The Last Bride (Berkley Sensation) [Paperback]

Sandra Landry (Author)

Book Description

Series: Berkley Sensation | Publication Date: August 2, 2005

Claire Peltier is convinced that the man who haunts her dreams was her lover in a past life. Determined to unravel the mystery surrounding him, she follows her instincts to France, where she suddenly finds herself transported back to the Middle Ages and face to face with the man of her dreams.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (August 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425204448
• ISBN-13: 978-0425204443
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,266 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ghosts + Reincarnation +Time Travel = Solid Entertainment, September 21, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: The Last Bride (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)

In modern day New Orleans, Claire Peltier has just tossed aside a perfectly good fiancé - a man who loved her, treated her very well, but whom she just couldn't feel the passion that she knew deep in her soul belonged to the man who haunted her dreams. Along with being haunted by dreams, Claire was also visited rather regularly by a ghost. Only now the ghost seemed to be giving Claire clues that would send her on a journey to unlock the visions from her dreams. Traveling to France, Claire followed her instincts and her ghost, and found herself transported back to the Middle Ages where she came face to face with the man of her dreams.

Aiden Delacroix was a lonely tortured man. His sense of loss over the death of his mistress and wife that were attributed to the hauntings of a vengeful ghost had left its mark. With no wife or heir, and no woman even considering marriage to him; his fight to pass on his families' legacy would be for naught, as he would surely lose his lands to his enemy. As a last resort, Aidan went on a pilgrimage to a sacred shrine where there appeared before him a woman so beautiful Aiden impulsively proposed marriage.

While Claire recognized Aiden as the man of her dreams, his very touch brought a vision of such heartache that she refused his offer. Then again, she wasn't quite cognizant that she'd been transported back in time, and thought him a bit crazy. When it did finally dawn on her that she wasn't in her modern time, she agreed to let him help her. Soon after she would realize that she'd been brought back not only to answer questions regarding her own mysterious longings, but to right a wrong and regain a love that was meant to be.

*** This was a full-bodied, fully satisfying tale of time travel, reincarnation, and a heady romance all rolled into one totally mesmerizing read that will capture you from the very first pages. Claire and Aiden were extremely well-drawn. Aiden was wonderful, even though he sensed that Claire was different -- his acceptance, kindness and gentle ways were the stuff dreams are made of - in essence a perfect hero! In this second chance at a love that was meant to be that transcended all time, Landry pulled out all the stops and presented her readers with a perfectly wonderful read. Highly recommended! --- Marilyn, for [...] ---

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The exception that proves the rule, September 20, 2005

By 

D. K. Stokes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Bride (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)

Normally, I get irritated with romances containing ghosts and/or reincarnation, but that wasn't the case with The Last Bride. It's got ghosts. It's got reincarnation. And the time-travel ties them together. But it works. The ghosts & reincarnation are PART OF THE STORY. And it doesn't go off on long boring tangents about something that happened to some dead people who nobody cares about because they were thoroughly unlikeable. Er. Speaking of tangents. Anyway.

Claire calls off her engagement because of the man who haunts her dreams, and then follows a ghost's clues to a labyrinth in France, where she ends up in the past, and meets Aiden, the man from her dreams, who's gone on a pilgrimage to the labyrinth to ask for guidance in dealing with his own ghost.


The good:
Claire's reaction to the time travel was great--very realistic.
All the paranormal elements are integral to the plot.
Aiden is a great tortured hero--everyone, including Aiden, believes that his wife had been killed by the ghost of his mistress, who'd killed herself rather than live without him, yet his concern for his people makes him want to find a wife to give him an heir, even though he doesn't feel he deserves it.

The bad:
A couple of threads were left dangling at the end, that should have been wrapped up.

The verdict:
A paranormal, time-travel romance that's entertaining and believable.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable...but, September 19, 2005

By 

delenor "Ravenous Reader" (TO, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Bride (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)

At the end of this book I did not have the "WOW"! feeling that I had after reading 'The Wishing Chalice', (Ms. Landry's second book). There were a few loose ends - not the least of which was the issue of Nick (Claire's brother in our time) being left with no clue as to what happened to his sister after her impulsive dash to France, and subsequent disappearance from the face of the Earth (our time) - iron box of possessions notwithstanding. I mean, what are the chances that said box would find its way to Nick in the 21st century???). Then, there is the issue of Claire being barren, which in the Middle Ages is a sure ticket to spinsterhood, or worst, being 'done away with' by a disappointed husband. I felt that Aiden was cheated in this - being that that was the whole reason behind his urgent (and emotionally painful) quest for a wife. I'm still confused about the ghosts angle - why guide Claire all the way back in time to Aiden, and then try and kill her?? Was Claire's childhood ghost Cherise? Or Meridith? The description is that of Cherise (confirmed by Aiden), yet we're told later on that it was in fact Meridith. In the Epilogue, Jasper reappears - no explanation as to where he had hie himself off to, or how he survived after leaving Delacroix castle. So, although I enjoyed it (I thought Aiden made a great hero: brave, kind, patient, sexy, and vulnerable; he'd been through a terrible 10 years of scorn and ridicule by everyone - totally unfounded!). I liked Clair's physical description; being a big girl myself ( five-ten with bones to match!), I've had my fill of the petite child-brides that some female writers of romance (and some other genre) seem to think are so appealing to us readers. All in all a good read - Ms. Landry weaves a good story, and there's enough to snag and keep your interest if you don't look too closely at the details. I'm on the hunt for Ms Landry's first book (2000) ('A Perfect Love').