The Dance Hall Wife: Brides of Little Creede Book 2

CiCi
Cordelia
Genre: 
Historical

Frank Carter has just returned to his hometown looking for the saloon. Reaching his destination, he finds the saloon is now a fine eatery run by Cat Purdue. She goes by Catherine now and no longer sings in the saloon. Frank is jealous of all the men he assumes Catherine has bedded, but in reality, he is the only one. This is a bone of contention between the two. Slim Morgan, who owned the saloon, has escaped prison and is coming after Catherine because he says she stole his property. His intent is murder. Catherine doesn’t have all the money to pay off her loan. Theodore Smythe, the bank president, wants the amount paid in full or sexual favors, or she risks losing her dining establishment. Frank Carter has a solution: marry him. What is it going to take to convince Catherine he honestly has feelings for her?

“The Dance Hall Wife” has powerful main characters that each know their own minds and have their own agendas. Catherine is enjoying the freedom of being a business owner and being accountable to no one. Frank is afraid for Catherine because he knows what evil forces lie in wait for her, and he wishes to protect her. The fight between Frank and Catherine about her being a whore is never resolved in the story, so the reader never knows if this is something that will come up again later. The strife between Frank and Catherine gets old after a time, and one begins to wonder how they can ever get together. An enjoyable period piece, it can easily be read in a day.

Belinda Wilson