Customer Reviews

The Bad Man's Bride: Marrying Miss Bright

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Anthea Bright has been born into nobility, but the circumstances have left her and her two sisters in poverty. Therefore she takes a job as a teacher in a small town in Kansas, but she's having trouble adjusting to the new lifestyle. Being a city girl, her knowledge in dancing and good manners is not particularly useful when faced with snakes and snowstorms. But, the locals and their rigid opinions about Gabriel and Lily who both are born bastards cause the most difficulties. Especially since Anthea is beginning to grow strong feelings for them both. Unfortunately, since she cannot afford to loose her position, she has to be very careful in her conduct towards them.

The book is a generally good read, and the relationship between Anthea and Gabriel is described both nicely and believable. I especially like the fact that they are actually talking to each other, thereby convincing me that they really have feelings for each other. Unfortunately, the story lacks highlights and at times the book is so terribly boring that it's tempting to put it away. It is also too easy to foresee the development way ahead, so what happens later never comes as any surprise.

Anthea Bright came from Philadelphia to Haven, Kansas to become a school teacher. On her first week of school, Gabriel Jackson barges into the school and demands to know what the Hell she's teaching because his charge, Lily isn't learning how to read and write. From that moment on, they'll both be fighting a very captivating attraction. It doesn't make it easier that Gabriel has this bad boy reputation and that he's the pariah of the town. (It's one of those small towns where everyone gossips about everyone)

The story takes place in the 1885 and it really is a wonderful read! My favorite parts were when Gabriel, Anthea and Lily act as a family. (Lily is like an orphan and Gabriel picked her up and decides to care for her) I like reading THE BAD MAN'S BRIDE because it's a historical romance (sort of) with a lot of spice in it. Usually in historical romances, the characters would be meek and kind of quiet but this romance has a lot of spice in it!

I know there's another book that continues this one. It's called THE MOST WANTED BACHELOR and I'm thinking about reading it because THE MOST WANTED BACHELOR features Anthea's sister, Kathryn.

^_^ ~ Izzy

Haven, Kansas is as far away from Anthea Bright's upper class Philadelphia upbringing as you can get. Miss Addington's finishing school gave her the basics of teaching but certainly never prepared her to live in a soddy, or to deal with an infuriating man like Gabriel Jackson.

Gabriel Jackson returned to Haven to be with his Mother in her final days, and winds up taking on the responsibility of an orphaned little girl named Lilly. He knows how cruel the town can be to the town can be to kids like her, after all he's been there himself. But he's determined that Lilly will not suffer the same pain he did. She will learn the skills that she needs to get by, reading and writing, not the posture and manners garbage that the prissy new schoolmarm is teaching her.

Anthea offers to tutor Lilly privately each night to help her catch up with the other children, but being in such close proximity with Gabriel is putting the most unladylike thoughts in her head. And when he kisses her, all of Miss Addington's efforts fly out the window.

Susan Kay Law has crafted the world of Haven so well you feel you could move in and set up house. Not only are the lead characters vivid but she's created a host of three-dimensional supporting players with intrigues and quirks of their own.

The Bad Man's Bride is an entertaining novel that grabs your attention and takes you on an emotional ride of pain, passion, and romance. Anthea, Gabriel and especially Lilly will jump off the page and into your heart. Curl up in your favorite chair, with your favorite beverage and settle in for a good read.

I was barely halfway through the book and could not read another word! My brain glazed over in frustration and weariness. Despite the waste of money, I can't bear another paragraph. The characters are very interesting, even the second tier characters, and I really want to know how everything works out. However the pace is slower than mud drying in the winter. The book's pace is deceptive, too. The characters talk about moving the plot forward, they seem poised to move the plot forward, they ruminate on moving the plot forward and NOTHING happens!

It was very disappointing especially since I inadvertently bought a second book by Ms. Law before vetting this first one!

Really enjoyable read - great way to spend a snowy afternoon.

Miss Anthea Bright needs to help her family financially. After the death of their father, they found out that his fortune was gone. So Anthea sets out to Kansas to become a teacher. Her new job is harder than she ever imagined. Her classroom is lacking in supplies, and her students are wild and do not attend to her at all. And one of the parents is attacking her teaching abilities and priorities. She soon finds out that this parent, Gabriel Jackson, is a bad man... at least according to the town gossip. Gabriel was illegitimate, and the townspeople won't let him forget it. To make matters worse, he takes in nine-year-old Lily when her mother, the town whore, died. He knew no one else would care for her, but he is ill-equipped to be a father. Anthea begins to make a difference in Lily's life and also in his. He doesn't want to be drawn to her--but then he finds out that there is more to Lily than he ever expected. This deceptively simple novel starts with a commonplace premise--the proper, innocent teacher and the wicked outsider--then shows that the schoolteacher is not entirely innocent, and the outsider is not as wicked as gossip paints him. It is also colored with lively touches, some common, some not. And every scene from Lily's point of view is uniquely affecting.

When Anthea Bright's father dies he leaves her and her sisters in dire financial circumstances, so she leaves Philadelphia to take a job as a schoolteacher in Haven, Texas. Her letters home are full of enthusiasm, but her new reality is far from charming. Her home is a poorly furnished soddy and the school room does not even have enough furniture for the very mixed bag of often reluctant children.

Not very happy with Anthea's lessons, Lilly's `father' Gabriel comes to the school to discourage her from filling Lilly's head with fluff and dreams that will never come true for her. He took Lilly in when her mother, the town prostitute, died. Everyone assumes he is her father, all too ready to believe that he is `a bad man'. In fact, Gabrielle grew up as the `town bastard' in haven and his heart goes out to Lilly. He is the only one willing to take her in and protect her.

After the initial confrontation, Anthea and Gabriel come to appreciate and respect each other. He discovers that she is not the starchy school mam and she discovers that he is a generous and caring friend.

The interaction between Anthea and Gabriel is very strong and they are drawn to each other. The big question is for how long. Gabriel intends to move on and Anthea does not expect to be asked back for another school year.

This is an enjoyable Western romance with the focus on the two main characters. The people in town demonstrate bigotry and prejudice, which they pass on to their children and that provides a backdrop of interesting characters and events.