At the Bride Hunt Ball (Avon Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

Olivia Parker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Avon Romance | Publication Date: May 27, 2008

Gabriel Devine, the Duke of Wolverest, has no interest in marriage, so it's up to his younger brother to continue the line. To help him along, the duke arranges a house party with seven eligible ladies for his brother to choose from. After all, marrying a man who will one day be a duke is more than most girls could hope for. But, when one of the ladies shows great reluctance, the duke finds himself rethinking his views on marriage. Madelyn Heywood has no interest in marrying a rake, especially one with the reputation of the Devine brothers. Now, she has no choice but to accept her invitation, if only to protect her best friend from a broken heart. And as her desperation to avoid marriage brings her closer to Gabriel, both may soon find that the last thing they thought they wanted is the one thing they truly need.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061355445
• ISBN-13: 978-0061355448
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #525,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Regency England version of The Bachelor!, June 10, 2008

By 

AndreaW "AndreaW" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the Bride Hunt Ball (Avon Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

I always get excited to read a debut author -- a new talent, a fresh voice. And as a fan of reality TV, I was especially intrigued by Olivia Parker's At the Bride Hunt Ball as it has been called "a Regency version of The Bachelor".

Gabriel Devine, Duke of Wolverest, has no plans to marry. He expects nothing less than perfection in a wife and since such a lady doesn't exist, he is resigned to let his brother's future heir carry on the title. So, he comes up with a plan to host a Bride Hunt Ball in order to find a bride for his brother, Lord Tristan. During a dinner party hosted by the duke and his sister, Lady Rosalind, seven prospective brides are chosen and invited to stay a fortnight at Wolverest Castle in Yorkshire. While there, each young lady will do her best to win Lord Tristan's heart. One of the chosen seven is Miss Madelyn Haywood, who wants no part of the Bride Hunt Ball. She even goes to great lengths to avoid getting that coveted-by-many invitation by running away from the duke's solicitor. From a balcony above the garden, Gabriel spies the chase and takes it upon himself to mange the situation. However, when he approaches her hiding spot, Madelyn makes plain her feelings by plunking him in the forehead with a lemon.

Madelyn is a delightful heroine. She's clumsy and impulsive, but also practical and sensible. Despite being in her fourth season, she isn't opposed to marriage in general, just marriage to men who could care less for a woman's heart. Men like the Devine brothers. Men like Lord Rothbury, whose proposal she turned down the year before. Her fervent wish is to move back to her beloved childhood home in Yorkshire, Willowbrooke, and perhaps someday marry a nice man. She is eventually convinced to attend the ball when her stepmother promises her that if she at least makes a valiant effort to win Lord Tristan, or better yet, the duke, that she can have Willowbrooke. When Madelyn finds out that her dearest friend, Charlotte (who has been in love with Lord Tristan for years), is also one of the chosen ladies, she makes it her mission to protect her friend's heart.

Gabriel is a hero you grow to love. At the beginning, he's stubborn and arrogant and has his reasons for being so. He has no designs to marry because he witnessed how unhappy his mother was in her very one-sided marriage to his father. During the two weeks of the competition, he plans to make himself scarce, but cannot seem to resist the inelegant and outspoken Madelyn. Especially when they cross paths so frequently. And it is through his interactions with her that his armor starts to crack and his true character shines through.

I enjoyed this book very much. It's light-hearted and sexy and filled with lots of witty dialogue. I found myself laughing out loud many times, especially during a particular scene brought on by Madelyn's clumsiness that involves a bee and a lily pond. It has plenty of sexual tension, including a sexy archery lesson. One of my favorite parts of the book was a very touching scene in which Gabriel and Madelyn share a private waltz. The secondary characters of Charlotte, Tristan, Rosalind and Rothbury are very likable characters that only add depth and humor to the story. And now I'm curious if one or all of them will have their own story one day! The only problem I had with the book was within the love scenes. The point of view switched so often that sometimes I had to read back a bit to figure out whose head I was in. But this certainly won't keep me from purchasing Ms. Parker's future books.

At the Bride Hunt Ball is a fun, witty Regency romp that is, at times, very reminiscent of an early Julia Quinn. I recommend it!

~Andrea~
Reviewed at romancenovel.tv

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A goodie!!!, May 28, 2008

By 

M. DETWILER "fairval4" (Martinsburg, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: At the Bride Hunt Ball (Avon Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are looking for a book without annoying dangling plot lines, if you like books that are stand alone and not part of a 10 book series, if you like lots of laughs and plenty of romance, then At the Bride Hunt Ball is the book for you. I picked it up by chance at the bookstore and was pleasantly surprised. I really liked it. The premise was that eligible young ladies would be invited to a ball in order for the younger brother of the duke to pick himself a bride. One young lady wants an invitation so badly and another, our heroine Madelyn, doesn't. Naturally, they both end up at the ball and it is a lovely story.
This book was a great book to read on a sunny afternoon. It was filled with pleasant people I wanted to read about and didn't have a lot of minuses. It had humor, a plausible plot, and was very readable.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book as I had never heard of the author. I was a little disappointed to find out this was a debut book. I am looking forward to reading more from Olivia Parker and had hoped she had a backlist. But, I can wait--hopefully, Charlotte's story is next. I know who I would like her to end up with. We'll see if that's where the author is headed.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice read--but when did Avon fire its proofreaders?, January 7, 2010

By 

NYromancereader - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: At the Bride Hunt Ball (Avon Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

"At the Bride Hunt Ball" starts with a completely ridiculous premise (being on The Bachelor *today* is skeevy--I can't imagine it flying in Regency England) but Olivia Parker carries it off well, if not entirely plausibly. Several parts were romantic enough to bring a sting of tears to my eyes, but, unfortunately, Parker could not maintain that level of tension throughout. As previous reviewers mentioned, some dramatic plot threads and interesting character traits were never fully explored, and the transformation of Rothbury from a sinister ex-suitor to sympathetic ally was unconvincing. Nevertheless, I'd recommend it. It's rare to find a debut novel at this level. Most are, quite frankly, awful, but "Bride Hunt Ball" kept me reading until 1 in the morning.

That said, the lack of professionalism in producing this book was shocking and jarred me out of the story several times. Doesn't anyone proofread any more? Does everyone rely on spell-check? For example, "soul recipients" which should have read "sole recipients" (this was not a paranormal, so no one had a soul transplant, except perhaps Rothbury); "his ridged arm" which should have read "his rigid arm;" several incorrect uses of the word "sunk" where it should have read "sank;" and the worst--"his riding breeches, which fit snuggly" (it's "snugly," people!!! I don't think the Duke was wearing a Slanket or a baby carrier!).

Unfortunately, these amateur mistakes cheapened the novel and made its other missteps only more glaring. Ms. Parker--hire someone to proofread your galleys. Avon obviously doesn't care.