Dani Collins’ THE PROSPECTOR’S ONLY PROSPECT features divorcee Marigold Davis as she travels in place of her sister to marry gold prospector Virgil Gardner, a scarred man with a chip on his shoulder. Upon learning Marigold is in fact not her sister, Pearl, Virgil decides to hire her as his housekeeper and caregiver to his three children in order for her to pay back the price of the train ticket he had purchased for her. As the two spend more and more time together, they come to realize there might be more between them.
This was my first Dani Collins title and I am really hoping she writes another similar to this because it was fantastic. Grumpy heroes are my favorite of all time and Collins wrote a great one. Virgil has a scarred face and a temper but is also such a sweet man just trying to take care of his children while running a demanding business. Marigold has had a rough few years after divorcing her cheating husband and losing her home. She sees Virgil’s proposal to her sister as a fresh start and takes her sister’s place, causing Virgil to mistrust her for much of the book. Marigold is a strong woman who isn't afraid of Virgil's grumbling and is just trying to make a life for herself.
There wasn’t really a central plot driving the narrative here but rather just days building up throughout so there are a few slow spots, but they don’t amount to much and don’t detract from the story overall. I read almost exclusively historical romances set in Regency England, so it was refreshing to step out of the ballrooms and read about characters struggling to make lives for themselves.
I loved THE PROSPECTOR’S ONLY PROSPECT, thanks to a grumpy hero, the heroine who tames him, and watching them face obstacles and get through them together.
After eight days in a cramped stagecoach, divorcée Marigold Davis already regrets her decision to come to Denver City to marry. She certainly didn’t realize she’d signed up for mosquitoes, mud, and scores of rough men eyeing her like a hot meal on a cold day. But with her life in Kansas all but incinerated, Marigold needs a husband. Even if she’s not the bride that gold prospector Virgil Gardner is expecting…
Virgil Gardner has a reputation as a grumpy hard-ass, and he’s fine with it. He’s also no fool—this is not the woman he agreed to marry. It takes a tough-as-nails woman to survive the harshness of a Rocky Mountain gold claim, and this whiskey-eyed, gentle beauty is certainly not the type. Now it’s just a matter of how quickly she’ll quit so he can find a wife who will stick. Someone who can care for the only thing he values even more than gold–his children.
But Marigold isn’t about to give in. Cramped in a one-room shack. Berry picking turned into a bear escape. Or cooking for an entire crew of bottomless pits. She’s got more grit than most. And just when Virgil starts to realize his replacement bride might be the treasure he’s been looking for, an unannounced guest arrives…to change everything.
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