The Dancing Bride (Central City Brides) Paperback – April 7, 2017

The characters have depth. The settings are detailed. The HEA is guaranteed but the plot keeps it from being boring. Some sexy times.

I enjoyed this page turning story that will start in New York City and go to Colorado. There is a great cast of characters and some intense moments. Life for Rita Mae Baxter changed with the death of her parents in a carriage accident when she was fifteen. Her life’s dream was to be a ballerina, but that dream changed and to survive she finds herself dancing in the chorus of a burlesque show. Cooling off outside the door to the alley she will overhear a conversation, names, and gunshots that will leave one man dead, and with Rita knowing too much. No good deed goes unpunished, and with her knowing names, she is in danger, so a trip to Matchmaker and Company will have her agreeing to become a mail ordered bride.Rita Mae Baxter loves to dance, but her dream of being a ballerina will never come true. Now she has overheard a murder and knew that her life is in danger. The thought of becoming a mail order bride has been dancing around in her head for some time now, so she decides to make it happen. She will travel to Central City, Colorado to become the wife of Jackson Colton.Jack Colton may no longer be in the battle between the states, but the war has never left his thoughts. He carries deep battle scars in his heart with the murder of his wife and two children. He wants a wife but swears he will never love again. He has three close friends, Lucky, Robert, and Henry, who will all play a role in this story.The plot will take the reader on a journey from New York to Colorado. Two people, both needing each other more than they realize. One wants to love and acceptance, the other just wants the comfort of a wife and a family but doesn’t believe he will ever love again. Ther is a danger is on the way by the name of Davers, and Rita is his target. How far will Jack and his soldiers that are more like brothers go to keep her safe? When Rita’s life is on the line, and death nearly claims her, will Jack realize the treasure he has isn’t his gold mine and wealth, it is the fiery red-head that has danced her way into his life? “The little minx had danced her way into his heart despite his protestations to the contrary.” The story has some steamy romance scenes between Jack and Rita, but nothing overly explicit.

Very entertaining love story! Enjoyed reading because the characters and the story are clean cut! No profanity, no detailed love making & no gruesome killings

Another first in genre for me--this is the first ever mail order bride type book I have ever read! I was happily surprised that I enjoyed it--enough so that I bought the second in this series as well (The Sapphire Bride).Life isn't always fair and we don't always get to be where we want to be job wise. This happened to Rita Baxter--instead of becoming a Prima Ballerina--she ended up in a chorus line in NYC. Then during a short break she went outside and witnessed a murder. Luckily for her the murderer did not notice her--but the police told her to be careful. She decided to turn her life around and signed up as a mail order bride. After a long and tedious journey to a small town in the Colorado Territory--she met the man she was to marry. He told her that he would not love her but would marry and stay faithful to her. Hum----Not only was the bridegroom handsome-but it seemed like he was rich as well! Rita kept the secret about the fact that she was a witness to a murder from her new husband. He also had secrets which he kept from her. Then the murderer came looking for Rita!All the main and secondary characters in this delightful novel were explained beautifully--I could actually see them in my mind's eye. If you have never read anything in the "mail order bride" genre--this is definitely one you should start with!

This is the sixth of this author's western romances I read via kindle. I purposely read all six just to see if any of them improved, but they all desperately need editing. I don't know if these kindle versions represent the author's original presentation or whether the errors occur during conversion to 'e' books, but if I was the author I would be mortified to have my work reach the public with so many literary errors. Examples: She ran her fingers 'though' the sides of his hair; my safety can't be in any better hands 'that' Jack's and now yours. At times there are singular and plural references to a single subject: I tried to grow 'a' plant in my home but they 'all' died; it was established that there was only one man but then he is referred to as 'them': "there's just him" - "let me know when 'that' man leaves" - "don't let 'them' know I'm interested"; "there's just the 'one' man" - "need something to keep 'them' away"; etc. There also seemed to me a usage of modern expressions such as "whatever" rather than perhaps "no matter" or "no bother". Some sentence structure required re-reading several times to sort out the intended meaning. I will add that at least each book is a stand alone story. These stories would gain a higher rating if they were properly edited and fleshed out more. I have read enough by this author to know I won't be reading any more of them. For in depth, well written westerns, I would rather spend time reading the works of Joan Johnston, Linda Lael Miller or Georgina Gentry.

A cute historical romance, easy read - great for a journey or holiday read.Rita and Jack are sweet characters, full of personality.........and secrets!Unfortunately for Rita her secrets catch up with her, can Jack keep her safe or does she need to run again?There is no huge twist or major gripping drama, but is a lovely read for when you have a couple of hours and just need to escape.

I didn't like this story enough to read another by this author. The female character came across as childish and there was no depth or development of the main characters. The writing was basic and some of the sentences were convoluted and made no sense. The dialogue did not flow and felt contrived.The plot seemed ludicrous. Whoever heard of a hit man introducing himself to the friend of his target for killing, saying he had business with her? Then set up a meeting and talk to the husband! Sorry, this was less than I expected.

Storyline was good but the characters had very little personality to them. The heroine was feisty and fought for what she wanted. The hero was a bit bland. Wasnt the best but was an ok light read.

It's not the worst book I've read but oh so disappointing. No substance to the book whatsoever. One most definitely for the bin.

Great book with interesting storyline typical of Cynthia woolf books. However, the climax could've been a but more exciting and the story soon comes to an abrupt end that could've had more, but still a great read!