Review--Courting Carrie in Wonderland

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Courting Carrie in WonderlandCourting Carrie in Wonderland by Carla Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Authors always hear "Write what you know" (Disclaimer--I have never been a pirate...but the day's not yet over.) and Carla Kelly is an excellent example of this dictum. I enjoy her Regency era stories, but I really like her tales set in the American West. They have a feeling of authenticity that too few authors can bring to their work, and her background with the U.S. Park Service comes through.

In Courting Carrie in Wonderland we get a history of the beginnings of Yellowstone Park, the crown jewel of the park service. We also get an absolutely charming love story, about a girl with too few opportunities striving to make something of herself, and an Army Noncom dealing with PTSD and, well, Army life. These two loners find each other at "Wonderland", an early name for the camping areas where city slickers could get a taste of the great outdoors in the summer.

Ms. Kelly is an autobuy for me, but I'm always happiest when it's one of her Western tales, and I hope to see more in the future.


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