Gold Rush Bride Della is a sweet, clean romance involving the struggles of a family trying to find enough gold to live. Through circumstances Della finds herself alone but for her friendship with Harte and his dog Rex. Della has an inner strength to be admired as she does not give up on her father and brother no matter their mistakes. Harte admires her strength and falls in love with her even as she is hiding her gender for protection.

Ms. Carroll-Bradd writes believable situations and scenes giving you what would be considered realistic events during the gold rush. The ‘clean’ aspect of this romance is appreciated by this reviewer.

This was a very enjoyable story. Della Wolfe along with her father and brother are working a gold claim. She has to dress as a man to keep her safe with all the men around. One night Harte Thorley sees her coming back from the river dressed as a woman. Now he can't get her out of his mind. When Della finds herself alone Harte will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Historical western.

My Blurb …
Setting: 1861. A mining camp. Father, son and daughter who passing as a male. Yet another gold field. Father spends the gold as fast as it’s found on liquor & gambling while son & daughter toil long hours. Della is also expected to do all the things a woman would – laundry, shop, cook, clean. The law is fair, tough and swift. And Della Wolfe, known as Del, wishes she was anywhere but Bear Valley.

My review …
The author does a fine job giving the reader a believable setting. Panning for gold, constantly keeping the rocker box in motion is physically draining. Add that Della must wear long sleeves and keep her slender throat covered *all* the time makes the work even harder. Her brother, Brendan, does the work but seems almost as unhappy as Della since they work and their father drinks and gambles away what gold they find.

The claim “next door” is Hart Thorley’s. He must find enough gold in time to pay the mortgage so his mother & sister will still have a home. His Wolfe neighbors stick to themselves, but Hart notices the lad, Del.

The year is 1861 … News of conflict in the East trickles into the community. A secret secessionist society forms and feelings are beginning to grow stronger. Brendan is – well -- too interested. A group of men will ride onto a claim, talk secession, kill everyone and ride off with the gold.

Thus is the setting for the full story. The author calls it a novella but it reads like a “full” book. And yes, this is a romance but this reviewer won’t steal the pleasure of you finding out for yourself how it comes about.

The author skillfully forms the scenes as you get to know the characters. And the story is richer because of it. An important secondary character is Sheriff Morgan and I hope the author writes another book with him as lead.

The ending is more than satisfactory, and “Gold Rush Bride” is quite an enjoyable read with a rating of 4.5 stars rounded to 5 on sites that display on whole numbers. If you like western historical romance, grab this one.
I received a complimentary e-ARC* copy of Gold Rush Bride from the publisher, Backlit PR, via NetGalley. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Rating: 4.5 stars.
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Gold Rush Bride Della is a great story, but it's a short story. I really liked it, it was just short.