Nicely done historical fiction. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Believable characters and good atmospherics make this a good read.

Even though based on a true story I had such a hard time getting into this book. I don’t know if it’s the time period it’s in but the main character goes out west in the 19th central to marry and ends up running a mine.
#netgalley #golddigger

Really enjoyed this book. Great plot and engaging, believe characters. I was drawn right into the story. Would definitely recommend.

This was an excellent historical fiction (with a strong female lead). We all know women haven't always been treated the greatest throughout history, and this focuses on one woman just trying to make her way during the Colorado silver boom. Rosenberg does an excellent job bringing the historical setting to life, and I have no doubt that hours upon hours of research went into writing this. Baby Doe might not be what you expect, but you have to respect her determination and grit. Highly recommend!

Allow a full day for this PG15 Colorado historical romance set between April 1878 and 1899 about the life and times of Elizabeth McCourt Doe Tabor. I had a long-mislaid ARC from Netgalley and this voluntary review is my own opinion.

In 1878, Elizabeth McCourt marries Harvey Doe and two weeks later they move to Colorado. Harvey is rather immature, he plans on making a fortune in Colorado and from his gold mine. Harvey is a dreamer, he doesn’t think things through properly, when he doesn’t hit pay dirt instantly, he abandons his mine and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is too proud to return home to her parents, she’s pregnant and she doesn’t believe Harvey has gone to visit his mother. When she discovers the truth, she’s furious with her spouse and moves to Leadville. Here she meets Horace Tabor, he’s a rich mine owner and married to sour Augusta. He gives Elizabeth the nickname Baby Doe, she reinvents herself, and helps Horace build an opera theatre and they fall in love.

The Tabors both being divorcees are shunned by Denver’s society, women cross the street rather than speak to Baby Doe and she tries not to let it bother her. Horace trusts the wrong person, he has too many business loans and faces financial ruin?

I received a copy of Gold Digger by Rebecca Rosenberg from NetGalley and Lion Heart Publishing in exchange for an honest review, I felt Horace didn’t give Doe credit she deserved, and she was a smart business woman and building designer. I look forward to reading the second book in the series Silver Dollar, who knows what Doe and her two daughters will find in Matchless Mine and three stars from me.

This is truly a fascinating story that you will get lost in! The research and story telling was very well written. I learned a lot about an era that I previously didn’t know much about. Both entertaining and informative. A story of love and survival. I did not want to put this one down!

10 out of 10! "An engaging and beautifully-writtenstory, this fact-based novel celebrates the endurance of the human spirit inone woman's determination to survive." -- Publisher's Weekly Book ListPrize
"An accomplished andabsorbing novel...Rosenbergbrings forth a fine historical inspired by Elizabeth McCourt Tabor, betterknown as Baby Doe whose rags-to-riches and back to rags again story made her afamous figure in history. The skillful plotting and richly crafted charactersget readers immediately drawn in. Rosenberg's poignant account delivers astunning historical, and the open-ending climax makes readers wait eagerly forthe next installment." -The Prairies Book Review"Gold Digger is a gripping story of female grit and resilience. Lizzie, or Baby Doe, as she becomes known, has a wonderful, indomitable spirit, and Rosenberg brings her physical and emotional challenges vibrantly to life. The story is fast-paced, but also moving. Lizzie faces many hurdles as a woman, an abandoned wife, and then a divorcee and mistress, earning the disapproval of many, including her own, much-loved mother." - Historical Novel Society

This is the story of Baby Doe Tabor as she sets out on an adventure to Colorado with her new husband and a baby on the way. Both are lead by the eternally American pursuit of wealth, happiness - and gold? During the historical era of gold mining and Manifest Destiny, Baby Doe finds herself bucking a series of unfortunate events that destroy the once clear path she laid out for herself. But through battling the ire of local townspeople and the struggles of running a mine all her own, she remains strong-willed, level-headed, and true to herself.

Imagine my surprise when I find out that she’s modeled after a real life heroine! I highly recommend this book for lovers of history and the women who dared to change it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is another fascinating read by Rosenberg, again illuminating a piece of history for modern readers. Gifted in the art of dialog and character, the author quickly draws the reader into the story and doesn't let go. This was a one-day read for me and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel!

Lately, I have become hooked on historical fiction. Gold Digger is a wonderful look at what life was like during the gold and silver rush in Colorado. Life wasn’t easy, working a mine was a lot of work with the risk of injury and death every day. There is social acceptance, which Baby Doe didn’t have. There is the political aspect of Gold vs. Silver.

Gold Digger is from a time that I am just starting to explore and I couldn’t wait to read about Baby Doe’s life as a miner’s wife. Not only was she a miner’s wife but she also worked alongside the men at the mines learning the trade. I loved that she didn’t stay in the traditional wife role but wanted to learn about what her husband was doing even if this meant she wasn’t accepted by everyone. Baby Doe broke barriers and blazed her own trail.

I love when I finish a book, a historical book, and then realize how much I have learned while reading it. Gold Digger opened the door to time, a location, and a lifestyle that I didn’t know much about.

Love history and having a storyline about a certain person, makes it more personal. Very interesting in the way the story was told, it made me want more..

Excellent book about Gold mining in the late 1800's and how it can affect the way men and women can have it take over their lives.
A young woman from a nice family was raised from the time she was small to believe she could and would marry wealth.
She married a man when she was quite young and followed him to the gold mines,to work a mine,that his father gave to him.
The mine and the marriage failed.
She had to make her own way and the town's men called her Baby Doe.
The women had nothing to do with her and called her many names.
She eventually.married a wealthy man who had a fortune.He lost his fortune,but not her.
Did she ever recover from this loss?
Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book and to the author,Rebecca Rosenberg for writing "Gold Digger."

I really enjoyed reading Gold Digger. Even though I had looked up her story, so I knew what happened, I was still intrigued throughout the entire book. Rebecca Rosenberg did a great job creating a character that you couldn't help but love and cheer for throughout the book. Baby Doe was a heroine you wanted to be happy and succeed! Even when she did stupid things, I still wanted the best for her! I didn't want to like Tabor, but I couldn't help it. I liked him despite his flaws! I would definitely recommend this book. It kindled an interest in a part of American history that I know little about. Clean romance.

BOOK REVIEW: (ARC)
Gold Digger, The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor
By: Rebecca Rosenberg

Product Description:
One look at Baby Doe and you know she was meant to be a legend! She was just twenty years old when she came to Colorado to work a gold mine with her new husband. Little did she expect that she’d be abandoned and pregnant and left to manage the gold mine alone. But that didn’t stop her!

As I read the above synopsis, I was intrigued....

The geographical descriptions are vivid against the backdrop of the Gold and Silver rush of the 1800s.
Lizzy, aka Baby Doe, although thrust into a life she knew nothing about, becomes a fierce force to be reckoned with. She's known for her beauty and strength, but not well received by the townspeople in a place she now calls home with her new husband, a man she doesn't love, all the while trying to forge a path of her own and help her family back home as they, in her eyes, continually whine for her help, financially. As life progresses, it takes a toll in ways Lizzy is not prepared for, but during a time where women were to cowar, not fight back against their struggles, this little lady pushes past all that is holding her down and becomes a fighter against scandals, and for loyalty.

This rags to riches, and back to rags again story, is based on truth and researched very well by the author. It's engaging, full of courage, love and heartache, grit and honesty.

I thank Rebecca Rosenberg for my personal, signed gift of Gold Digger, for my reading enjoyment and opportunity to review.

4 Stars

#GoldDigger The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor
#Rebecca Rosenberg
#LionHeartPublishing

Wild Sage Book Blog (FB)
Novels & Latte Book Club (FB)

It is impossible not to admire the author for the amount of research that she had to undertake to write "Gold Digger, The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor". I haven't heard about Baby Doe Tabor before, so it was interesting to read about her life and get to know her circumstances and character.

After reading the book I am sure that Baby Doe was a remarkable woman, who was able to achieve much despite being born in poverty and despite limited opportunities that women had in her days. She was born in 1854 and spent much of her life in Colorado. She divorced her first husband, which was highly unusual in those days and married a very wealthy man Horace Tabor after he obtained divorce, which ruined his political career. She was considered a great beauty and a sinner for leading Horace Tabor to divorce his wife (in those days of course everyone blamed the other woman).

Baby Doe's life was full of ups and downs. Once she was wealthy beyond belief and then she was poor as a church mouse. She had two daughters. She named one of her daughter's Silver Dollar... That's one of the most original names I have ever heard! Baby Doe's life was difficult and tragic. The novel ends with her again lonely and in poverty with two young daughters, that she needs to care for. Still, she is determined to hold on to her dreams and to regain her fortune.

It was an interesting novel to read, even if the pacing seemed a little off at times and some parts of the book describing life of Horace Tabor weren't necessary. I think that the novel would be better without them, they didn't add much to the story and they made me at times put the book down.

I received "Gold Digger, The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor" from the author via NetGalley. I would like to thank the author for providing me with the advance reader copy of the book.

This book was slow at first but once I got reading I did enjoy it.I learnt a lot about the gold rush and the hardships they had to endure. The characters were interesting and there was a storyline which kept me wanting to know more. I do recommend that you persevere and finish the book as you will enjoy it.

For fans of historical fiction this book was a treat as it looked into the wild west of Colorado. Baby Doe Tabor was a one of a kind woman that needs to be learned about and remembered! The storytelling was a treat to behold.

This fascinating woman was not best served by this novelized portrayal. The writing was both florid and clumsy, attempting unsuccessfully to portray her as a romantic figure rather than as the stunning business woman she was. Perhaps I’ve read too many memoirs of this period to be seduced by the descriptions rendered here. Even Tomboy Bride was a more riveting book. This one suffers from shudders and lust and a lack of visceral connection to the times the author tried to describe. This fell short for me.

The Colorado Gold Rush of the late 1880s both made and broke many people. Among them was Horace Tabor, whose arduous efforts were eventually rewarded with his several successful silver mines, especially the “Matchless” mine, which was the richest silver mine in history. One less fortunate was Harvey Doe, who brought his beautiful wife Elizabeth (aka Lizzie) from Oshkosh Wisconsin to the hills of Colorado in hopes of striking gold. But when it was too much for Harvey, he abandoned his wife and went home. If it hadn’t been for the kindness of those in Leadville and Central City, Lizzie might have died that winter, but she survived. With her beauty intact, after earning her the nickname “Baby Doe,” she also came to the attention of almost every man she met, including Tabor.

Yes, this is yet another biographical, historical, women’s fiction novel. Also, once again I didn’t know anything about its main protagonist Baby Doe, or much about the mineral mining efforts in Colorado, except for what I remember from the famous musical “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” Interestingly enough, from what I can tell from this novel and my Google searches, whoever wrote the story for that musical, stole much from Tabor’s life to make it seem more spectacular. (Apparently, Johnny Brown’s fortune didn’t come from striking it rich with a silver mine at all. I mean, seriously, where’s the drama in inventing a way to make mining safer, right?) But that’s all beside the point, because Tabor’s and Baby Doe’s stories were both filled with heaps of drama – both as individuals and as a couple.

Mind you, from what I do know about the real Molly Brown, and from what I read here and online about “Baby Doe,” the two of them had no small number of things in common. First of all, they both were poverty stricken in their early lives. They both ended up being very wealthy through the mining industry. They both used their wealth to help those less fortunate than themselves. They also lived in Colorado during about the same time. This made me think their paths must have crossed at one point or another, but there’s no mention of this in Rosenberg’s novel. (However, I see that Rosenberg is writing a sequel to this book, so maybe Molly Brown will get a mention there.)

I think what Rosenberg succeeded in doing most here was portraying the vast differences between the lives of those in poverty and those who are wealthy. Since Baby Doe experienced both of these, the contrasts were extremely stark. The way that Baby Doe moves from almost abject desperation to unbridled excess and back to near destitution again with such grace and inner strength, portrays her as a woman that both eschewed Colorado’s high society, even while she anguished at being shunned by them. It seems to me that Rosenberg believed in Baby Doe’s deep inner goodness, and that her famous beauty was both her greatest asset, as well as the bane of her existence. I’m also sure that Rosenberg wanted us to understand Baby Doe in this way – as a woman who could have used her looks much more maliciously and profitably, but who actually preferred to get her hands dirty with real work that needed to be done – both literally and figuratively.

To tell the truth, while I didn’t totally fall in love with Baby Doe, by the time I finished reading this novel, I certainly respected her (which is more than I can say about the subject of Rosenberg’s previous novel, Mrs. London). In addition, I also felt sorry for her, even though some of her misfortunes were partially her own fault. The bigger question is, was Baby Doe really the “gold digger” that she was reputed to be? I have to admit that in some ways, yes, she was. Certainly, her first marriage to Harvey Doe was orchestrated to help her and her family financially. But I think that what Rosenberg was trying to say here is that this wasn’t really what Baby Doe was all about, and after that marriage breaks down, Rosenberg delves much more deeply into Baby Doe’s character, which made her a more sympathetic character. The thing is, I wonder if Rosenberg had been a bit less detailed about the lives of Baby Doe and Horace Tabor from before they came together, I might have liked both of them a little bit better. In fact, I didn’t care much for Horace at all, and that was a problem for me with this book.

Even so, there’s heaps of drama in Baby Doe’s story alone, and Rosenberg took full advantage of that, attempting to include as much of it as possible here. That Baby Doe eventually married Horace Tabor, a man whose life was no less dramatic, both before and after they met, made for tons of material for a work of biographical fiction. In fact, one could almost say that Rosenberg struck gold when she decided to write this book. (Since there’s apparently a sequel, I think Rosenberg’s mine has yet to run dry.) For this, I think I can easily recommend this book with a solid four out of five stars.