The Ideal Bride (Zebra Regency Romance) [Paperback]

Nonnie St. George (Author)

Book Description

Series: Zebra Regency Romance | Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Marriage is a serious matter according to wealthy businessman Gabriel Carr, not to be influenced by anything so frivolous as emotion. Drawing up a list of the traits he requires in a bride is the first step, the second is asking his merchant tenants to introduce him to suitable young women.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Top Pick -- Romantic Times Magazine

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821775901
• ISBN-13: 978-0821775905
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,814,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, October 5, 2003

By 

Anne (Roanoke Rapids, NC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Ideal Bride (Zebra Regency Romance) (Paperback)

Gabriel Carr has rejected the label of "Gentleman" and fled into the soothing routine of Business. When it comes time to choose a wife he figures he can handle it just as he would any other business transaction, make a list, review the candidates, choose a life partner.

Enter Lady Nola Grenvale. Lady Nola needs one of Gabriel's buildings to create a bazaar for war widows to sell their handicrafts, She has no interest in being his wife. How could she ever mary a man with a list?

These two characters (and the mess of "matchmakers" surrounding them) could very easily have been stereotypical. St. George escapes this very neatly. Nola is not a do good heroine you want to smack. Gabriel...well, sometimes you want to smack him, but he is never stubborn beyond reason merely to advance the plot. The secondary cast never escapes the realm of secondary, overwhelming the plot.

This little gem is laugh out loud funny. I was chortling the whole way through. What a wonderful first read from an author. I'm looking forward eagerly to her next!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carr's conjugal crisis, October 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ideal Bride (Zebra Regency Romance) (Paperback)

Humour is a welcome novelty in Romance fiction. The genre often endures bad press in mainstream media for various reasons - "thin" plots, "shallow" characters, even the romance element is labelled "stilted". These or other faults are paraded by elitist critics. Rarely encountered, humour has the capacity to sweep away many blemishes, real or perceived. Romance novels almost universally conclude with happy endings. Getting to that point, however, often means slogging through a miasma of dreary events, sombre people or dire prospects. Even worse is the imposition of some deep philosophical issue the reader must unravel.

Nonnie St George has broken with some of this tradition with her first book, The Ideal Bride. Setting the scene in Regency London gives her room to apply solid research into people, events and language. St George handles these elements well in both plot and characterisation. England is enjoying burgeoning prosperity. The Continental Wars against Napoleon are over, but issues remain - the widows of casualties for one. Who cares about them? Why would they be important in a story of romance?

Gabriel Carr aims to be married. He's a successful property owner and investor. As a man of business, planning is essential in his quest. He's drawn up a list of what constitutes the perfect wife. His mother, disdainful of such a "practical" approach, chides him mercilessly. There's a compulsion underlying his wife-hunting method, of course. He must marry before he's thirty or lose an inheritance. He's dogged, determined, independent. The combination inevitably results in a certain hubris. According to classic pattern, such arrogance, even in a mild-mannered man, must lead to an undoing.

Boy meets girl, naturally. Rather, man meets woman, since both protagonists are adults. The woman is of the aristocracy - what the British refer to as the ton. In this era, upcoming businessmen are suspicious of the ton. They are often dissolute, and in many cases, they need money. Nola Grenvale seems little different. But "Saint Nola" is different, in an even worse way. Promoting the cause of the Napoleonic War widows, she's set on helping them obtain independent income. She needs a location for the widows to market their wares. Charity and business are rarely close acquaintances, let alone nuptial partners. Nor is marriage a major concern for Nola. Her aim is an intrusion on Gabriel's life and he's prompt in showing his resentment. Nola isn't a candidate for marriage, anyway. Along with her other priorities, Nola isn't in the running in her own mind. Nola's tall, a redhead in a blonde and brunette world and is spare in the bosom - "she looked exactly like a Pall Mall gas lamppost".

They are a difficult pair to reconcile. Nola is nobody's fool. She's outspoken, assertive, and determined to fulfill her own ambitions. More provision for hubris. Mixing two such recipes results only in a spicy stew. St George builds her story solidly through the characters. Alone or interacting, Gabriel and Nola are introduced to us, reflect on their respective values, and leave us smiling over the complexities of life. While St George doesn't distract us with deep issues, the value of self-assessment is clear. She helps us in this endeavour by writing with keen humour. Her fine sense of light irony keeps this story alive and moving. Neither plot nor characters are forced or contrived. She avoids the often stilted language used to "type" historical fiction. It's not great literature, but it's great cottage fare.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I was really prepared to love this book, August 20, 2004

By 

regency reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ideal Bride (Zebra Regency Romance) (Paperback)

After reading the stellar reviews, I had no doubt that I would just love this book. Even though I was dying to read it as soon as I got it, I saved it for a plane ride because I knew I would be so absorbed in it that the flight would just "fly by" (get it? ha ha).

Imagine my disappointment when 2/3 into the book, I realized that I just wasn't loving it. In fact, I wasn't even liking it too much. I never finished the book.

I will agree with all the previous reviewers who stated that this book has some screwball comedic episodes. Page one had me hooked (or so I thought). A devastatingly attractive man who makes a concerted effort to not look so attractive. A down-to-earth do-good heroine. I started out liking these characters and enjoying their most amusing meetings.

What really turned me off eventually was that there was absolutely no character development whatsoever. These people, while likable in the beginning, were never really portrayed as anything more than just flat characters. I felt towards them by page 120 the exact same way I felt for them at page 1--that is to say, not much. I did not sympathize with or care for any of them. They didn't seem real to me AT ALL and the feelings between them did not ring true or sincere.

I finally got totally fed up when I realized that the "sensible" heroine was truly falling in love with the hero purely because of his dimples. It never really went beyond that.

Overall, I found the book pretty shallow. And by that, I mean there was no depth to it. No depth to the characters, no depth to their feelings. I read 3-5 regency romances a week, so I don't require too much depth, but this one was lacking in ANY. It became annoying and frustrating to read and I just could not bring myself to finish it.