A Treasure Concealed by Tracie Peterson

Emily lives with her prospector father in Montana in the 1890's.  Her mother is ill, and they don't have much money, but Emily's father is sure that any day he will strike it rich.  Emily has grown up in mining towns and has learned to wear clothes that conceal her feminine figure in order to discourage unwanted attention.  One day her father brings home a stranger, Caeden, who happens to see what Emily really looks like.  Caeden came from a disfunctional home and has vowed never to marry, but as he gets to know Emily, his resolve starts to waiver. Meanwhile, another stranger is trying to buy up all of the local mining claims, and when Emily's father refuses to sell, he threatens to do whatever it takes to get the claim.  Can Caeden protect Emily and her father, while still protecting his heart?

I started to read a different book, but in the first chapter I could tell it had elements that didn't meet my standards, so I just searched for available historical Christian romances and clicked on the first one in the list. I must say that this book proves that not all Christian historical romances are created equal.  This read like an old Vaudville melodrama with all the stock characters you would expect.  The dialog is terribly stilted and so cliche I couldn't help rolling my eyes.  It is also really preachy and the pacing is slow. I wonder how books like this get published, let alone made into  audiobooks.  It really was very silly.  So why did I finish it?  Why not?  At least it was clean, and it was so bad it was almost funny.  Will I be reading more in the series?  No. (2016, 328 p)