The Wagered Bride (Signet Regency Romance) [Paperback]

Teresa McCarthy (Author)

Book Description

Series: Signet Regency Romance | Publication Date: December 7, 2004

Lord Stephen Clearbrook knows one way to clear his gambling debts with a wealthy businessman-by marrying his daughter. But Elizabeth Shelby wants nothing to do with this business arrangement, until she realizes that love may be in the cards after all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Signet (December 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451213726
• ISBN-13: 978-0451213723
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,857,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and charming!, June 8, 2005

By 

Sophia Nash "Romance Author" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wagered Bride (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful traditional Regency. The bible of the romance industry, Romantic Times magazine agreed giving it four stars and the review said, "In Teresa McCarthy's charming read, emotions stemming from the characters' predicament range from anger and frustration to amusement and attraction. Interfering relatives abound, as does humor and of course, love." That sums it up nicely.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars starts off well, and then..., June 24, 2005

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wagered Bride (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

While I did not find Teresa McCarthy's "The Wagered Bride" to be as horrible a read as some reviewers have suggested, it wasn't that stellar of a read either. To begin with, the main plot was a much used one -- aristocrat who looses heavily at the gambling tables to a cit, is forced to consider marriage to the daughter of a self same cit -- with practically no variation or qualification on this very common theme.

When wealthy cit, William Shelby, wins Creighton Hall from Lord Stephen Clearbrook in a high stakes card game, he offers the young aristocrat a way out of his predicament: agree to marry Shelby's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and the deeds to Creighton Hall will be his again. For Lord Stephen this poses a bit of a dilemma. Creighton Hall used to be his mother's childhood home, and Stephen is loathed to let his family know that he has lost it. And there is the fact that Lord Stephen has vowed to marry only the lady he'd be in love with (presently, it is the beautiful Lady Odette), and who would, obviously, return his love, and you can see just what kind of bind Lord Stephen has found himself in! But Lord Stephen soon discovers that his opposition to Shelby's plans are nothing compared to Elizabeth Shelby's. A young woman of strong opinions, Elizabeth also wants to marry for love only, and cannot bare the thought of marrying a gentleman who wants her only for her father's money. And she already has a paragon of virtue in mind for a husband, Mr. Femmington. What Elizabeth doesn't know is that her beau is a rake and a cad (some readers may recognise Femmington from the author's first book, "The Rejected Suitor"). So that when Lord Stephen realises who it is that Elizabeth has lost her heart to, he resolves to save Elizabeth from herself in spite of Elizabeth's demands that he stay out of her affairs. Daggers drawn, these two stubborn people soon discover that there are certain things that about each other that fascinate and tantalise. But exactly where is this unexpected attraction leading them?

For me, "The Wagered Bride" started off well -- that is, in spite of the author's rather frantic prose style (everyone was constantly talking at each other, but very little of substance was ever really said) -- until I realised two things: 1) that Millicent, Elizabeth's younger sister, was beginning to annony me quite a bit (she was either always blabbing too much, eavesdropping or else treating everyone to some dramatic scene or the other); and 2) that the author had made use of the big misunderstanding as a plot device a tad too often. (And while I won't go into my pet peeve about very modern phrases and language, is 'your dukeness' a legitimate way to address a duke?) Elizabeth as a heroine, I rather liked in spite of her unfortunate taste for cads. And while Lord Stephen was the stereotypical Regency hero, he was rather likable as well. Unfortunately, the novel also unwound in fits and starts, and lacked that smooth and cohesive feel yuo'd expect a well polished novel to possess. So that all in all, I'd rate "The Wagered Bride" as a 2 1/2 star read.

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars last McCarthy book I read..., February 14, 2005

By 

Annie (Pearl River, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wagered Bride (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

I had read Ms. McCarthy's previous book "The Rejected Suitor" which was terrible! This one, well, I stopped reading half-way through the book. Yes, I know in the regency period or other time in history people were different - different codes of behavior. You might not pay the baker or the person who makes your clothes, but debts of "honor", i.e. gambling, those must be paid. It was not unusual for the nobles to refill their banks with money from Cits. Anyone ever notice how all the women who were Cits who marry nobles are all pretty? Anyhow, I now will refuse to finish any more regencies that have silly heroes and heroines. Elizabeth Shelby, the pretty Cit, had her elopement stopped by Stephen Clearbook, the four son of a duke and the brother of the arrogant Duke of Elbourne. Stephen is yet another regency buck addicted to gambling and drink. Of course, the author tries to dress this fact up by telling us Stephen is a war hero. And under that gambler exterior, a good man. Addicts, whether gambling or drinking, have many issues not solved by marrying. But I digress...Stephen foils the attempted elopement of Elizabeth with Fennington, the cad who caused issues for the sister of Stephen and the Duke, Emily. Now, why Stephen would simply not explain to Elizabeth the reason Fennington was a cad is beyond me and here is where I toss the book. The assumption is that romances need the "conflict" that must be resolved to create a story so note to romance authors: make the conflict real! Why have this ridiculous Fennington hanging? The conflict would have been better served with them marrying and learning to live in each others world. Also, the fact that Elizabeth was at a house party AND attended Almacks was not really plausible. Skip this trite and ridiculous story.