The Bad Man's Bride: Marrying Miss Bright (Mass Market Paperback)

by Susan Kay Law (Author) "Much to her heartfelt dismay, Anthea Bright really was in Kansas now..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Bright, Gabriel Jackson, Phillip Cox (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Forced by lack of money to earn her own living, gently bred Anthea Bright optimistically leaves Philadelphia and heads for Haven, TX, to run the local school. Unfortunately, despite her cheery letters to her sisters, the situation is appalling physically, educationally, and socially. Then Gabriel Jackson, the most infamous "bad man" in town, bursts into her classroom, and suddenly things become a lot more interesting and a lot more perilous. A dangerously appealing hero, an intrepid, determined heroine, and a child you want to hug drive the plot of this well-written Western romance that, although charming and lighthearted on the surface, also has its darker side, addressing the issues of jealousy, prejudice, self-esteem, and social-class bias with sensitivity and skill. This is the first volume in the "Marrying Miss Bright" series. Law is an award-winning writer and author of a number of "Historical Americana" romances (e.g., The Most Wanted Bachelor); she lives in Hopkins, MN.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A sinful indulgence of the best kind." -- --Christina Dodd

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (May 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380819066
• ISBN-13: 978-0380819065
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #191,347 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He's not a bad man!, June 12, 2003

By	"readinganddreaming" (Green Country, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

Anthea Bright has relocated to Haven, Kansas from the east to take a position as the small town's schoolteacher. She has fine polish that states she has grown up with money and manners. Her ways are gentle and yet she must be strong and strict to handle this bunch of midwestern children. Gabriel Jackson comes to the school one day to confront this new teacher that is obviously not qualified as such and finds that she is a lot more resilient than he would have guessed. As Gabriel begins to complain to Anthea about what his daughter should be taught, he discovers she has a fierce passion for her teaching and her students and he best not second-guess her.

The Bad Man's Bride was a satisfying read. It was a pleasing narrative and the leads are unique, likable and captivating characters. The story's pace faltered about halfway through the book and that is really the main reason for the four star rating rather than a five star. Although I enjoyed this story, I was not compelled to keep reading because it was a book that fascinated me. It didn't fall into that "couldn't put down" category. It was just a good, tame read.

The hero, Gabriel, although supposedly this bad man (thus the title), brings a bastard child, a nine year old girl into his house to raise as his own, when her mother, a prostitute, dies. This child is not Gabriel's. He was raised as a bastard himself and wants to protect this little girl who has no one to take care of her. He lets everyone assume it is his child who he has neglected for years until the mother died. This child is very dear and fragile. She adds so much to this story. Children in a romance novel usually don't add much to the story but this one does.

The sweet, proper heroine is not a virgin! She isn't the victim of some awful rape either. And it makes no difference to the hero. Their relationship does not fall into the same old romantic plot lines. Gabriel and Anthea get along very well and do not pick on each other or have disagreements. They both have some unspoken doubts concerning their relationship but these doubts were actually normal. They made sense under the circumstances. I guess I am saying that the book was actually believable all the way through!

This book is about the romance between Gabriel and Anthea. It has a couple of side plots that take up few pages. I love it when a romance novel is about a romance. Gabriel and Anthea are the primary focus of this tale and they spend a lot of time together. If you have read many of my reviews, you know that this is a really important facet to me about a romance novel. I want to see the romance relationship mature. I want to read pages of Gabriel and Anthea interacting. I was certainly not disappointed on that point.

The sensual scenes rate about a four out of five (see More About Me for rating guidelines). These scenes appear after the first half and really enhance the story line. You see genuine feelings developing between these two and there is depth to their relationship almost from the beginning. I do have to agree with one reviewer about the name of the book. The Bad Man's Bride is not really a representative title. The heroine could not be described as a bride for a good portion of the story. And, in my opinion, this man does not have the history to be considered a "bad man" by the town and doesn't behave like a "bad man" currently.

This is my first book to read by Susan Kay Law. I certainly look forward to working my way through her backlist.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE SUSAN KAY LAW, June 19, 2002

By	Tami Brandt (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The woman has become my new favorite author (with Johanna Lindsey, Jude Devereaux and Susan Johnson).

THE BAD MAN'S BRIDE is the first book I've read and I just love it. I could not put it down. Anthea is a gentle-bred eastern girl with 2 sisters back East. She has come to Kansas to make a living and send the money back to her sisters. Anthea loves children, so naturally she takes a teaching job in Haven, Kansas (not to be confused with the real town of Haven).

While she is in the schoolhouse writing a letter to her sisters about how wonderful Kansas is (in reality to her it isn't, but why tell her sisters how horrible it is), Gabriel Jackson storms in the schoolhouse demanding she do the job the town has paid her for... TEACH the kids reading, writing and arithmetic, something that will be useful to his "daughter" when she grows up, NOT balancing a book on her head and walking across the room.

Anthea takes offense to this because she went to the best Young Ladies schools and learned it and everything else (reading, writing and arithmetic) and lets him know it to.

Because the other kids pick on Gabriel's "daughter", Anthea takes the child under her wing, bring her that much closer to Gabriel. And then there's the stories flying around town about how Gabriel acquired Lily (the daughter), and the town council who want Gabriel out of town, but end up liking him. Including the mayor pro-tem, who's wife Gabriel had an affair with before the woman married the city councilman. Ever since, that woman has had an infatuation with Gabriel, but Gabriel, once he got Anthea to be his bride cause he wanted to, gives the councilman's wife a piece of his mind about her infatuation with him.

THIS is just toooo good to put down and leave alone. If you have a chance GET THIS BOOK as well as others in the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Western Romance, June 8, 2001

By	Sheri Melnick (Enola, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In post Civil War Kansas, Anthea Bright has taken the position of school teacher in order to support her sisters living back east in Philadelphia. Anthea never bargained to meet Gabriel Jackson,'father' of Lily, one of Anthea's students. Though he frustrates her, Anthea finds herself drawn to Gabriel, an attraction which she can ill-afford. For Gabriel is shunned by the more respectable members of the town of Haven given the fact that his mother was never married.

Gabriel's gruff kindness astounds Anthea as she comes to know him better and begins to care for Lily. Unforseen circumstances force the pair to marry to save Anthea's reputation. Will their marriage last, or will they go their separate ways, never to see one another again?

Readers looking for a witty and delightful read will be sure to enjoy this book. While the emotions between the hero and heroine are intense enough to satisfy many a reader, the elements of humor cleverly interspersed in this novel lend a feeling of reality to the protagonists. A truly entertaining read!