Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours Book Review: Gold Digger

Gold Digger by Rebecca Rosenberg

Publication Date: May 28, 2019

Lion Heart Publishing

eBook & Paperback; 312 Pages

Genre: Fiction/Romance/Historical/American

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! She moved to Leadville and fell in love with a married prospector, twice her age. Horace Tabor struck the biggest silver vein in history, divorced his wife and married Baby Doe. Though his new wife was known for her beauty, her fashion, and even her philanthropy, she was never welcomed in polite society. Discover how the Tabors navigated the worlds of wealth, power, politics, and scandal in the wild days of western mining.

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Review:  There's a little big of a double entendre going on with the title. Baby /Doe heads west with her new husband, Harvey. Almost from the start, you know this is not a marriage that is going to go along swimmingly. Harvey has asthma and the altitude in Colorado is causing him a lot of difficulty. The mining life, definitely isn't for him.

Baby is soon left alone and pregnant and forced to find her own way. Thankfully she ended up working with a haberdashery before her life really starts changing

That change comes in the face of  Horace Tabor, and older married silver miner.

So much scandal there. It doesn't really help matters that Baby Doe is beautiful. She's pretty smart too. Or at least smart enough to know how to survive. But Horace does have a wife of 20 + years and a son.

This book was so interesting, because like most historical characters, they aren't always likable, but they sure are intriguing.

Sometimes I had to wonder about Baby Doe and the decisions she made. Being brought up Catholic she would have had to have known she wasn't going to have it easy divorcing and remarrying. In 2019 divorce still isn't all that acceptable in the church and considering there was a pregnancy, it would have been pretty hard to get that marriage annulled.

I also wondered about Horace. He had so much to lose leaving his wife.

The power of love, maybe? I wasn't 100 % convinced though until the end.

There's a lot of stuff to learn here too. I think that's what I really love about good historical fiction, you want to learn more and you want to google as you go along. I was constantly checking the Wiki pages for Baby Doe and Horace Tabor to learn more about their lives. You also know that calling it the Wild West was probably an understatement.

What I really liked was the way the story was presented, from both Baby Doe's and Horace's points of view. 

This was a fabulous read!

Rating: 5 flowers

Praise for Gold Digger

“Rosenberg’s rollicking Western adventure strikes gold with a gutsy, good-hearted spitfire of a heroine and action aplenty.” —THELMA ADAMS, bestselling author of Bittersweet Brooklyn and The Last Woman Standing "Gold Digger tells the true story of Lizzie 'Baby Doe' Tabor, a beautiful young woman who in 1878 marries the son of a wealthy miner in order to save her family from penury. Shrewd and stubborn, Lizzie fights back-biting Victorian society, wins and loses vast fortunes, and bests conniving politicians in her larger-than-life story. A twisting tale worthy of Mark Twain, with a big-hearted heroine at the center." —MARTHA CONWAY, author of The Underground River

About the Author

A California native, Rebecca Rosenberg lives on a lavender farm with her family in Sonoma, the Valley of the Moon, where Jack London wrote from his Beauty Ranch. Rebecca is a long-time student of Jack London’s works and an avid fan of his daring wife, Charmian London. The Secret Life of Mrs. London is her debut novel. Rebecca and her husband, Gary, own the largest lavender product company in America, selling to 4000 resorts, spas and gift stores. The Rosenbergs believe in giving back to the Sonoma Community, supporting many causes through financial donations and board positions, including Worth Our Weight, an educational culinary program for at-risk children, YWCA shelter for abused women, Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center to provide performances for children, Sonoma Food Bank, Sonoma Boys and Girls Club, and the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home. For more information, please visit Rebecca’s website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook and Goodreads. Visit the Facebook page for The Secret Life of Mrs. London.

Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday, May 15 Review at Pursuing Stacie Thursday, May 16 Review at Passages to the Past Friday, May 17 Review at View from the Birdhouse Monday, May 20 Interview at Passages to the Past Tuesday, May 21 Excerpt at Donna's Book Blog Friday, May 24 Feature at Just One More Chapter Monday, May 27 Review at Orange County Readers Tuesday, May 28 Excerpt at Kimber Li Review at Diana_bibliophile Wednesday, May 29 Review at 100 Pages a Day Review at Oh, the Books She Will Read Thursday, May 30 Review at A Bookish Affair Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads Friday, May 31 Interview at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots Monday, June 3 Review at A Chick Who Reads Tuesday, June 4 Excerpt at Maiden of the Pages Wednesday, June 5 Review at A Book Geek Thursday, June 6 Review at Comet Readings Friday, June 7 Review at History From a Woman's Perspective Saturday, June 8 Interview at Comet Readings Monday, June 10 Review & Guest Post at Clarissa Reads it All Tuesday, June 11 Excerpt at Old Timey Books Wednesday, June 12 Interview at T's Stuff Review at Proverbial Reads Thursday, June 13 Review at Cheryl's Book Nook Saturday, June 15 Review at Suzy Approved Book Reviews Monday, June 17 Author Spotlight at RW Bookclub Tuesday, June 18 Review at Books In Their Natural Habitat Thursday, June 20 Review at A Holland Reads Monday, June 24 Review at RW Bookclub Review at CelticLady's Reviews Thursday, June 27 Review at Mama's Reading Corner Friday, June 28 Review at Coffee and Ink Review at Cover To Cover Cafe

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we will be giving away a copy of Gold Digger, a gold facial mask & soap set, and recipe brochure to five winners. Three winners will receive an ebook of Gold Digger. To enter, please use the Gleam form below. Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on June 28th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen. Gold Digger