Blog Tour: The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper

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The future is clearly mapped out for New York socialite Eugenia “Gennie” Cooper, but she secretly longs to slip into the boots of her favorite dime-novel heroine and experience just one adventure before settling down. When the opportunity arises, Gennie jumps at the chance to experience the Wild West, but her plans go awry when she is drawn into the lives of silver baron Daniel Beck and his daughter and finds herself caring for them more than is prudent–especially as she’s supposed to go back to New York and marry another man.

As Gennie adapts to the rough-and-tumble world of 1880s Colorado, she must decide whether her future lies with the enigmatic Daniel Beck or back home with the life planned for her since birth. The question is whether Daniel’s past–and disgruntled miners bent on revenge–will take that choice away from her.

I tried to read this - I really did, but I'll be honest, it was going to be an uphill battle for me just simply based on its time period. I am, in general, not a Western reader. Still, the setting seemed well written and I think I would have been able to make it through if the characters didn't keep up with one of my biggest pet peeves. At almost every turn, the main characters (Eugenia and Daniel -- I flipped to several places in the middle and end to see if it got better) would say, "Dear Lord, if you don't want me to do this, please stop me." And there's nothing wrong with seeking God's will - and I don't even have a problem with seeking it in this manner (as in, here is what I want to do, let me know if it's not the right thing). No, the problem I had is that the only time this prayer was sent up was when one foot was already out the door to do exactly what they were planning and "seeking God's will" was an afterthought thrown in to try and legitimize their actions. And I know they're fictional...but I also know way too many people who think they're leading Spirit-filled, Spirit-led lives by doing exactly this, when really they're just doing what they want under the guise of "Well, He didn't say no. (Not that I gave Him a chance.)"