Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Mrs Eldridge,

I think this is a first book from you and sorry to say, I can tell it. I’ve long been a fan of Western romances and you manage to hit just about every cliche in one that deals with an Indian/White romance.

First we have our white, Irish heroine with — no secret here — red hair who’s — yep again — a healer. Mail-order bride Nora hopes to find a better life in the west with her sight unseen husband. On the way, her wagon train is attacked by — here it comes — white men posing as Indians. But luck is with Nora because a friendly, English speaking Indian hero is there to save her and the other survivor of the massacre, a plucky, six year old boy. Nora heals our wounded hero all the while sizing him up with heated glances that make her blush when she realizes what she’s doing. Later she needs to keep him warm when the fever breaks so you throw in some close body contact.

Our intrepid band is taken captive by renegade Indians and naive Nora quickly learns …

Dear Ms. Bold,

I like arranged marriage/marriage of convenience type plots. Here’s a couple, forced to get married, who then have to find a way to love. And since westerns are also a favorite, the mail order bride plot is tailor made for me. When I did my review of Cobblestone Press, yours was the book I decided to buy.

Luke Chandler has been pushing people away ever since he was permanently injured during the war. Tired of seeing him alone, his interfering brother orders him a mail order bride. Widowed Sarah Montgomery answers the ad, only to discover that the last thing Luke wants is a wife.

Stranded at his remote Colorado home, she's forced to accept his reluctant hospitality. Soon she realizes that there's more to this brooding stranger than she ever imagined. Can she convince him that the last thing he ever wanted is the one thing he needs most?

“The Mail Order Bride” was nice. I felt the connection between these two wounded souls both of whom have spent years wanting another person. Luke and Sarah have both had security, love and happiness in …