The Bride Finder [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Carroll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 1999

Chosen by the Bride Finder, a man blessed with amazing insight, Madeline Breton has come to Cornwall to meet her new husband, the enigmatic Anatole St. Leger. But her dream of happiness soon diffuses in his overpowering shadow. Anatole knows only too well the legacies that to him have been more curses than gifts. But as Madeline embarks on an odyssey both otherworldly and undeniably real, she and her husband fall hopelessly in love--until she sees a haunting vision of murder and a terrifying enemy emerges to threaten both their lives. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When reclusive, haunted Anatole St. Leger bows to fate and commands that the Bride Finder make him a match, he expects only a marriage of convenience, not a passionate love. But he reckons without the powers of the title character, his future wife's determination, or the family ghost. Beautifully vivid descriptions, captivating characters, and a magical plot with a few unexpected twists will not disappoint readers as this classic Beauty and the Beast legend takes on new, occasionally darker, dimensions. A first rate story of courage, acceptance, and the healing power of love by the author of Parker and the Gypsy (Silhouette, 1997).
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A yeomanlike romance, with a heavy emphasis on the uncanny. Anatole St. Leger, a wild 18th-century hero complete with long, dark hair and the prerequisite scar across his forehead, has a lot more going for him than just his black clothing and his rough and ravishing ways. Anatole has supernatural powers: He is clairvoyant; he can move objects with the power of his mind; he knows when visitors are approaching his home and who they are; and he can unlace the heroine's corset without laying a rough and ravishing finger on her. Even the scar on his face is the result of his ``terrible'' St. Leger gift. Apparently Anatole's mother wasn't comfortable with the more magical St. Leger family talents; when little Anatole shyly levitated a bouquet of flowers in her direction, she panicked and threw a vase at him. Poor Anatole was brought up loveless and alone, hating his aptitude for sorcery. In order to bring some warmth to his crenellated castle (complete with ghost), Anatole summons the Bride Finder (the Reverend Septimus Fitzleger), and asks him to find a hearty, large-bosomed wife and bring her home to Cornwall. (Apparently, St. Leger men whose brides are not chosen by the Bride Finder are cursed.) Instead, Fitzleger brings tiny, fairylike Madeline Breton. Madeline is sensible, forthright, and outspoken; she doesn't believe in ghosts, and much of Anatole's time is spent keeping the truth from her. He is also distressed by his inability to elicit from Madeline the famous ``grand passion'' that St. Leger wives are supposed to feel for their husbands. (St. Legers pledge themselves to their mates not only until death but also through eternity.) The castle ghost, Prospero, a Medieval ladies' man, advises his descendant to love her``simply love her.'' There's also a mystery involving the St. Legers' archenemies, the Mortmains, but it's clunky, poorly conceived, and less interesting than the bedroom prestidigitation. Unsurprising but satisfying. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 403 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett Books; 1ST edition (January 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449003884
• ISBN-13: 978-0449003886
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection!!, December 11, 2002

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bride Finder (Mass Market Paperback)

How does one describe perfection...The Bride Finder...would be one way. I sensed by reading some of Ms. Carroll's earlier novels that hers was a rare talent for combining deeply emotional writing with some uplifting sparks of wonderfully humorous dialog.

Anatole St. Leger is a very private and lonely man whose childhood left him with more scars than the visible one on his forehead. As head of the St. Leger family, he knows that he must marry and because any St. Leger man whose bride is not chosen by the Bride Finder is cursed he sends for the Bride Finder - a distant relation the Reverend Septimus Fitzleger. Anatole also gives him a list requesting a tall, large-bosomed, horse-loving wife. Well, the resident ghost Prospero - switches the list so that what Fitzleger does find is a tiny petite fairy-like creature that basically scares the hell out of our fearsome hero - the Lady Madeline Breton. The description and dialog of their initial meeting is pricelessly funny! Anatole definitely desires her but having never experienced any gentleness in his young life it was difficult for him to understand what exactly he should do or how to act with this woman who was now his wife. The legends state that the brides found by the Bride Finder would be the `soul mates' of the St. Leger men - passionate and all-loving. Anatole is at a loss and feels a complete failure that he cannot seem to elicit this passionate response from Madeline.

Madeline, something of a blue-stocking - possessed of a very sensible nature - had been the one that had kept her family from ultimate ruin so when approached by Fitzleger and offered a huge marriage settlement that would help her family from impending doom, she agreed to this proxy marriage. She had consoled herself with the locket that portrayed an image of a handsome and gentle faced man whom she had halfway fallen in love though she had never met him. The reality of meeting the very fierce warrior-like Anatole was at once shocking and mystifying. Had her family not spent the generous marriage settlement beforehand - she might just have turned and ran as far away as she could.

The rest of the novel is spent with Anatole trying desperately to keep his special powers hidden as well as the resident ghosts, from his bride, Madeline. His tiny but very sensible, forthright, and honest wife who does not believe in ghosts or things that have no logical basis in fact. The secondary plot here is the very real danger from St. Legers' archenemies, the Mortmains - whom it is believed all perished years ago.

This is the kind of book and story that remains with you long after you turn the last page. I am so happy that I have the next two sequels to this book just waiting for me to dive into. I highly recommend this book to be placed on most everyone's keeper shelf and enjoyed over and over again.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dark gothic romance, November 12, 2004

By 

Lealing (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bride Finder (Mass Market Paperback)

Anatole St Leger lives a solitary life in Castle Leger, Cornwall. He comes from a long line of St Legers who are blessed with special paranormal powers. In Anatole's case he can see the future and sense the presence of a person who is close by. He can also move objects with his mind. His calling has come and he must surrender to his fate and choose his mate. He sends for the Bride Finder to choose his future wife. Anatole makes a list for the Bride Finder and sends him off to find his wife.

Madeline Breton agrees to marry Anatole St Leger by proxy, after meeting the Bride Finder in London. She is given a small miniature of the man she is to marry and falls in love with the picture. Her marriage settlement will also help relieve the debts her family have gained. Madeline arrives at Castle Leger, only to be rejected at first glance by her husband. For Madeline is not what Anatole envisaged his wife to be. She has turned out to be a fragile china doll and not the strapping lass that he expected. And Anatole is not what Madeline expected in her husband either. Far from being the poet like romantic the picture depicted, Anatole is a tall, strong, dark haired giant of a man.

With encouragment of the Bride Finder, Anatole agrees to take Madeline as his wife. But he is afraid that she will find out about his heritage, of his paranormal powers and of the ghost that haunts Castle Leger. He decides to keep all these secrets from her, for he is afraid that she will reject him. As time passes, Anatole finds himself falling in love with his fragile china doll but will she love him in return. Will he be brave enough to reveal to her his dark secrets.

This was a dark and gothic like read. A most marvellous read indeed. The book is full of mystery, suspense, romance and a wee smattering of comedy. A most delicious read to devour in one sitting. Anatole and Madeline made a formidable match. A dark and tortured soul with the bright spark in his life. A very highly recommended read. I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel The Night Drifter.

Lea Ling Tsang

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Treat, March 31, 1999

By 

Catherine Asaro - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bride Finder (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed this book. In fact, it's one of the best I've read in a long time. The thorough characterization, the emotional depths of the people, and the chemistry of the hero and heroine worked beautifully for me. The author's treatment of the fantasy element--the hero's unusual powers--is also well done. It weaves smoothly into the tapestry of events and is crucial to the tale.

What made this book particularly special for me, though, was watching the slow healing of this huge, forboding man, a brooding lord with immense power that derives not only from his position in the real world, but also from his supernatural gifts. Yet hidden within him, buried as deep as he can bury them, are the heart-breaking memories of a small boy who had to bear a terrible loneliness. It is lovely to see the hero's ability to love come alive as his new wife unknowingly heals him, particularly because he so fears that he will hurt this small but baffling bride who looks more like a fairy queen to him than a human woman.

I also found it charming to see how the heroine stumbled through her social clumsiness, always with an accepting, courageous heart beneath her shyness. A few times I found myself wishing she would understand just a bit quicker how much the hero needed her. But this is a minor point that almost becomes lost among the wonderful positives.

Their wedding night is also well done. The characters come to each other almost as strangers, fearing they are mismatched, but with good hearts. It's charming the way they both try so hard to make things work out despite the unusual circumstances. The writing is effective; Carroll finds a good balance in love scenes, sweetly sensual without becoming mechanical or drawing out the scene longer than it warrants. I also much appreciated that the author didn't spend the entire book building up to a delayed wedding night, but rather showed two caring people all along struggling to make all parts of their marriage work: emotional, physical, and spiritual.

Another positive aspect of the book: =Good= prose. Sometimes the writing sings. The descriptions are also well done. Although many romance books give good descriptions of people, their interactions, and clothes (wonderfully scrumptuous clothes! :-), very few have as high a quality as this one in creating visual imagery for action and the setting of scenes. And of course, all that is reflected in the depictions of the people, clothes, and interactions as well.

Nice cover too--it's interesting, different, and fits the story.

All in all, this is a lovely story. If you liked Lynn Kurland's ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH, chances are you will enjoy this one a great deal.