Customer Reviews

A Belated Bride

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A Belated Bride by Karen Hawkins is quite possibly the best book I have read this year. Karen is able to create such heartfelt, humorous, and absolutely believable stories. This is Karen's second book for Avon books, and I must say she does not disappoint. The hero, Lucien Deveraux, is a dashing Duke determined to win back the lady he lost years ago. Arabella Hadley is a strong, independent woman who will fight with everything she has to stop that from happening. Throw in a couple of matchmaking aunts and one humorous incident after another and you have perfection in the making! A Belated Bride is book that will climb to the top of your Keeper List! If you love a lighthearted, humorous Regency era Romance, you will LOVE this book!

Wow! I always thought Karen Hawkins had talent, I just didn't realize how much talent.

If you enjoyed One Lucky Lord (under her pseudonym Kim Bennet) and if you loved The Abduction of Julia, you will be blown away by A Belated Bride!

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint) Lucien Devereaux, the Duke of Wexford was rescued before he bled to death on that bleak, country road. Reality set in when he realized his beautiful savior owned the very heart he broke so many years ago!

Arabella Hadley loved Lucien forever, heart, mind and soul - not to mention body - and that is what caused all this trouble to begin with! Her traitorous body! If only she could control her reaction to this devilish man she could get on with her life just fine!

The sensuality sizzles, the intrigue will keep you turning the pages and humor will have you rolling on the floor, laughing out loud!

Come join the fun! Meet Arabella's aunts Emma and Jane and a whole host of secondary characters that you will remember forever!

If you only read one new release for the year 2001, let it be A Belated Bride... you won't be disappointed!

Well, I must say that I have enjoyed reading this book! This book has it all! Laughter, adventure, treasures, a villain, great secondary characters and most of all romance!

Lucien Deveraux, The Duke of Wexford, is accidentally ran over by the carriage of Arabella Hadley a woman he has loved and lost ten years ago. Because of his wounds he was forced to stay and recover in the house of Arabella where she lives with her two aunts and brother. Arabella and Lucien fell in love with each other years ago but circumstances has taken Lucien away from Arabella and broke her innocent heart. Now ten years later they face each other again and Lucien must prove to this independent, stubborn, strong, beautiful woman that he has changed and and is there to stay with her forever. Even if this means to trick her into marriage.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot! After reading so many "serious" books lately, I found this refreshing, funny and well written. There were moments in this book that made me laugh out loud, sigh from exasperation, tense from what's to come next and curl my toes with pleasure because Lucien is such a wonderful hero. I could really empathize with Arabella's feelings and independence because of what she has had to endure. If a book can make me feel all these things then I know I've got myself another keeper. This book has everything and has the right dosage of humor, misunderstanding, love scenes, meddling of Arabella's delightful aunts and adventure. Karen Hawkins even threw in two extra romances. The secondary characters are well written and gave the book more depth and you will wish to see them return in Karen's future books.

Karen Hawkins is a writer that can certainly be compared to writers like Amanda Quick, Julia Quinn and Jacquie D'Alessandro. If you love their books you will certainly love A Belated Bride. Buy this book now for I assure you, you will not be disappointed, you will only clamor for more!! I, for one, certainly cannot wait for her next book, The Abduction of Sara, to be released in November 2001!

I have really enjoyed this book. The plot was different. It's about having a 2nd chance in love... and they said that the "second time around love" is suppose to be more filling, right? Well, it seems like it in this book anyway. Lucien Deveraux, Duke of Wexford was one of my favorite 2ndary character in ABDUCTION OF JULIA. His Character description here was just as consistent and well defined. Despite his imprudence when he was younger, he's still as always the nonchalant gentleman. He is also playful & loving. Arabella Hadley was once naive and trusting, only to be ruined and broken hearted. So, as the years moved on, she was force by circumstances and experience to become a wiser, bolder and independent woman. Everything seems to be running along as planned until she faced her long lost tormentor once again. I truly enjoyed their love story. The banters, Lucien's sweet talks vs. Arabella's bittersweet tongue... oh their indisputable attraction for each other & the undeniable love that still burns deep inside... These are just a few that made this book a hearty read. The amusing secondary characters of the AUNTS, the heart warming crippled brother, the spoiled brazen sis-in-law and even the villains are all well put-together. It was a romantic and an adventuristic ride at the same time.

The reason why I didn't rate this book a 5 stars was cuz of the NO appearance of Alec and Julia.  My gosh, I was greatly expecting an appearance or perhaps a small contribution of them in this story considering Alec is Lucien's best friend but nope, none whatsoever.  Somehow, I felt I was cheated. This is suppose to be AOJ's sequel, right? There was a sentence or two about Julia and her projects but I knew all this already from the previous book.  Awww, I was really disappointed. To be honest, this was my initial reason why I picked up this book.  I mean, I do like Lucien.  He was intriguing and a nonchalant figure in AOJ, however, I was really looking forward on reading updates of Julia, Alec and perhaps their children? UPDATES: isn't that what sequels are all about? It would have been lovely to read a little of the characters in AOJ, maybe a little of Muck? Oh well, Nick's book is suppose to be next. I hope Ms. Hawkin's will make it up by writing lots of updates of everyone in both AOJ and ABB.

So, if you've read the ABDUCTION OF JULIA and is expecting some sort of updates or appearance of Alec and Julia in this book, DON'T. Don't even think it, that way you won't feel disappointed and will simply enjoy the whole book as it is. I sure hope I was warned... Then, I would have rated this book a 5 stars.

Every so often I'm lucky enough to find a writer whose fluid prose and sparkling wit keep me turning the pages long past the time I should stop. With The Belated Bride, Karen Hawkins made me do just that. With a stubborn, intelligent, independent heroine (Arabella), one sexy, roguish hero who's determined to do the right thing (Lucien), and two sweet but meddling aunties with a fondness for tonic, sheep potions and gambling (the tonic's medicinal, of course), I was treated to a truly delightful book. Add to that an intriguing plot of spies and smuggling, flowing dialogue, a few more likeable secondary characters, and pages of humorous banter, and I found that if I wasn't completely engrossed in the storyline and trying to figure out who's-the-real-villain, I was chuckling or laughing out loud. It's a delicious gift of a story with all the right elements in just the right mix, and one I just can't recommend highly enough.

In this wonderful, humorous Regency-era romp, Karen has proven that the success of her first novel, The Abduction of Julia, was no mistake. Arabella Hadley has plenty of secrets, as well as two elderly aunts, a wheelchair bound brother, and a estate full of servants and tenants that she's trying to protect. What she certainly doesn't need is an injured duke lying around the house to upset her routine. Especially this duke.

Lucien Deveraux stole her heart and then stomped on it ten years ago. Even though the Christian thing to do is rescue an injured man lying along the road on that dark night, once Arabella discovers his identity, she begins to wish she'd left him tofend for himself. Once Lucien discovers where he is, he decides to use the obvious interest of Arabella's aunts to his advantage - both to hide his own secrets and to learn more about Arabella's life in the years since he had to marry another.

Once Lucien is firmly ensconced in the family home, Arabella has a devil of a time trying to kick him out. Her aunts have decided he is the perfect mate for Arabella and her brother has finally shown some interest in life again. However, the temptation of Lucien is more than poor Arabella can stand; she never quite managed to free her heart of his memories, even after he married another woman.

In this funny, tender, and enjoyable ride through the English countryside and the lives of these two independent and resilient characters, Karen Hawkins has created a world that leaves us wanting more. The drama is exciting, the sexual chemistry is riveting, and the characters, from the hero and heroine down to Arabella's meddling aunts and crippled brother, Lucien's eccentric sister, and all the people working and living on or near Rosemont, can't help but worm their way into our hearts. Definitely don't miss this latest and endearing tale from a talented new author. Great job, Karen!

When I first picked up A Belated Bride, I was not sure it would compare to The Abduction of Julia, but I was so wrong. I couldn't put it down. Arabella and Lucien were made for each other. The book has everything, laughter, intrigue, spys, treasure, lost and refound love and best of all sheep tonic (you have to read the book for that one). All the characters had depth and I espically loved the aunts. Buy this book and be pleasantly entertained.

Lucien Devereaux, the dashing Duke of Wexford, never knew what hit him. Knocked from his horse late one night while pursuing some smugglers intent on funding Napoleon's return to power, Lucien finds himself in the arms of Arabella Hadley, the woman he loved and left ten long years ago.

Arabella is none too happy to see that Lucien had reentered her life, especially when her wacky aunts decide that he is the man for her.

From the first page to the last, Lucien and Arabella struggle to ignore the tension that flares between them. Things get complicated when Lucien realizes that Arabella might be involced in the very smuggling operation he has come to expose. Filled with laugh out loud moments (like the "morning after" scene in the cottage), you'll be so glad you found this one!

If you like Julia Quinn or Amanda Quick, you'll love Karen Hawkins in this hysterical romp! A BELATED BRIDE is a keeper!

From the humorous opening to the surprise ending, Karen shares with us the tangled web that has become Lucien Devereaux, the Duke of Wexford's life. Lucien has an assignment to see to in his old stomping grounds. Fate has decreed that he and his former love meet again.

Was it his fault that her carriage ran him down, knocked him out and caused damage to his head and shoulder? (We'll forget the fact that he ran his horse out in FRONT of said carriage!)

Maybe it should be his fault that Arabella's two eccentric aunts thought his "assets" assured their niece of a happy life and set about seeing to the union? (I think we'll have to give him this one - he WAS unconscious at the time.)

Whether him ending up in a bed - naked - and dopey on Aunt Jane's sheep potion (which he enjoyed - don't let him tell you different!) was his fault or not, he decided to stay. And started implementing his own plot to capture the attention of the elusive Arabella.

Karen's touches of humor and Lucien's hero potential, a mystery, lost treasure and two secondary romances keep this story hopping from beginning to end. If you like humor or action, mystery or romance, this story is for you. Karen just keeps getting better.

Standard plot fare here: two people fell in love as teenagers (and in this version were actually lovers) but were separated by events largely to do with their families, then they meet again and are forced into a situation of some intimacy, much to their mutual discomfort. Mary Balogh did this so much better in Unforgiven.

Lucien left Arabella ten years ago, when he inherited his father's title, and married a rich heiress in order to save his family from ruin. Arabella, feeling that she was already ruined, stayed at home and never married; now her father's dead too, she's desperately trying to keep her family and home together and safe from various debt collectors. And then Lucien, now widowed and rich, stumbles across her path.

Um. So why did Arabella never marry? Sulking at home? She was a beautiful young woman, and her father did have some money when she was younger. And why did Lucien stay on at Rosemount? Good manners dictated that he should have left once he was fit; his hostess made it clear he wasn't welcome, and the sole male occupant was an invalid - hardly adequate chaperonage, and not at all credible for the period.

But then, much of this book is incredible for the period. Lucien wandering around shirtless? (and while we're on the subject, what a horrible cover for the book!) Arabella wearing breeches around her property? Robert - wheelchair-bound or not - letting her run the estate? And then the scheming and manipulating was beyond belief. I didn't find Arabella's aunts anything other than annoying.

Then there is the fact that Hawkins hasn't even done the most basic research. If you're going to write about the British nobility, then make sure you know what you're talking about! Who on earth is 'Sir Laughton', a baron? If his title is 'Sir', he's a baronet, not a baron. And he is 'Sir David' - baronets' titles attach to the first name, not the surname. And how could Lucien have been a viscount when he'd known Arabella years earlier? He inherited the dukedom when his father died. The heir to a dukedom is a marquis. All these inaccuracies were very irritating, and suggest an author who hasn't done her homework.

There were loose ends here, too - so who was the duke who was previously at Rosemount, as Sir David Laughton mentions to Lucien? We're never told. And just what happened to Lord Holdford, who was after Arabella and appeared to be up to no good, since he was seen many times with the bad guys? And surely Lucien has properties and a main residence of his own - why look on Rosemount as his home? It actually belongs to *Robert*, remember!

Oh, and if anyone is thinking of reading the book, don't read the plot summary on the back first. There is a major plot spoiler there, referring to something which doesn't happen until 50 pages from the end of an almost-400 page book.