Tame a Wild Bride by Cynthia Woolf follows the adventures of Rosie Stanton, a city-born girl who agrees to travel west to marry a young rancher with children. Back in 1890, genteel women seldom had adventures, they lived sedate lives composed of plate painting, music recitals, and bringing up children. Bad news was none of that was happening for our heroine, Rosie.
If being a spinster wasn’t bad enough, Rosie finds herself on her brother and new sister-in-law’s good graces since both her parents are dead. Two adult women cannot live in the same house in peace, especially if one of them is Rosie’s sister-in-law. With her fingers crossed, and hope in her heart, she willingly boards the train to travel west to an unknown bridegroom, a widower with two motherless children.
The handsome man who meets her surprises her with his bitter attitude, and refusal to have any more children. Tom Harris, her groom, rushes her off to the preacher with the travel dirt still on her face so they can be respectably married before picking up the children and heading home. Rosie not only battles with her husband’s attitude that she’ll leave too, but also the memories of the deceased wife she assumes Tom loved beyond belief.
Rosie seems to have everything going for her, with the children liking her, and Tom changing his ways, when the “deceased” wife returns. It is never a good thing when that happens. Rosie is a fighter, but the other female is pure evil, and has the law is on her side as Tom’s legal wife.
Rosie is a spunky heroine who refuses to let unknown tasks and a bitter man get her down too much. The fact she wrestles with the reminders of the former indulged wife all around the house makes her more human, and likable. The chemistry between Tom and Rosie is good. The children are willing to accept her, as most abandoned children would be when presented with a kindly surrogate. The wife that wouldn’t go away is reminiscent of stalker girlfriends. See they even existed over a hundred years ago.
Tame a Wild Bride is a sweet historical romance with just the right amount of sexual tension, and suspense. This book has the feel of Avalon publishing. If you’re an Avalon fan, then this is the book for you.