Gold Rush Dream by Billie Sue Mosiman

Product Description

Gold Rush Dream is the story of a young girl coming of age and overcoming personal tragedy as she makes a long, turbulent journey across the American territories. East Texas in 1849 is no place for the weak, as Rose finds out when marauding Indians destroy her family’s homestead. Rescued by Travis, a man who makes his living by trapping in the wild, together they will set out to find her only remaining family in California. As their travels turn into a quest to find not only family, but the wealth available to a few lucky souls during the Gold Rush, Rose and Travis will find that it takes all of their endurance and obsession to achieve their dreams. Ultimately, they will find that it is the love that grows between two people whose shared values of freedom, independence and honor are worth more than any nuggets of gold they might find when faced with the difficulties and dangers of life in the American West.

My take on this book:

At the age of seventeen Rose Donahue had her life totally turned upside down.  Rose was a young chilld when her family came from Ireland in hopes of a better life. Things seemed to be going well, they had acquired a tiny homestead in Texas and her father enjoyed working the land. Rose being an only child, was close to her parents. When a band of Apache Indians attack the homestead, Rose's mother sends her into hidey hole under the floor where they kept their potatoes and onions. When Rose comes out of the cellar, the house has been burned to the ground, and her parents are dead.
Travis Caldwell has been trapping since a young boy,he had always been a loner, but he is bothered by the raids the Indians are doing on the homesteaders, when he sees smoke he goes to investigate. Seeing Rose rise out of the ashes alarmed him at first, but he does what he has to do, he takes her with him. Neither of them realize that one of the Indians that attacked the homestead was watching, and is determined to have Rose, wanting her for his squaw.Rose convinces Travis that she needs to get to California, where her only remaining family is. Will Travis be able to reunite Rose with her family, and will he be able to protect her from an Indian that is obsessed with her?

Gold Rush Dream was a short story, consisting of 115 pages, but each of those pages are chock full of action. Rose was a very tough young lady, the tenacity she showed by overcoming such tragedy, was amazing. With Rose's red hair and blue eyes, the Indian that pursued her believed she had the spirit of fire and water and thought by taking her to his tribe, they would respect him. While the author didn't give a great description of Travis, his kind, caring, compassionate acts toward Rose, allowed the reader to see how beautiful he was on the inside.

I found the writing style of Ms. Mosiman very descriptive,capturing the essence of the time-period. The story also flowed very well, never having a down time. She paints such a vivid pictures with her writing, that I felt like I was right in the midst of the story, the sites and smells she described were vivid.

If you enjoy reading historical fiction with a wonderful love story, that takes you across the west when it was still wild then you will love this story.

rating 5/5

Reviewed for ReadersFavorite.com