Historical

I had heard a lot about Geralyn Dawson and her 'Wedding' books but had not read them yet. I don't know why I waited so long to read them.

The Bad Luck Wedding Dress was wonderful. Poor Jenny Fortune was being blamed for the accidents that the Bailey girls were having after wearing the wedding dress she made for them. It was playing havoc with her business. Then she started getting death threats.

Jenny decided if SHE wore the 'bad luck wedding dress' at her wedding, maybe the stigma would wear off. Trouble is -- she didn't have a beau in sight. Enter one Trace McBride into the picture. He lived over her dress shop and was the owner of the building. She rented the space from him. He has three delightful daughters who are very mischievous, to say the least. They have decided they need a mother and guess who they want for their mother.

This was such a wonderful book. I enjoyed it so much I became an instant fan. If you haven't tried Geralyn Dawson, what are you waiting for?

Historical

Honor Duvall has been widowed again for the third time. She was a scandal. She had worn a yellow dress to her third husband's funeral, for goodness sakes. She has come to town to announce the winner of the raffle for the fastest horse in Texas. What the townspeople don't know is the raffle is rigged. Her family is in danger and she has to do something to protect them.

Enter Captain Luke Prescott, formerly of the Texas Rangers. He has only bought one raffle ticket and then he wins. The problem is when he goes to collect the horse, it's dead. Then he finds out that Honor and her family have rigged it so he could win for a reason. They want him to protect them from someone who is trying to kill her boys.

Geralyn Dawson has a way with characters, especially children. Take a man with a past, a woman with a past, throw in a couple of children and a nosy ex-mother-in-law and you have The Wedding Raffle.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward to reading more of Geralyn Dawson's books.

The Wedding Ransom

Rated 4.5
ISBN# 0-671-00127-2
Copyright 2/98
Reviewed 2/20/98 by Pam

Historical Romance

"The Wedding Ransom" is a wonderfully written novel for Geralyn Dawson. It goes right along the line of her previous stories - "The Badluck Wedding Dress" and "The Wedding Raffle." And taking a sneak peek at the preview in the back of the book for her new one "The Badluck Wedding Cake," I await in anxious anticipation for that one as well.

The characters in "The Wedding Ransom" are strong yet hold extreme levels of loyalty towards family. Ms. Dawson writes with a witty pen.

Maggie St. John, Mary Margaret St. John, has suffered from rheumatism all her life. Being raised by her four pirate grandfathers ­ Papa Snake, Captain Ben, Cutlass Gus, and Lucky Nichols ­ she has had anything but a normal life. They went from town to town, doctor to doctor, attempting to find a "cure" for her illness. The pain she suffered was at nearly unbearable. Finally, they discovered Lake Bliss. The lake and surrounding mud areas were a healing tonic for Maggie's pain. So, there they settled. They build a hotel and shared the healing tonics with those who wanted to give them a try.

Rafe Malone, retired thief and lawyer, is awaken during a nap by the four pirates, one of which has a knife at his throat. Their conversation is jumbled and Rafe can't quite make sense of what the characters are really after.

Bottom line ­ they need him to steal back a treasure they have hidden away in order to buy back the hotel from the unscrupulous character, Barlow Hill, who stole the hotel and property away from them.

Well, Rafe declines since he has made his best friend (Luke Prescott from "The Wedding Raffle") a promise to never steal again in Texas or he will be hanged.

It just so happens that where they are stealing from is not in Texas. Rafe, up for a little adventure, leaves a note for Luke and his wife Honor, and heads off with these crazy pirates.

Rafe is immediately attracted to Maggie, but that may be because his first glimpse of her is when she is . . . well. . . undressed! The Papa's, the pirate grandfathers, have threatened Rafe bodily harm if he so much as touches Maggie.

The story turns into a wild adventure when they all depart to recover the treasure.

This is a don't miss. Geralyn Dawson fans will not be disappointed. And if you've never given her a try - do so. You will have a great read on your hands.

I didn't think Ms. Dawson could top "The Badluck Wedding Dress," but I have to admit that "The Wedding Raffle" has surely done it. With a cast of superb characters including a widow who has an uncanny knack for "killing" her husbands you're sure to enjoy this wonderful novel.

Three times widowed, Honor Duvall now finds herself in trouble. Someone is trying to harm her family. With no money or anywhere to turn, Honor asks "The Bravest Man in Texas" to teach them how to protect themselves. She has two step-sons, Jason and Micah, and a mother-in-law, Luella, from her 2^nd marriage to protect as well as herself.

Captain Luke Prescott hasn't been a Texas Ranger in six months. With his leg on the mend he is staying with his best friend Rafe Malone, retired outlaw.

Honor's father is pressuring her to marry again with the groom being Marcus Black a friend and conspirator of her father. All her life Honor has done everything her father has asked of her, but this time she is determined to live her own life. She has bought a hat shop in another state and as soon as she has raised enough money, she will take her family away from the danger.

One of her attempts at raising money is to hold a raffle with the prize being one of her best horses. Tickets are sold to every one around and excitement builds as the Widow Duvall ventures into town for the drawing of the lucky winner.

Humor fills this novel and you can only laugh at the things that happen as Honor tries very hard to learn how to protect those that she loves. With Luke unwilling, and thinking he is unable, to love again after the loss of his wife and children and Honor being determined to be her own woman and not being under the thumb of another man the sparks fly bright and strong from beginning to end.

"The Badluck Wedding Dress," by Geralyn Dawson, is a fun, family oriented story.

Surrounding the life of seamstress and dressmaker, Jenny Fortune, is a curse of bad luck. A person in town has spread a rumor that she and her dresses are bad luck. He believes a dress she made is the cause of several accidents in his family. Therefore, Jenny and her dresses are bad luck. She is doing her best to make her dress making shop a success, for if it fails, she is to work with her father at his very boring shop.

With the curse of bad luck hanging over her head, her dress shop is doomed to fail for no one wants to buy her dresses. If she could only prove that her dresses are not cursed with bad luck, maybe she could get the townspeople back on her side and buying her clothes again. How could she prove that? Well, by wearing the dress herself. It would only involve finding a groom and having a wedding. Somewhere there has to be a man suitable for the job.

Trace McBride, father of three little hooligan daughters, Emma, Maribeth, and Katrina, referred to by the town as "the town menaces," has his hands full trying to keep his daughters out of trouble. From stealing horses, to hijacking a train, to a stampede of mice, cats, and dogs, these girls should have had "Trouble" as their middle names.

When Jenny's business stops altogether, Trace offers her a job as housekeeper and substitute mother for his children. She misunderstand and believe's his proposal is an offer of marriage. He corrects her on her mistake, expressing his plans to never to marry again. Highly embarrassed and face flushed, she replies with a "No," then rushes away.

She is determined then to find herself a husband and prove that the dress is not unlucky. An old "friend" shows up in town with Jenny's mother and offers to marry her. He has his own reasons as well. They could both help each other out in their time of need. Jenny thinks about it and decides that, yes, she will marry Edmund Wharton, even though she knows he is a first-class weasel.

Trace is not very excited with the news that Jenny is to marry Wharton. He sees right through the man's thin skin to his sleezy ways. It isn't until the last minute that he decides Jenny cannot marry the man and finds a way to stand in as the groom himself.

It takes Jenny a while to get Trace to admit his love for her. He was hurt deeply by his first wife and is having a hard time getting over the traumatic details of her death. He admits to killing her and is highly offended at the appearance of his brother back into his life. His brother is a threat to his happiness, being someone who knows all the dirty details. He could also take away something that means very much to him.

A mystery and romantic plot filled with a cast of zany extra characters adds humor to a story I found I could not stop reading. A competing seamstress, Ethel Baumgardner, Jenny's eccentric mother with her unusual ways, and the superstitious, bad-guy Big Jack Bailey will all keep you turning the pages.

The characters are funny and exhilarating. Ms. Dawson has a flare for romance, and a superb way of letting her characters express themselves. This book is definitely one for your keeper shelf.