Review: The Copper King’s Daughter by Rebecca Jasmine

 Genre: Historical Fiction

Description:

“Butte, Montana, 1905. Parker Copper Mining Company.

For her entire seventeen years, Jules Parker has felt a deep connection to her father’s pitch dark, ear-splittingly loud, and dirty copper mines.

Her father, AJ Parker is the most prosperous and powerful man in the American West. He settled in Butte after first discovering gold, then silver. But because of the quick rise of telephones and the wiring of the modern world, the need for copper wire exploded and what he found deep in his mines turned out to be the most valuable of all—copper iron ore. He built an entire empire, becoming a Copper King with his mines in “the richest hill on earth.”

And while Jules admires all that her father has accomplished, she cannot wait to run the mines, certain that she can bring even more success. The hardest part though… is convincing him.

AJ later announces he may be stepping away from mining to seek a position as Montana state senator, and hires the attractive and refined Ted Jackson—who romances Jules, but who also takes control of Parker Copper.

With Ted in charge, Jules relinquishes her dream of running the mining company, and envisions living a dull and conventional life. Until she meets a handsome stranger, Rand Buckley…who might be sabotaging Parker Copper for his own gain.

Loosely based on real events, Jules gets caught up in a riot at the horse races, gets swept away by a flash flood in the red-light district, befriends a strong woman who would eventually be the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, and endures a fiery explosion at Parker Copper’s largest mine that may put an end to the company forever.”

Author:

“Rebecca Jasmine is originally from Montana, with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Montana. She started in apparel/merchandise while living in San Francisco, then embarked upon a career in Los Angeles as a producer and executive producer for television commercial editors. After moving back to Montana to raise their twin sons, she took to writing novels based in her home state. Rebecca and her husband, Jeremy Sauter, currently reside in the Palm Springs, California area. She enjoys reading, playing tennis, mountain biking, and dogs.

Also, Rebecca was an official TSA Pre-check Enrollment Agent, and did a stint as a background extra on Yellowstone, season four/episode one. The Copper King's Daughter is her first novel.”

Appraisal:

This was an interesting read. The history of the old west, especially a copper mining town like Butte, Montana where this takes places, is interesting to consider. The protagonist, Jules, comes from a well-to-do family and the mining company her father owns is the primary employer in the area, which puts her in a strange position. That dynamic impacts expectations and the way she is viewed by her family and the townspeople. But Jules is ahead of her time in many ways, not wanting to conform to those expectations. Throw in a few men romancing her, some strange happenings at the mine and around town, and we’ve got a bit of romance and mystery along with a view of a different time and place to keep the reader engaged, entertained, and possibly learning a bit too.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

A few more proofreading errors than I like to see, all of them minor (extra or missing words in most cases), but not enough to negatively impact my star rating.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words