Royal's Bride (Thorndike Basic) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Kat Martin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Thorndike Basic | Publication Date: February 3, 2010

Though he is a titled nobleman‚ Royal Dewar is singularly unlucky. After years abroad‚ Royal has returned to Bransford Castle to find his father dying and the family treasury nearly empty. Then the old Duke wrests a final promise from his g

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1854 England, this steamy trilogy opener from bestseller Martin (Heart of Courage) is an enjoyable mixture of tension and romance. Royal Dewar, the dashing duke of Bransford, promised his dying father that he would marry for money and restore the family fortune, and he dutifully proposes to wealthy Jocelyn Caulfield. His heart, however, belongs to Jocelyn's penniless but beautiful cousin, Lily Moran. Fiercely independent Lily tells Royal of her criminal past, but instead of spurning her, he asks her help with a scheme to recover the money his father lost to a swindler. As Lily and Royal struggle to resist their passion, haughty Jocelyn finds unexpected love with a man below her station. Though the conflict ties up too neatly and plot holes diminish the suspense, the romance smolders enough to make the next books worth waiting for. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 555 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (February 3, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410423182
• ISBN-13: 978-1410423184
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,921,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Currently living in Missoula, Montana, Kat Martin is the bestselling author of over fifty Historical and Contemporary Romance novels. Before she started writing in 1985, Kat was a real estate broker. During that time, she met her husband, Larry Jay Martin, also an author. Kat is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. "I love anything old," Kat says. "I love to travel and especially like to visit the places where my books are set. My husband and I often stay in out-of-the-way inns and houses built in times past. It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a by-gone era."

To date, Kat has over twelve million copies of her books in print. She is published in twenty foreign countries, including Germany, Norway, Sweden, China, Korea, Bulgaria, Russia, England, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Japan and Greece.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing too thrilling...(spoilers), January 12, 2010

By 

MadameBookworm (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal's Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

I finished this book, and I might even read Reese's story if I happen upon it at the library. But despite the enthusiastic teasers for Reese's book on both the first and last pages of Royal's Bride, I'd be unlikely to purchase it after reading this tepid intro to the trilogy. I felt like I got to know Lily, the heroine, pretty well, but I didn't have the same connection to Royal, the hero. I just couldn't understand how someone who was supposed to be so honorable that he'd unwaveringly obey an ill-conceived deathbed request could at the same time be so lacking in honor as to seduce his intended's cousin, subsequently carry through with solidifying the engagement and then repeatedly choose to continue the affair. I also didn't understand how a father who so stupidly lost the family fortune could inspire such unquestioning faith in his deathbed schemes. Actually, that whole plot setup really gnawed at me, because it seemed that Royal and his brothers had been raised to follow their own paths and be independent. So I couldn't see why a father-- open-minded enough to raise an heir who would leave the estate and work in the fields to save his Barbados plantation-- wouldn't trust his sons to find their own ways to restore the family fortune. For this to work for me, I really needed a point where Royal went ahead and fought for his relationship with Lily, or vice versa. I liked Jocelyn and Christopher, but it was just a little too convenient (and a little too unromantic) that Lily gets her man because someone outside the relationship decides to take a risk in order to be happy. I just couldn't shake the feeling that Royal was willing to give up on her if things hadn't magically worked out. Not really so romantic, in my opinion.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The girl is a watering pot!!! Just readable., April 1, 2010

By 

Lady Ashford (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal's Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to get off my chest that Lily is a watering pot! If the Duke turned her tears into money he would be filthy rich! I don't understand what is up (or down) with Kat Martin! I have read all her historical romances...she was one of my favorite authors. With her ability to bring the historical time period alive one feels like you're living in those times with the social life , the dresses, etc.
The Necklace Trilogy was great! Then she ruined everything with the Heart Trilogy being awful. Now, the Bride Trilogy is not off to a good start. Yes Royal is handsome and honorable and Lily has some good qualities. But, they are NOT a very exciting couple and the plot is long and convoluted and NOT very satisfying. There is a lot of DOWN time where Royal and Lily don't interact much. The on-going plot is rather boring and drags on and on... Fortunately, the sex is very good and hot.
Overall, it's readable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1st book in the Bride Trilogy - EXCELLENT !, October 26, 2009

By 

cb (Minot, ND) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Royal's Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

I lost of lot of hours of sleep over this book - I went to bed with ¼ of the book left and dreamt all night if Royal was going to honor his father last wish and marry Jocelyn or if he would follow his heart and marry his cousin Lily. I was concerned that Royal and Lily con to get Royal's family money back from a evil con-artist was going to backfire and then I wondered if Jocelyn (Royal fiancé) was going to run away with her true love... and if it would have a happy ending. It was a long night - I won't tell you how it ended but I closed the book happy and satisfied and wondering about things would work out for the rest of the brothers... I will just have to wait for her next book Reese's Bride due out Jan 2010 & Rule's Bride due out May 2010.