Customer Reviews

Almost a Bride

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The reviewer Maggie says it all for me. I feel the author did not really show that Jack loved Arabella. I felt let down that JF didn't make Jack stand up more for Arabella than his mistress.I don't think I'll be reading any more of JF books, she does this all the time with her H/H. It was just too much angst and not enough love.

This book rambled all over the place. There seemed no clear and interesting path. The possible plot had potential, but the actual book really missed the mark and left me mourning the waste of time.

A big problem was the fact that the hero never became fleshed out. The reader was told bits and pieces about him, but he was never brought to life. Without a connection to him the story fell flat. Also, the few things we were told were so contradictory they were useless--such as:

--If he didn't care about the sanctions of Society, why did he try so hard to recreate his wife to impress??

--If he would not talk of his wife out of respect, why did he allow his mistress to repeatedly insult her in public.

--If he held his wife in such contempt for her brother's sins, why did it only bother him now and then?

Speaking of the married, titled, non maternal mistress...that was really over-the-top. He explains to his wife though he's not sleeping with said mistress he was still loyal to her and would not humiliate her by a public rejection nor would he be pleased if his wife enjoyed any public discomfort shown to his mistress. I could understand if the mistress was portrayed as the former love-of-his-life or was even written as a decent person, but she was blatantly greedy, selfish and spiteful. There was never a mention of love or affection, only shared pleasure and his expensive support for her gambling debts. So...he had enough affection for his wife to refuse sex with his mistress, but he wanted the wife to appear contentedly cuckolded in public to spare the mistress' feelings??? The wife actually agreed to this and her best friend even stated, "One can't help admiring a man who's so fiercely loyal to an ex-mistress."

THIS INTRIGUING LOVE STORY WAS MAINLY ABOUT SEXY LORD JACK FORTEAU, WHO WANTED TO GET REVENGE ON LADY ARABELLA FOOLISH STEP-BROTHER FREDERICK, BY MARRYING HER IN ORDER TO GET AN HEIR. HE WAS ATTRACTIVE TO HER AT FIRST SIGHT, BUT ALSO FELLED MADLY IN LOVE WITH HER, BUT OF COURSE, SHE CONFESSED HER HEART TO HIM AT FIRST.

I enjoyed reading this book and felt it was well researched. The vocabulary was delightful in that the author used what was common in those times. So many authors shy away from the language even when trying to make everything else authentic.

I liked the passion of Jack and Arabella. I think the one thing that bothered me was that Jack changed his stripes too quick for my tastes. It just felt off and I would have preferred that he returned to his "wicked ways" and then worked through his feelings AFTERWARDS instead of coming to all the miraculous conclusions before doing anything.

Arabella was a bit too accepting of the truth as well but I can forgive that. She held no love for her brother but I would think that even if you don't love or like someone they are still family.

It sounds like I didn't like the book but that is far from the truth. I did enjoy it and I liked that the "happy ending" was tempered by a bit of real life sadness. It felt good to know that everything didn't work out perfectly.

I read this over a period of a couple hours and wanted to keep reading, despite being tired. :)

Almost a Bride
by: Jane Feather
Reviewer: Pamela Ackerson (author of Home of the Braves trilogy)
A Sweet Romance
This story is right up to par along with the rest of Ms. Feather's novels. A feisty heroine, Arabella, and a revengeful hero named Jack clash and play witty games with each other. Kick your feet up and enjoy, from the very first pages with him winning an estate and all it's contents to the last page where ... (no I am not going to spoil the ending) ... you smile in satisfaction, Almost a Bride is one of the better historical romances available on the shelf. It is a delightful story immersing the reader into each scene, a romance to keep you turning the pages until the very end. Definitely a book to read.

At Brooks Gaming Club, Duke Jack Fortescu plays Faro with four other blokes including Earl Frederick Lacey. The Duke and the Earl have met over cards and other games of chance rather frequently lately with Jack winning all the time. However, Fred believes his luck has changed and he offers Lacey Court and all the contents inside as his wager. Jack accepts especially because of the stipulation of inside means Fred's sister. A couple of minutes later, Fred commits suicide.

Jack travels to Kent to collect his winnings. However the sister Arabella is nothing like her brother. She is calm but laughs when he mentions the death of Fred and laughs when he offers a marriage of convenience. She wonders why a handsome wealthy Duke would settle for a twenty-eight year old rusticated spinster when he can have any diamond amidst the Ton. Jack cannot complete his vengeance without hurting Arabella just like Fred did to his sister Charlotte when he gave her away to the mob during the final days at Marie Antoinette's court. He did not count on falling in love with his victim.

Though Arabella accepts her lot with a Fonzie level of cool that seems out of place, fans will appreciate this delightful late eighteenth century romance. The story line is character driven though much action occurs especially as the audience learn more about Charlotte. The tale focuses on the relationship between Jack and Arabella as he admires her from the onset, his admiration grows, and soon he is in love, but as he constantly reminds himself do not lose sight of the mission. Jane Feather provides an intriguing tale of love conquering hate.

Harriet Klausner

Loved, loved this book! I generally have loved all the books by Jane Feather that I've read - this one was one of the best. The hero was yummy, and heroine had so much charm, backbone, and gumption. The two of them had so much chemistry they fairly sizzled. I did feel that the part of the story where they go to France veered away from the general direction of the story, but all in all a very satisfying read. Had elements of "The Scarlet Pimpernel" in it, which was great. Loved it.