THE DOVE – Carolyn Brown
Avalon Books
ISBN: 978-0-8034-9907-2
August 2008
Historical Romance

Spanish Fort, Texas – 1905

When Katy Lynn Logan was just a teenage girl, she fell in love with Joshua Carter, the son of the town's preacher. These two were inseparable during the summer of 1898 and would spend their days fishing and kissing. Even though Katy's father was the town drunk and her dead mother was considered to have been fast with men, Joshua didn't seem to care. Katy Lynn assumed she and Joshua would be together forever, but then her father died and Joshua turned away from her. Katy expected Joshua to come to her father's funeral and comfort her. Instead, he was leaving to go to Virginia to study law. His father threatened to cut him off if he didn't end things with Katy. Heartbroken, Katy goes on with her life. With only her father's best friend, Andy, by her side, Katy is determined to make something of herself and rise above her station and show the townspeople and Joshua that she is more than the offspring of two notorious people. Joshua's father thinks Katy is a soiled dove and tries to pay her off to leave Spanish Fort forever. Katy takes his money and her inheritance from her father and uses it to open a saloon right in the middle of town, and names it The Soiled Dove Saloon.

Seven years later, Katy is a successful businesswoman who owns several other businesses along with her most prized possession, The Soiled Dove Saloon. Andy works as her bartender and pretends to be the owner of her businesses since she is only a woman and deals with businessmen who frown upon a woman like herself being successful. Katy also plays the piano in the saloon and runs a respectful business where even women are invited to come and relax. Things couldn't be better, until a new preacher for the church comes into town, and it happens to be Joshua Carter!

Joshua decided to become a preacher instead of a lawyer and has returned to his roots. He thinks Katy is long gone, married with six children and old before her time. He is in shock to see a saloon in the middle of town and even more so when he sees who the piano player is. Joshua makes some assumptions about Katy. Soon, Joshua is insulting Katy every time he sees her, even though she stands up to him and goes to Sunday church services. Before long, these two decide on a tentative truce and that is where they both realize the feelings they felt for each other seven years ago are still very strong. The question is, how will a preacher who thinks his love is a soiled dove ever get past her reputation and his own opinions about her in order to have the happiness they deserve?

In the mood for a more traditional type romance where only kissing and holding hands is shown? Then you should pick up Carolyn Brown's THE DOVE where the West is still untamed and a woman has to do what's best for herself in order to survive. THE DOVE is a fast read with some nice tender moments between Joshua and Katy, especially when they realize what they mean to each other. Some readers may be a bit annoyed by the way Joshua treats Katy because he is a bit brainwashed by his father and his religious beliefs. At least Ms. Brown wrote Katy in a way where she is a strong and intelligent young woman and not the type to cower in fear because the man she loves thinks she is not worthy of him. At one point I wanted to shake Joshua, but things progressed in a nice way because Joshua comes to the conclusion he made a big mistake about Katy.

Katy has some great support in Andy, who is her best friend and more of a father to her than even her own biological father was. She also has some lovely girlfriends who are her partners in other businesses and give her great advice on how to handle Joshua. Joshua's father, Thaddeus, is a piece of work, especially because of his opinions about Katy and how he thinks she is damned to Hell just because of who her parents were. It was great to see Thaddeus brought down a notch.

THE DOVE is a very fast and short read that should appeal to those readers who enjoy a different setting and time with their romance. Even though I had some issues with Joshua and the way he treated Katy, Ms. Brown was able to change my opinion about him. For a story with a wonderful heroine most readers can look up to and an overall wonderful romance about forgiveness and trust, pick up THE DOVE.

Kate Garrabrant