Customer Reviews

Temporary Husband (Signet Regency Romance)

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I'm a sucker for a romance that comes out of an arranged marriage. But this story was just plain tedious, and so corny.

Amanda has to marry, in order to present a stable, conformist home for her ward, Robert, the son of her late cousin, who she's looked after since he was born. The other guardian, a Major in the Indian army, wants to take Robert back to India with him. Horrors! Along comes Andrew, Lord Mainwaring, who, while "not handsome" is tall, with a breadth of shoulder and slim waist, and dark hair and blue eyes. (Sounds handsome to me, but the author makes a point of saying he's not. Odd?)

Anyway, they marry, "of convenience" (although Amanda and Drew are OF COURSE attracted to each other, and the child Robert falls in love with his new Daddy-figure, all of which help Amanda make up her mind quickly). Odd things start to happen, it seems like someone is trying to hurt Amanda - could it be the other guardian of Robert, the one they're trying to fool, trying to do away with her? The resolution, when it comes, is very obvious. The creep who's been doing little nasty things to harm Amanda is the creep who no one, not even his wife, likes.)

There's one other tedious thread - Amanda is frightened of men because she was once terrorized (not raped) by a madman. Once Drew persuades Amanda to make love, that problem's resolved as well. Robert begins to call Amanda "Mummy" and Drew "Papa"; Amanda is pregnant by the end of the story, and everything is just so happy.

Ugh. This story had every cliche you could think of - sexually frightened heroine, noble hero, cute (unreal) kid, creepy stalker, helpful relatives, sweet servants ("Miss Amanda needs to eat more, she's too thin!") ... all tied up with a big sappy bow in the end. Enough was enough!