camille to Aiden Peterson, the oldest brother of Amy's fiancee.  A spark jumps between the two and within a month, they are married. Only after the marriage does Camille realize that five of Aiden's six younger brothers still live in Aiden's (and now Camille's) home, which Aiden inherited when his parents died.  Camille is overwhelmed to suddenly be the "mother hen" to six adult men, and determines that the only way for her to get the house and her husband to herself is to marry them off to her friends and x-roomates. Her matchmaking schemes are frought with disasters, but also surprising successes.  Meanwhile, Aiden leaves for six weeks, trying to secure a buyer for his computer project in order to become financially independant enough to move him and Camille to their own place.  In his absence, Camille feels lonely and deserted. Can such a quick marriage survive the strain?

I have always enjoyed the musical, Seven Bride for Seven Brothers, and this book is a fun retelling.  It is written by a member of the Church or Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I think it wouldn't really make a lot of sense to someone not familiar with the culture. Why would they get married so quickly after such a short aquaintence?  Why would a man feel comfortable with his new wife living in the same house with his five handsome brothers, while he was gone for six weeks?  Why would a young bride decide she was going to cook breakfast every day and do the laundry for her husband's brothers.  Why would six grown men have matching cowboy costumes and know how to sing and dance together.  In the modern world none of these things would seem at all realistic, but I personally know people within the LDS culture who have done or who would do all of those things. It was a bit cringe-worthy, but also mildly refreshing. The writing is decent and the characters are sympathetic. (2021, 211p.)