Customer Reviews

The Banished Bride (Signet Regency Romance)

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

 

 

To settle a debt between their fathers, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Jane Aurora Taft is married to twenty-year-old James Hadley Alexander Fenimore, the third and youngest son of the Earl of Woodbridge. After the ceremony, the groom, who recently bought a commission in the Horse Guards, leaves for India to join his regiment. Their fathers arrange that Aurora will return home until she turns sixteen; thereafter she will reside at Rexford House, the smallest, most run-down, and isolated of the Woodbridge lands, which Alex inherited from his grandfather.

Ten years later, Elizabeth Jane Aurora Fenimore has discarded her married name for her mother's family name, Sprague, and lives quietly at Rose Cottage with her former governess. Aurora, founder of the Sprague Agency for Distressed Females, has earned a reputation for solving women's problems with efficiency and dispatch. Local ladies with philandering husbands -- husbands who are, as a result of Aurora's investigations, willing to spend money on their wives instead of their mistresses -- and women Mrs. Sprague has spirited away from their abusive husbands view her as an angel sent from heaven to aid them. The men, no doubt, think her a devil sent from Hell to plague them, but Aurora is not concerned with the opinions of men. Having herself suffered a gross injustice at the hands of a man, she feels empathy for the women she helps.

Alex is shocked when the news reaches him on the Peninsula that he has inherited the earldom. Not only did he never imagine he would accede to the title, he doesn't want to leave the army. The War Department is adamant that he take up his duties as earl, but gives him one last mission to perform on his way home: To capture a traitor passing vital intelligence to the enemy. With the meager information available, Alex sets sail for Ayr, Scotland in search of the agent -- a female. An ambush leaves him with a pistol ball in his shoulder, but Alex catches up with the woman again...or so he thinks. After she has a doctor treat his wound and then nurses him through a fever, Alex realizes Mrs. Aurora Sprague is not the havey-cavey female she seems. When the traitor again tries to kill "Major Alex Woodmore," and threatens Aurora, they flee...but will the secrets they keep, despite the passion that blazes between them, destroy their chance for love and a happy ending?

THE BANISHED BRIDE is absolutely wonderful! This compelling story of second chances and the healing power of love evokes, in turn, smiles and teary eyes. Alex and Aurora are marvelous, multi-layered characters with whom readers cannot help but fall in love. Both learned, at an early age, not to expect love or support from their families -- and rejection hurts, even when it comes from people undeserving of regard. Although they both have faults and hide their vulnerability behind a brave façade, Alex and Aurora have many admirable qualities -- qualities the other has never encountered in a member of the opposite sex. During their journey, they learn a great deal about each other -- and themselves -- and the more they discover, the more they want to know. But they must face their failures, and come to terms with the past, before they can embrace the future.

Andrea Pickens has penned an outstanding tale of two lonely people, scarred by past betrayals, who find love unexpectedly, and with a seemingly improbable partner. The evolution of Alex and Aurora's characters is wonderful to behold, as is the flowering of their irresistible attraction. In addition to marvelous character development, this well written, perfectly paced book contains evocative descriptions of places and events, a charming cast of secondary characters, and deft humor -- the latter most often displayed in Alex's teasing of Aurora and in their battles of wit.

I highly recommend THE BANISHED BRIDE. Regency devotees will adore this book, which will be a contender for the best Regency romance of the year, and all romance readers will be captivated by this wonderful, heart-tugging tale.

At first glance the premise for this Regency romance seems incredibly far-fetched. How on earth could a husband and wife, after many years of separation, not recognise each other (never mind not being familiar with each other's names) when they finally meet? Andrea Pickens, however, has written a really engrossing and enjoyable novel using exactly this plot premise, and amazingly enough, this premise becomes both probable and completely believable under her skilled hands.

The novel opens with a scene at a gambling house, where the fathers of the hero and heroine are deep at play. The Earl of Woodbridge has been steadily losing to Baron Trumbull. In order to clear his debts, the earl offers his 19 year old son, James Hadley Alexander Fenimore, as a husband for Trumbull's troublesome 14 year old daughter, Elizabeth Jane Aurora. Eager to be rid of his daughter (whom we gather is a budding feminist), Trumbull agrees. On the day of the wedding, young Alexander turns up very drunk and dressed in a uniform, while Aurora is dressed from head to foot is a thick wedding veil -- so that the couple don't actually see each other at all. Wedding over, Alex hands his bride over to his father and leaves for India. Thirteen years pass, Alex is happy with his career in the army, while Aurora has been living quietly in the country (having forsaken both the Fenimore household and name) under the name of Aurora Sprague (her maternal grandmother's name). She's also made a name for herself for running The Sprague Agency For Distressed Females. The agency does everything from spiriting abused wives away from their abusers to providing information to women about their spouses, business partners, etc. And it is because of her latest errand to spirit an abused wife across the Border that Aurora's path crosses with Alex's again.

The death of his father and both his elder brothers has made Alex the new Earl of Woodbridge; and as such, he must now sell out of the army and return to civilian life. This he is loath to do; however a request from Wellington to ferret out a rather dangerous female spy who is operating in England, sweetens the pot somewhat. Alex begins his search in earnest, and believing that the lone woman traveling in her own personal coach is the spy he is after, he forces his way in Aurora's coach and arrests her. Aurora is incensed; and too late, Alex realises that he has made a mistake. But before he can undo his error, one of the spy's paid assassins is on their trail; and now Alex must keep Aurora at his side for her own protection as much as because he feels deeply attracted to her. Danger aside, Alex realises that Mrs. Sprague is not someone with whom he can dally carelessly with, mostly because, notwithstanding her sharp tongue, Alex senses that Aurora is someone who has been badly hurt by the men in her life, her absent husband especially. What would happen if Aurora discover that he has (like her own husband) abandoned his own wife? As for Aurora, she never thought that she would ever succumb to the dubious charms of any man, and yet she is becoming quite dimwitted because of a pair of startling blue eyes! Could Major Woodmore (Alex is also traveling under an assumed name) really be very different from most men? And what happens when Alex and Aurora discover the other's real identity?

Exciting though the hunt for the spy was, the reason why I fairly 'ate' this book was to get to the part where Alex and Aurora discover each other's real identity. I liked the manner in which Andrea Pickens handled that plot development from that point on until the happy denouement very much -- she didn't drop the ball or the pace, nor did she 'betray' the characters by having Alex or Auroroa behave in a manner that was contrary to expectations. And the subplots dealing with the spy chase and the developing romance between Aurora and Alex was splendidly done as well. "The Banished Bride" is a grand read. The plot unfolded smoothly and at a fast pace. And the characters of Aurora and Alex (as well as the minor characters of Robbie, Aurora's governess, the gambling fathers, and Jack, another English spy) were sketched out brilliantly and realistically as well. All in all, "The Banished Bride" is a well written grown-up romance, and one of the better Regencies I've read so far.

The plot is interesting - even though the spy bit was a little less played out than I would have liked. Other than that, I loved the characters, the way they converse with eachother, and the way they discovered eachother's identity.. I can definitely see this developed later on as a longer novel because it has so much potential. But in its current form, it's still a wonderful story.

The plot has been summarized in other reviews. I was entertained by the unusual plot but thought the ending was too rushed. The characters are mostly likeable though the hero is a bit too judgemental of his wife once he discovers her true identifity. I would have rated it higher otherwise.

This one's a winner. Aurora and Alex are marvelous, thoroughly realized romantic leads. Watching them get to know each other, spar, and fall in love is thoroughly delightful. The secondary characters are well drawn, too. Pickens takes a unique, but somewhat questionable on the surface, plot and makes it glow. It's one of her best works (along with A Diamond in the Rough & A Lady of Letters). The spy plot is little more than a device, being "off screen" most of the time, but it is handled deftly. And there were a couple of moments that were slightly discordant after the "revealing" of the truth. Other than those minor nitpicks, this is a grand book, well worth the read. I almost want to pick it back up and read it again.

As the other reviewers have hashed over the plot, I won't. I liked the story because the growth in the hero was believable. He started out not caring at all what happened to Aurora but of course that all changed through the story and if we didn't have his POV we might not have realized that. He does say some mean things to her but he later apologizes. For those that care about cheating whether in a marriage of convenience or a love match . . . they are apart for years so you KNOW he has other women. But Alex and Aurora were forced into this marriage because of their nasty fathers, so that should help a bit with the cheating.

The youngest son of an earl is forced to marry the 14 year old daughter of a baronet to settle a wager for his father and, in doing so, his father will buy son's colors. It is decided when the young lady turns 16 she will be banished to a lesser, run-down estate held by the groom's family while he is out soldiering.

Aurora, the heroine, is a stubborn, opinionated and feisty young woman who at 16 leaves with her governess to live not on the run-down estate, but on their own with a stipend the governess receives and a quarterly amount provided by Alex, the soldier and missing hero. To supplement their income and because Aurora has a healthy distrust of men and is compassionate toward women's plight, she opens the Sprague Agency for Distressed Females.

Eleven years pass from the date of the forced marriage and the youngest son's father and brothers have died and the new earl heads home with one last mission to complete. Aurora and Alex meet not knowing that they are, in fact, husband and wife.

Up to this point, I was enjoying the story. The last third of this book was just misery to read. Gone was the quick witted and feisty heroine. Soldier Alex heads to London where he immediately transforms into a suave and debonair member of the ton. His first matter of business is to find his child bride and divorce her so he can chase after the feisty Aurora. Alex is slowed down in his efforts because, gee, his wife is not living, or ever has been, at the run-down estate. Alex does not care or is the least repentant about his child bride's possible situation. He simply must dump her - again.

And that didn't work for me. Nor did the fact that Aurora became a simpering miss after having been a strong heroine for 11 years. I thought it was a shame; this could have been an outstanding story.

I was slow getting into the story as the beginning framework seemed a little tired. A child bride (14 years old) is married to a drunken younger son she meets at the altar for the first time. Both bride and groom are coerced as the result of a gambling wager by their respective dissolute fathers. The groom walks away from the altar, buys an army commission, and takes off for India.

Fast forward ten years: Aurora has managed to build a life for herself and has dealt with some of the pain of rejection by both father and husband by taking her maternal grandmother's family name, creating an investigation service for distressed females, and making a home for herself and her loyal companion. Major Alex Fenimore is given one last assignment before selling his commission and assuming his responsibilities as Earl of Woodbridge after the unexpected deaths of both of his elder brothers. These orders lead to his unexpected encounter with his wife.

Both protagonists are incognito, and neither recognizes the other. They have an opportunity to build emotional bonds, and generate sexual energy during the week they are holed up together as a result of Fenimore's investigation, which has turned dangerous. This is the place where the story comes together and takes off. I wondered how the author would reveal them to one another and what steps Alex would take to redeem himself in his own eyes and in hers. I did not predict how she would handle the situation, and thought the way it unfolded was plausible and true to the characters. I really liked the tender, sensitive way Ms. Pickens wrapped up the end of the story. This is a library book, which I am likely to read again.

I absolutely loved this book.

The female character was smart and capable with just the right amount of vulnerability. The male character hit all the right notes- handsome, masculine, charming, funny, and seductive without seeming too perfect and without being a jerk. Great chemistry with just the right amount of heat (because they are married they can get away with more). Love that she conveyed their passion without giving us a step by step account- so many writers do that now and it's always either silly or trashy. The overall pace of the story felt right- there weren't too many side stories- nor were there too many impediments.

I got to watch them fall in love. This is the kind of book that reminds me why I love Regency romances.