Review and Giveaway of Keli Gwyn's A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California

I'm honored to welcome debut novelist and friend, Keli Gwyn, to the character therapist! Keli is an amazing example of perseverance in the publishing world, and her book is such a long-awaited pleasure that I can't wait to introduce you to.

Here's a blurb from Keli's website:

An ever-resourceful widow, Elenora Watkins arrives in El Dorado ready to go into partnership with Miles Rutledge. When he refuses, Elenora becomes the competition across the street. Is this town big enough for the two of them?

Miles can’t help but stick his well-polished boot in his mouth whenever he comes face-to-face with Elenora. Can he find a way to win her heart while destroying her business?

Miles’s mother, Maude, is bent on Elenora becoming her new daughter-in-law while Elenora’s daughter, Tildy, thinks Miles would make a perfect papa. How far will these meddlers go to unite this enterprising pair?

Can't wait to sink your teeth into it, right? The premise is unusual, creative, and really appeals to my competitive streak, that's for sure. "Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you!" might as well as be Elenora's theme song.

Keli transports the reader back to the Wild West, and I could just picture Miles' and Ellie's stores facing each other, with them sneaking looks out the window at each other. Keli also has a knack for turning a phrase. One of my favorites for "putting his foot in his mouth" was "tickled his tonsils with his toes." Come on....you've got to love that alliteration and freshness.

Donning my therapist cap, Keli saddled both her characters with previous marriages that weren't all that rosy. Their past experiences (and future expectations of trying to avoid more of the same) play a large role in the two of them keeping each other at arm's length.

Kudos to Keli for driving an arrow straight into Mr. Rutledge's heart by providing a traumatic experience later on in the book that is pretty much his worst nightmare relived. And you romance lovers out there will swoon over the Ellie-Miles moment that follows. Promise.

Keli has generously agreed to gift one lucky commenter with her debut!! My giveaways are a perk for my blog readership, so please make sure to click "Follow" to the right and then leave a comment with your email address below. The giveaway will run until Sunday.

Let's Analyze: How many of you have a "meddling" in-law like Maude? Thankfully, I don't! That Maude was pretty sneaky!