The Railroad Magnate

Author: Karen Baney
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Colter Sons #3
Release Date: December 2, 2022
Publisher: Author Services International

A sweet western romance and love at first sight story. Set in Prescott, Arizona Territory in 1891 – 1893.

James Colter was a successful entrepreneur and businessman in the railroad industry. As he watches his younger brothers marry and start their families, his loneliness deepens. He has everything, except the one thing he longs for the most: a wife and family of his own. When he dances with the daughter of an older friend, was it love at first sight, or will he put his personal dream on hold again to pursue his professional aspirations?

Keri Glassman wants to follow in her parents’ footsteps. She dreams of becoming a contract attorney. When a handsome suitor invites her on a train ride, the course of her life is rewritten. Like her mother, she wants it all, a career, a loving husband, and a family. Can she find her own way or will her desire to please her parents threaten to destroy her hope for a lasting love?

---

Reviewer: Erin Stevenson

The Railroad Magnate is Karen Baney’s third installment in the Colter Sons series. I hadn’t read the first two and chose this one because the time period and setting intrigued me. Any historical fiction book involving trains moves to the top of my list.
 
One thing I thought the author did very well was describing opulent settings—a hotel, a restaurant, and the World’s Fair. I felt as if I was there.
 
The entire book was written in first person, and it was helpful to know when the POV changed to the other person, clearly marked with their name. Sometimes further in, I still got a little lost about whose POV we were in and had to go back and look.
 
The storyline was good, with sufficient conflict, but for some reason, I didn’t connect with the characters in the way I thought I would, and at times the story seemed to lag. But when a pivotal event that would normally have come closer to the end of a romance book was moved up, that caught my attention in a good way (trying to not spoil things here!).
 
If you’ve read the first two books in the series, this one will likely resonate more.
 
I was provided a copy of this novel by the author through Interviews and Reviews. I was not required to post a positive review, and all views and opinions are my own.

---