Bridal Favors [Mass Market Paperback]

Connie Brockway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 2002

Award-winning author Connie Brockway takes readers to the elegant drawing rooms and sprawling country estates of Victorian England in this captivating tale of a woman who must keep an irresistible nobleman’s most scandalous secret—without losing her heart.
 
Evelyn Whyte has never forgotten the night she first met Justin Powell—or the shocking indiscretion that left the raffish military hero eternally in her debt. Now, desperate to save her aunt’s foundering nuptial-planning enterprise, she’s ready for Powell to repay the favor. All she needs is Justin’s scenic ancestral home, where she’s determined to show the world that even a woman innocent in the ways of love can turn a simple wedding into the social event of the season.

Justin is happy to oblige, but his hospitality may place the wedding party in peril. Unaware of the daring double life he conceals behind a cloak of amiable gentility, Evie and her guests descend on North Cross Abbey. Pursued by enemy agents amid a whirl of festivities, Justin vows to keep Evie safe. But who will protect him from the charms of this alluring woman—and the promise of a matchless love worth any risk?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in Chelsea, England, during the late Victorian era, this brisk and refreshingly droll tale sets cheeky Evelyn Cummings Whyte on a collision course with the scruffy but invariably handsome Justin Powell. When 15-year-old Evelyn interrupts what she takes to be a tryst between Justin and a prominent diplomat's wife, she exacts a note of debt from the ruffled 23-year-old in return for her silence. Ten years later, Evie, who is filling in for her aunt as a society wedding planner, comes calling with her note. She needs Justin's familial estate for the wedding of the season. He agrees reluctantly, complaining it will interfere with his bird-watching he's an ornithologist on the tail of the elusive Bubo Formosa Plorimus (Most Beautiful Owl) but in truth, the nuptials will provide an excellent cover for his espionage activities. Far from the frivolous ladies' man Evie thinks he is, Justin is really a spy, but his latest mission to hide a "diabolical machine" being shipped to him by his handler may put them both in danger. Readers are left to wonder what the machine is for much of the tale, and in the end, it's not what we're led to believe. A handful of other surprises keep the narrative lively, and Brockway's buoyant characters and lilting writing style sweep the reader along to a heady and hilarious denouement. (Sept. 3)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Late one night, young Evelyn Cummings Whyte bumps into Justin Powell as he exits a married woman's bedroom. Evelyn agrees to keep silent about the indiscretion, and Justin is left in her debt. Now, ten years later, Evelyn calls in the favor. Ever since her aunt eloped to France, Evelyn has been trying to keep Whyte's Nuptial Celebrations running smoothly, and now has one last chance to keep the company solvent. A wealthy American client insists on holding her second wedding at North Cross Abbey, which just happens to be Justin's ancestral estate. Justin agrees to let Evelyn use his digs on one condition: he'll be on the premises. Thinking that the wedding offers the perfect cover for his plan to ferret out a dangerous enemy spy, Justin quickly discovers just how challenging, yet enjoyable, it is keeping Evelyn unaware of his real plans, and out of danger. The second of RITA award-winning Brockway's "Bridal" books, this a scrumptious literary treat with delightfully unconventional yet wonderfully engaging characters, superbly crafted plot, and prose rich in wit and humor. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dell (August 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440236746
• ISBN-13: 978-0440236740
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #325,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars glory of nobility tarnished somewhat in late Victorian era, May 15, 2005

By 

Kotori (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bridal Favors (Mass Market Paperback)

Upon reading a book of this caliber, I regret all the 5 stars which have gone before -
Squandering spangles upon novels which have been less decorated that I might fully impress upon you, the reader, this tomes glorious worth!!

Young Evie encounters Justin first at her parents houseparty, launching her older sister. Enterprising lass that she is, upon bumping into him emerging from an older (married) ladies room she strikes a deal of silence which will leave him in her debt.

She makes other unfortunate entrances also at this houseparty, and overhears some unkind ladies disparging her looks to the extent that she feels she must be terribly ugly - golem like in fact. This instance shapes her to the point that when she seeks out Justin 10 years later, Evie has entirely lost interest in her appearance and dresses in most a most utilitarian style.

Calling upon the old IOU, Evie requests usage of Justins ancestral home, in order to host a wedding for a client. (Various strategems are imployed here, to make this necessary - Evie has taken on the family business which pads their modest income).

In a well employed change from the much travelled theme of Regency England, the story is set in late Victorian times, where the glory of nobility has tarnished somewhat and the chaperonage is not quite as strict.

Justin is soon revealed as a secret agent, and there are all sorts of comings and goings in the night which add to the atmosphere and create many an interesting byline.

The delightfully entertaining exchanges between our leads make for delicious banter, whilst the tender love making scenes ought to be an inspiration to all writers. Without being crude, the author graciously depicts wonderfully sensual moments and brings sizzle AND the butterflies to the scenes which for once I find ENHANCE the book rather than bringing the romance down.

The first Connie Brockway novel I have read, and most certainly not the last, I felt it held up to the standards set by Eloisa James, possibly surpassed a Stephanie Laurens, and was a delightful successor to Patricia Veryan and Loretta Chase.

Having most recently read Jo Beverleys My Lady Notorious which had a promising beginning only to sink a great deal with salicious raunchiness midway, Bridal Favors swims and sizzles through challenges which others fail.

kotori 2005

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars they don't give out those RITA awards for nothing..., February 23, 2006

By 

mlle. x (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bridal Favors (Mass Market Paperback)

I just read "Bridal Favors" back to back with "McClairen's Isle: The Passionate One" - and frankly, I am amazed that the same person wrote them both. McClairen's Isle was so dark and intense; Bridal Favors is full of light and air and cheer. Brockway writes both sorts with, apparently, equal aplomb.

I totally adored Justin and Evelyn. They both stand out as individuals; Justin's glib tongue is endlessly amusing and Evelyn's determination and practicality are so poignantly woven in with her desire to please and vulnerability. They're both fundamentally good people, too, also independent and responsible.

The ensemble is just delightful. Beverly the butler, Merry the dressmaker, Stow the spymaster...there's so much quirk and wit and froth, but at the same time, the plot is never thin and Justin is a pretty believable spy.

This was a *fun* read - I smiled and laughed all through. I have to say, I am quite impressed by Brockway. I think I'm going to have to read all her other books now, too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant-enough read, October 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bridal Favors (Mass Market Paperback)

While I enjoyed this book and liked the characters of Evie and Justin well-enough, it probably won't end up on my keeper-shelf. I liked the spoof on espionage that seems to be a staple of historical romances right now and the characters were likable. I suppose what was missing was passion. There was never any doubt that the two characters were going to get together and I didn't quite buy that Evie was an ugly-duckling or all-consumed with failure. This book is certainly better than many I have read lately and if you are looking for a nice, gentle read this one is for you.