Blog Tour: The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper by Kathleen Y'Barbo

The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper (from the publisher):
"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."

My thoughts: What a fun read this one is! The book is billed as historical fiction, but there is plenty of romance and adventure as well. With a terrific cast of characters that seem to leap right off the page, authentic dialogue and lots of action, The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper is just sheer escapism to another time and place.

I just adore the main character, Eugenia or Gennie as she prefers to be called. Although she is a New York socialite and expected to always be the lady, she greatly admires the fictional Mae Winslow and secretly reads all the latest "penny dreadful" stories about Mae's wild west escapades. When Eugenia has a chance to trade places with her maid and be a governess in the wilds of Colorado, she doesn't hesitate in trading her fancy frocks for boots and buckskin. Her grand plan is to have a Wild West adventure ( with capital W's, mind you !) for just one month before she settles down with her NY banker beau. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans!

Barely escaping New York without being detected, Gennie lands in Colorado to find things not quite as she expected. The father is absent and the child, Charlotte, is living like a tomboy. In her opinion she has no need to be clean or wear a dress, and she emphatically makes it known to Gennie the last thing she needs is a governess. After all, she is ten years old! At this first inauspicious meeting, Gennie has definitely met her match!

When she finally meets the father, Daniel Beck, it is almost a comedy of errors. Now Gennie comes up with another plan. Well, you'll just have to read the book to find out what happens next. Whoo hoo... the reader is in for another round of fun and adventure in Denver, Leadville and back to New York. As a little added bonus, at the top of each chapter is a mini story with Mae Winslow. This is one book I really enjoyed just for the sheer fun of it. 4****

Author Bio: Kathleen Y’Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than thirty novels, novellas, and young adult books, with more than a half-million in print. A graduate of Texas A&M University, she is currently a publicist with Books & Such literary agency. Please visit Kathleen at her website.

A big thank you to Ashley Boyer at Waterbrook/Random House for a copy of the book and for an invitation to participate in the tour.