Almost a Bride [Hardcover]

Jane Feather (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 359 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Dell; Book Club edition (2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739450662
• ISBN-13: 978-0739450666
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,425,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Her best, bar none., May 23, 2005

By 

shereads - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost a Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

Jane Feather sometimes soars and sometimes disappoints. In this case, she's simply flawless. A classic theme of historical romance - innocent woman entrapped by a man bent on revenge - receives a surprisingly mature and original treatment.

I hesitated to read about another coldly calculating alpha male; these characters are great for setting up sexual tension and emotional conflict, but too often they remain cruel and heartless almost to the end, and are paired with heroines who seem to thrive on humiliation. In "Almost A Bride," the heroine is disarmingly wise and realistic, and her dignity begins to awaken at our alpha male's conscience before we can develop a serious dislike of him. He's appropriately arrogant, of course. The prospect of seeing him humbled by love is what makes such rogues irresistable.

It takes a deft hand to provide moments of lightness at the right time, in the right amount, to relieve tension without destroying it. With "Almost A Bride," Jane Feather reminds me for the first time of Christina Dodd, Connie Brockway and Judith Ivory - authors who can be trusted to lead me safely through the most wrenching romantic conflicts without plunging me into masochistic misery. (We all know love hurts. But it shouldn't frustrate us to the point where we throw the book across the room.)

"Almost A Bride" is a sheer pleasure to read, and irresistably sexy. Bravo.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars really, the romance is a bit weak., April 6, 2005

By 

Estelle "Historical romance reader" (France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost a Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

After being disappointed by her latest offerings, I'm very happy to see the 'real' Jane Feather is back.

The book is well-written and fast paced. All in all it's an entertaining read. But I didn't care for the subplot about the sister, and especially what happens when Jack and Arabella leave for France toward the end of the book; it was totally uncessary in my opinion, not to mention a waste of space. It's obvious the hero's tortured about it but it keeps the romance from being totally satisfying. Well, that and the fact that Jack never has to work for his happy ending. Arabella was an amazingly strong character but she turns into little miss Saintly in the last quarter of the book and it was a real let down. She doesn't even bat an eyelash when she's told that she's been subjected to and humiliated by the Ton's malicious gossips so that Jack's ex-mistress wouldn't have to suffer from it! When she's told that the hero only married her so that he could get his revenge on her half-brother, who has wronged him, and appropriate his title, she immediately decides to make ammends for her half-brother's misdeeds. It's painful to watch her ascension to sainthood.

All in all Almost A Bride is a vast improvement on Feather's recent books but it's still weak in the romance department: no real passion, tension or even equality in the relationship. If you can get past that you'll surely love it. If not, spend your money on Feather's older books, Vice for example.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book, April 15, 2005

By 

Mkath - See all my reviews

This review is from: Almost a Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read other books by Feather and really was disappointed, not this time. I loved Arabella and Jack. I loved the hint of danger in Jack and Arabella's good sense. She carefully planned her actions and didn't engage in the usual historical romance virginal silliness. No wacky friends or over the top villians. The book could have used more suspense or more tension. Don't skip this one.