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Reviewed by Kathryn Bennett for Readers' Favorite
Step into Aspen Colorado in the 1880's in "The Ring That Binds" by Linda Carroll-Bradd and meet Celina Innes, a shop owner and a widow. Celina is not only a widow but a mother with a small daughter and, thanks to the bad choices her late husband made, the small family is left struggling in this sometimes harsh environment. Mikel is one of the owners of Toussaint's, a general store in town, and has an interest in Celina, who has sworn not to follow any other man's dreams. While Celina seems immune to any impressing that Mikel tries to do, her young daughter enjoys the treats that he slips her when the girl comes to the general store. Keena takes sick and Celina blames herself for the illness needs Mikel's help. Sitting vigil over the girl's sickbed helps the pair to develop a deeper friendship; however, Mikel is one of those men who seek to increase their fortunes, one of the things Celina has sworn not to do.
Linda Carroll-Bradd's 1886 version of Aspen, Colorado, really leaps off the page and I can feel myself in the old western town. I loved Celina's will not to let a man's dreams lead her into a place that she did not want to be, and yet at times I had to shake my head at her. Mikel is not the same kind of man as her husband and I felt she needed to give him more of a chance. I really did love the interactions between the two characters and how things did develop. You can tell that a good deal of research went into this book. I can always appreciate a historical romance that not only has a good romance and a great story but gets the nuances of the time period correctly. It keeps you immersed in the story and makes the time you spend with the characters all that much more enjoyable. Linda Carroll-Bradd has a winner in "The Ring That Binds", and I would recommend it for anyone to read.
