I am a fan of Jennifer Blake
and love her “Love and Adventure” stories (she has two boxed sets of them—all eBooks).
This one is a bodice ripper from the Old West and very well told.
Set in 1893, it tells of 19-year-old
Serena Walsh who has lost her parents to typhoid and is forced to travel with a
Mormon wagon train heading through Colorado where her father had planned to
mine for gold. But the crazed Mormon Elder Greer has eyes for Serena and decides
she will become his wife whether she is willing or no. When he thinks to take
her by force, she stabs him with a fork and flees to the prairie. There, she is
rescued by Ward Dunbar, owner of the Eldorado
saloon, who sees her safely to Colorado and thinking she is a loose woman forcibly
takes her innocence (yes, indeedy, this is a bodice ripper).
Ward, a lawyer turned gambler, wasn’t looking
too good when he took Serena’s innocence and, making it worse, forced her to become
his kept woman, holding her prisoner in a room above his saloon. Then, too, Ward’s
partner, Pearlie, is jealous of Serena and resents her presence. But all is not
lost; millionaire Nathan Benedict discovers Serena and wants her for his own, offering
a fortune to Ward to leave her alone. And, oh yes, someone is killing ladies of
the night.
It’s a tightly woven plot with lots of
tension and very well written. Based on thorough research, Blake brings to life
the gold mining town of Cripple Creek in the late 19th century with
all its colorful characters and more than one villain. The story is told
through the heroine’s perspective so you’ll be wondering what Ward is thinking
much of the time, as I did, at least until he tells us.
This is one story that will keep you turning pages.
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