A little bit of everything—humor, secrets, betrayals, misunderstandings, sexual tension, breathtaking romance—adds up to a...
After Bliss Worthington’s plans to marry a duke go awry and she winds up wed to his bastard brother instead, the couple enters into a battle of wills that may end up in a happy-ever-after if they can sift through fact and fiction while opening their hearts to the truth.
Bliss has arranged to marry Lord Neville Danton, Duke of Camberton in a “secret, midnight wedding,” but when it comes time to sign the register, she discovers she’s been tricked into marrying the duke’s illegitimate brother, sea captain Morgan Pryce, instead. Bliss and Neville adore each other, so she’s confused by Morgan’s derisive accusations that she’s a gold digger taking advantage of his half brother’s trust and good nature. Trying to convince him that she has Neville’s best interests at heart only complicates their relationship further, giving Morgan the opportunity to twist her protests into a challenge to spend more time with him in order to prove her intentions. Bliss reluctantly agrees, but their time together confuses her, since she must admit to stronger feelings for him than she ever had for his brother. Trying to understand her own heart, Bliss attempts to visit Neville, but when she is accosted by his uncle, she begins to realize who exactly benefits from the state of affairs that has turned Neville’s closest allies into perceived enemies. Meanwhile Morgan is falling for Bliss but still doesn’t trust her, especially when she tries to question his uncle’s motives. When a shocking event pits the brothers against each other in dangerous ways, Bliss and her notorious cousins will have to figure out how to save the day. Bradley continues her Worthington series (I Thee Wed, 2016, etc.) with a fresh, bright title that features two unconventional main characters meant to be together despite their problematic start and the inimitable, winning Worthington family. Bliss especially is a unique and enchanting revelation readers will love.
A little bit of everything—humor, secrets, betrayals, misunderstandings, sexual tension, breathtaking romance—adds up to a completely delightful read.Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-451-47598-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
Another reboot of Jane Austen?!? Hadlow pulls it off in a smart, heartfelt novel devoted to bookish Mary, middle of the five sisters in Pride and Prejudice.
Part 1 recaps Pride and Prejudice through Mary’s eyes, climaxing with the humiliating moment when she sings poorly at a party and older sister Elizabeth goads their father to cut her off in front of everyone. The sisters’ friend Charlotte, who marries the unctuous Mr. Collins after Elizabeth rejects him, emerges as a pivotal character; her conversations with Mary are even tougher-minded here than those with Elizabeth depicted by Austen. In Part 2, two years later, Mary observes on a visit that Charlotte is deferential but remote with her husband; she forms an intellectual friendship with the neglected and surprisingly nice Mr. Collins that leads to Charlotte’s asking Mary to leave. In Part 3, Mary finds refuge in London with her kindly aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner is the second motherly woman, after Longbourn housekeeper Mrs. Hill, to try to undo the psychic damage wrought by Mary’s actual mother, shallow, status-obsessed Mrs. Bennet, by building up her confidence and buying her some nice clothes (funded by guilt-ridden Lizzy). Sure enough, two suitors appear: Tom Hayward, a poetry-loving lawyer who relishes Mary’s intellect but urges her to also express her feelings; and William Ryder, charming but feckless inheritor of a large fortune, whom naturally Mrs. Bennet loudly favors. It takes some maneuvering to orchestrate the estrangement of Mary and Tom, so clearly right for each other, but debut novelist Hadlow manages it with aplomb in a bravura passage describing a walking tour of the Lake District rife with seething complications furthered by odious Caroline Bingley. Her comeuppance at Mary’s hands marks the welcome final step in our heroine’s transformation from a self-doubting wallflower to a vibrant, self-assured woman who deserves her happy ending. Hadlow traces that progression with sensitivity, emotional clarity, and a quiet edge of social criticism Austen would have relished.
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-12941-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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