Jo Beverleys historical romance An Unwilling Bride is an unlikely Cinderella story, and very aptly named. Beth Armitage is a school teacher, living quiet comfortably teaching unruly girls how to be strong and capable ladies, while Lucien de Vaux, heir to the dukedom of Belcraven, is enjoying all the wealth and prestige his high social ranking can afford him. A more unlikely match is hard to imagine, and especially once Napoleon returns from exile and turns Europe on its head, the chances of the two working out their personal conflicts seems nil. But in a clever twist of a scandalous nature, Beverley reveals a different heir to the dukedom and these twowho didnt seem to like each other much from the get-goare forced to endure each others presence, and even to act the part of star-crossed lovers.
Because of this unique play on an old storyline, the first several chapters of the book had me totally engrossed. I liked Beth from the start, and once she was removed from her school mistress guise and able to relax and show a little more of herself, I liked her even more. Lucien isinteresting. One minute you want to love him and the next you hate him, and that pendulum swings in full arcs most of the way through the story. In fact, a good majority of the book is about their back and forth quicksand as Beth calls it. I got very bored with the exchanges after a while, because even though the situations and dialogue were different I knew how each confrontation was going to end: Lucien storming off and Beth left fuming or bemused. Once the first love scene came around (and we all know thats really a part of the reason we read romance novels!) all I could think was Oh, whatever! That tedium aside, however, the character growth was excellent, and the scenes and secondary characters gave the complete impression of being in an era long past. The historical aspect was flawlessly worked. The intertwined tidbits from other members of the Company of Rogues, particularly Nicholas, really helped to bring the story to life because it illustrated a wider world than just Luciens and Beths.
I found the ending incredibly interesting as all throughout the novel, Lucien is the one who has to be in control and everything must go his way and then suddenly he lets Beth do something she wants to do and its much more drastic than walking out of Belcraven House unescorted. Youll have to read this one for yourself to find out exactly what it is, and I think its fair to say that readers of Ms. Beverleys should keep an eye on Clarissa Greystone.
www.whitneycarter.wordpress.com
Because of this unique play on an old storyline, the first several chapters of the book had me totally engrossed. I liked Beth from the start, and once she was removed from her school mistress guise and able to relax and show a little more of herself, I liked her even more. Lucien isinteresting. One minute you want to love him and the next you hate him, and that pendulum swings in full arcs most of the way through the story. In fact, a good majority of the book is about their back and forth quicksand as Beth calls it. I got very bored with the exchanges after a while, because even though the situations and dialogue were different I knew how each confrontation was going to end: Lucien storming off and Beth left fuming or bemused. Once the first love scene came around (and we all know thats really a part of the reason we read romance novels!) all I could think was Oh, whatever! That tedium aside, however, the character growth was excellent, and the scenes and secondary characters gave the complete impression of being in an era long past. The historical aspect was flawlessly worked. The intertwined tidbits from other members of the Company of Rogues, particularly Nicholas, really helped to bring the story to life because it illustrated a wider world than just Luciens and Beths.
I found the ending incredibly interesting as all throughout the novel, Lucien is the one who has to be in control and everything must go his way and then suddenly he lets Beth do something she wants to do and its much more drastic than walking out of Belcraven House unescorted. Youll have to read this one for yourself to find out exactly what it is, and I think its fair to say that readers of Ms. Beverleys should keep an eye on Clarissa Greystone.
www.whitneycarter.wordpress.com
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