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The Ballerina’s Bargain by Lorri Dudley Review and Giveaway

September 8, 2026September 7, 2026 Babbling Becky L

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for The Ballerina’s Bargain by Lorri Dudley, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Book Details

Title: The Ballerina’s Bargain
Series: Danforth Theatre #1
Author: Lorri Dudley
Publisher: Wild Heart Books
Release Date: September 8, 2026
Genre: Historical Regency Romance

A burdened earl. A determined ballerina. Saving the theatre was part of their bargain. Losing their hearts wasn’t.

London, 1815

Emmeline Laurent has survived by grace and grit. After her parents’ execution in France, she has learned to live unseen as a humble ballerina instructing young pupils in a small London theatre. When whispers spread that the Danforth Theatre may be sold to an unscrupulous buyer, Emmeline fears not only for her livelihood but for the safety of her impressionable students. With no time and no options, she does the only thing she knows to do: leap into a moving carriage and bargain with the new lord who holds their fate.

Grant Atherton, the Earl of Quincy, has inherited the crushing weight of duty along with a failing theatre, an arranged engagement, two younger sisters to usher into society, and a mountain of his father’s secrets. Selling the Danforth is the only way to save his family from ruin. The last thing he needs is a beautiful, infuriatingly determined ballerina turning his careful plans upside down.

But when Emmeline’s hidden past begins surfacing and the danger circling the theatre proves far deadlier than either of them realized, Grant must choose between the life he planned and the one God may have been preparing all along.

For fans of Roseanna M. White and Jen Turano — a sweeping Regency romance about the grace found in surrender, the courage it takes to trust, and the God who makes a way when every door seems closed.

Other Books by Dudley Available:

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Author’s Corner

Lorri Dudley is the bestselling author of The Leeward Island Series and The Agents of Espionage Series. She has a master’s degree in psychology and lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household.

Connect with Lorri by visiting lorridudley.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email newsletter updates.

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My Impressions

“The happiest people in life aren’t those without problems. It’s those with something bigger than their problems.”

I give The Ballerina’s Bargain (The Danforth Theatre, bk#1) by Lorri Dudley a rousing standing ovation. Taking place in 1815 England, forbidden love, familial duty, revenge, fear, protection of innocents, and society double-standards are all topics explored.

Having narrowly escaped the guillotine in France as a child, Emmeline and her ballet mentor, Charlene, hide under assumed names working at the Danforth Theatre. Finding out that the present owner, Lord Quincy, Grant Atherton, plans to sell the theatre to a man who intends to promote “back room rendezvous,” Emmeline challenges Grant not to sell. She loves the little ballerines, ages 6-14, that she teaches and realizes their pending fate under the new owner. Then she promises Grant that she will make sure the Danforth turns a profit. Grant doesn’t want to acquiesce… but prayer is an important part of his life, and he hears God speaking, “Protect my lambs.” But what about his younger siblings’ futures? Must he risk them?

Ooh, la, la!! As Grant reneges on his spoken agreement to sell the theatre, he begins to find he is making enemies left and right. Mr. Harrowby threatens to ruin him, an old Eton bully reappears in his life, the dancers are ready to mutiny, and he has a fiancée he doesn’t want to marry. While Charlene insists troubles come because of the father’s sins visiting the children, Emmeline draws on her faith to reach a different conclusion. “‘We learn from pain.’ Emmeline issued Flora a gentle smile. ‘It keeps us humble and reminds us who’s ultimately in control.’”

I loved how gentle and kind with her young charges Emmeline is. She works very hard to repay her mentor for the years of caretaking Charlene has provided and is loyal to a fault. She is strong as she leans into God for help to get overcome her fears. But is God big enough to help her overcome her biggest fear? As she begins to trust Grant, what will happen when he appears to not be who he presents himself to be?

Grant, bless his heart, is a tortured soul. “Firstborn sons inherited lands, wealth, and titles, but they sacrificed their freedom.” Grant’s every life move has been dictated by his father. How he resents those choices. Grant is constantly praying for wisdom. Can he begin to trust his heavenly Father to guide him aright, where his earthly father did not?

I loved seeing the inner workings of a theatre. The competition with other theatres, all the frantic practices, the theatre preparations, the discord between actors or dancers, and the individual parts of putting together a ballet-opera performance. And it made me sad, of course, to see such a double standard society set up. It is fine and wonderful to attend the opera and be a patron, but it is wrong to befriend or love an actor or ballerina.

This book gets the superior rating from me as it ventures into the final acts before whipping out some really great twists! Memorable!!

I received a copy of the book from CelebrateLit and the publisher through BookFunnel. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

Notable Quotables:

“The bang of the door reverberated through her heart like the slam of the guillotine.”

“Fear is like being shackled,”

“We’re all broken people. The Bible says all of us have sinned and fall short, but Jesus’s life and death prove that broken people are worth saving.”

“Perfection is working overly hard for man, but excellence is doing your best for God. Go and give God glory, showing everyone how magnifique He made you.”

“Lord, I want to trust. No. I choose to trust.”

“Our limitations are an invitation to trust God.”

“I’ve found that bravery and fear feel the same. It’s up to us to choose how to respond.”

“Lord, I’m trusting You to make a way where there seems to be no way.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! For the storyline, the Truth nuggets, the twists!

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Your Chance to Win!

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card and a prize bundle with reading blanket, socks, and candle!

Fine print😊:

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 8, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 15, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

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A Contrary Betrothal by Denise Farnsworth Review and Giveaway

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: A Contrary Betrothal

Author: Denise Farnsworth writing as Denise Weimer

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: August 18, 2026

A Cherokee lieutenant, a colonel’s daughter, and a desperate fight to protect both land and love.

Sam Hicks may be the educated son of a Cherokee chief, but his command of multiple languages and diplomatic skills can’t erase the prejudice he faces as a mixed-blood warrior. When he’s tasked with guarding Colonel Moore’s spirited daughter, Susanna, at a wilderness fort, he never expects to lose his heart to a woman he can never have.

Susanna Moore dreams of making her own way on the frontier like her Cherokee stepmother. The last thing she wants is an arranged marriage to the fort’s stuffy doctor—especially after she meets the noble and intelligent Sam Hicks. When she’s captured by a turncoat warrior during a Creek uprising, Sam risks everything to save her.

Their shared values and growing love give them hope—but with the Creek War raging and cultural pressures mounting, can a Cherokee lieutenant and a colonel’s daughter overcome the loyalties and prejudices set against them?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

North Georgia native Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, has authored over twenty traditionally published novels and novellas—historical and contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and time slip. As a freelance editor and Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books, she’s helped other authors reach their publishing dreams. A wife and mother of two adult daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

More from Denise

The seed idea for A Contrary Betrothal came from another author a number of years ago. She proposed a collection of stories in which the heroes were all Native Americans who served their country in different wars. I still love the idea even though it never came to pass! In fact, I loved it so much, I went ahead and wrote my story. And that story became Bent Tree Bride, first published with Smitten Romance. Now, it’s joining my Scouts of the Georgia Frontier series as book six.

Many people are unaware that the Cherokees fought alongside American troops under Andrew Jackson during the Creek War or Red Stick War, a portion of the War of 1812 that occurred in present-day Alabama. The Creek people were allied to the British, as the Cherokees themselves had been during the American Revolution. The motivation for this was, of course, to keep their land. Their warriors were so valuable to Jackson that they broke the ineffective cannonade on the town of Tohopeka, swimming across the river from behind and making the victory possible that ended the war at Horseshoe Bend.

Sam Hicks, the hero of A Contrary Betrothal, is a mixed-blood Cherokee lieutenant with the head of a scholar and the heart of a warrior. His struggle to intermingle the old ways and the new ways proves reflective of the metamorphosis of his people. Even though he’s been educated as the wealthy son of a chief, he knows his white colonel’s daughter, Susanna Moore, is out of his reach. But when he’s assigned to guard her and her little brother at a wilderness fort, he can no longer deny his attraction to the feisty young woman who’s determined to convince her father she can survive on the frontier as well as her Cherokee stepmother.

A Contrary Betrothal will resonate with readers who enjoy stories by authors like Laura Frantz, Shannon McNear, Michelle Griep, and Lori Benton. The forbidden love and fish out of water tropes create plenty of angst, and the battlefield scenes echo Last of the Mohicans. When people have asked me which of my books would translate well onto the big screen, in fact, this is one I think of. I invite you, dear reader, to be swept away by the action and romance of my final book of the Scouts of the Georgia Frontier.

My Impressions

“‘Not yet.’ ‘Soon.’ ‘Almost.’” George picked up a pine frond and examined it carefully. “Seems like a lot of things not happening.” “That is the way of it for our people, George.”

An obscure quote? Perhaps. But I find it very accurately describes the frustration of the Cherokee people in the time of this book, A Contrary Betrothal, by Denise Farnsworth. ( Which, though book #6 in this series, Scouts of the Revolution, this was originally published as Bent Tree Bride. Fair warning to those who don’t like to buy a new book only to discover they have already read it!)

I think I could wax eloquent and write a whole book about my thoughts on this novel. At the very least, I would love to discuss the political intrigue and double standards presented between the Caucasians, the Cherokee, and the Red Stick people (who I was motivated to research on my own). If I were still teaching upper elementary, this book’s facts (delineated with historical figures mentioned and separating fact from artistic license) along with the very real political climate would help provide background into my lessons. Farnsworth makes me feel deeply the angst of the Cherokee people and the Red Sticks, both who realize the precariousness of their possession of the Tennessee-North Carolina mountain forest land. Each tribe must choose a side of the War of 1812 to side with- the British or the Americans- and pray that their side wins, and that said government will keep the promises they make to their Native American partners.

It is into this massive backdrop of confusion that Farnsworth places her two star-crossed lovers. One, Sam Hicks, is a mixed-blood Cherokee and Caucasian. Which means, he fights for his place in either world. Trained in both, he has the skills of a Cherokee warrior, but is ridiculed because he doesn’t follow all their tortuous customs, having learned about Jesus from missionaries. His ultimate questions: can he fight like a Cherokee and restore his lost honor? Will his mixed blood mean he must relinquish his love for Susanna which grows as he is assigned by her double-standard enforcing father to be her body guard?

“The man who’d captured her imagination from a single day’s meeting was a Cherokee. White women did not marry Cherokee men.” Poor Susanna! Her powerful Caucasian father, himself married a second time to a wonderful Cherokee woman, insists Susanna can only marry a Caucasian man, esp. his choice, Dr. Hawkins. The whole book, I was rather violently seething with Susanna at her father’s total inability to see his double standards. Unfortunately, it is one I see exhibited by people today, some very close to me. How can you honestly love a spouse and denounce or hold prejudice against their people? What about ourselves? Do we say we don’t have prejudices, but they linger in big and small ways? Our faith speaks to that!!

I think what makes this book one of true sadness for me, is that we have the perspective of history behind us. We know how the greed for land and gain in this area affects the Native Americans. But I would be a liar not to be grateful that this land is part of our country now where we can travel, visit,or live freely. Farnsworth shows both the underbelly of all three cultures, and those who are honestly trying to, through faith in God, and following human kindness, make the best of trying times. Keep your eyes open for important historical figures (one I didn’t recognize!) that are included in this emotional, faith-filled, romantic book!

At the risk of running on too long, when I saw the list of comparable Christian historical authors, I understood immediately why I loved this book. Here they are: Michelle Griep, Shannon McNear, Laura Frantz, and Lori Benton. *Le Sigh*

I received a copy of the book from CelebrateLit, the author and Wild Heart Books via BookFunnel. I bought my own ecopy and I’m off to buy a pb copy for trophy shelf. No positive opinion was required, and all opinions are my own.

Notable Quotables:

“She was most definitely not in control. But she believed in Someone who was. And if she believed His goodness, she also must believe He had a good future for her.”

“To be without a clan is to be without an identity.”

“Then you cannot fight this war to prove yourself to the colonel. That is fighting from a position of weakness. You are sure to lose. Instead, you must forgive the colonel. If you fight, it must be what you believe is right before God, asking Him to come alongside you to help our people. That is fighting from a position of strength.”

“Is it ever a just cause to turn brothers against each other? Do we deceive ourselves that the English won’t take the land of the Creeks if they win this war, then turn on us for ours?”

“Save your anger. To show restraint is wiser than to engage a fool.”

“I want the two wolves to lie together inside. In peace.”

“He’d fallen to quoting scriptures in his head after that. By the time they crossed Chockelocko Creek, he’d restored some semblance of inner peace.”

“Sam saw the way forward in words, not wars.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! I believe this is one of Farnsworth’s best! Whether I remember the names of the characters a year from now, I will never forget the accurate depiction of the swirling vortex of cultural clash, greed, and those who strove to leave a mark of love for their fellow man, regardless of skin color!