The Wedding Bargain (Mass Market Paperback)

by Victoria Alexander (Author) "You, my lord, are a rake and rogue..." (more)
Key Phrases: wild camels, Miss Weatherly, Lord Trent, Lord Harold (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"With its sparkling dialogue and delightful characters, Victoria Alexander has created a merry frolic of the heart." -- Teresa Medeiros, author of Charming the Prince

Product Description
Maximillian Wells, the Earl of Trent, couldn't believe his ears-or his eyes. Before him stood beautiful, unattainable Pandora Effington, the town's most scandalous beauty, and the fiery heiress was making him a most tantalizing offer. If he wanted to take Pandora's hand in marriage, he had to play a game of her devising-and he had no intention of losing. Most of London's eligible bachelors left Pandora cold and she longed for a true hero-a man who would do anything in his power to win her love. Maximillian's very touch sent shivers down her spine and made her dream of long nights spent in his arms. But was he willing to risk everything he held dear to prove his love?

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (December 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380806290
• ISBN-13: 978-0380806294
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #68,273 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Effington Family Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deal is a Deal. Isn't it?, August 30, 2001

By	Tiffany Lloyd "coolestgirlinaz" (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

Pandora Effington has been given the title "Hellion of Grosvenor Square" because her behavior is always skipping on the thin line between properity and scandle. She is a VERY stubborn 24 year old in her 7th season, and laughs at the thought of marriage; esp a marriage without love.
Maximillian Wells, the Earl of Trent, is just as stobborn as Pandora and know what he wants. He has finally decieded to marry. The woman who fits all of his requirements is the ever beautiful Pandora and he wants HER. But instead of accepting his suit like any other girl would do, she refuses and instead makes a bargain with him. If Max passes any one test of her choosing, she will marry him. However is Max fails, Pandora is allowed to pick Max's bride for him.

Victoria Alexander has done a wonderful job with this entire book! It was incredibly captivating and it kept my attention the entire way through! I think what impressed me most was how I could see the two characters fall in love with each other. Most authors don't show as much detail and this one did, but I am very happy with the way she did it! So yes I rate this 5 stars because it earned every star!!!!!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, but not necessarily a keeper, March 23, 2001

By	Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When I first started to read this book I was very pleased to realise that Pandora was the cousin of Gillian, the heroine of The Husband List. Pandora and Max were encountered briefly as minor characters in THL.

Pandora, the unconventional daughter of even more unconventional parents, had been dubbed The Hellion of Grosvenor Square by a rejected suitor some years earlier. Six seasons later she is still unmarried. Max, the Earl of Trent, wants her, however, but she refuses to have him. Attracted though she is to him, she tells him that she really wants a hero. What she doesn't tell him is that she wants her marriage to be an enduring love match, as her parents' marriage is.

Max challenges her to set him a test; if he passes, she marries him, and if he doesn't, she can name his bride. Pandora responds by setting him the Twelve Labours of Hercules. Max, clearly an ingenious man, interprets the labours in very much contempory terms, aided and abetted by various of Pandora's family and her best friend, all of whom want her to marry Max. She in turn enlists the aid of Max's best friend (the twit!) to help her defeat Max.

Oh, and Cynthia - Pandora's friend - and Laurie, Max's friend, are a great pair of secondary characters.

Much of the book, including the various lengths to which Max goes to succeed in his tasks, is very amsuing. There are also some wonderful sensual scenes. But where the book falls down for me is towards the end, when the miscommunications seem to get more and more forced. We know that Max and Pandora love each other. They've known they were in love for quite some time. Max knows that she needs to hear him tell her he loves her. Pandora knows that it's not fair expecting Max to confess his love for her when she's never told him that she requires love from a husband... what more do they need??! I was shaking my head at what actually happened before we got a resolution.

Alexander falls down on the manners and customs of the period, too; I don't mind suspending disbelief a little in this regard now and again, but she has her main characters, and their friends, closeted together far too frequently. Cynthia and Pandora visiting Max (separately) in his London house would simply not have been permitted; even if the ladies had been bold enough, the servants would have been outraged and Max would - if he was a gentleman, which he appears to be - have refused to see either of them without a chaperone. Neither even brought a maid with them; young ladies didn't go anywhere without at least a maid.

So... fun, frothy, a little frustrating, and not to be taken too seriously!

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh and original regency romance, December 12, 1999

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

After seven or eight seasons (depends on who is counting), twenty-four-year-old Lady Pandora Effington appears headed to a life of spinsterhood. Independently wealthy, Pandora has been the leading debutante for years, but refuses to wed for anything short of love. Thus, she is dubbed the Hellion.

The Earl of Trent, Maximillian Wells is known as a rake and a beast among other names. He has vowed to also marry for love and plans to stay faithful to his wife. He chooses Pandora, who will never bore him. However, she rejects his proposal that sounded more like a horse breeding to her. She demands a hero like Achilles. He demands a test to prove he is her hero. She gives him the twelve tasks of Hercules to accomplish. If he fails in even one, he must marry a woman of her choosing. If he succeeds, she must marry him.

THE WEDDING BARGAIN is a satirical, yet sensual, but definitely enjoyable Regency romance that pokes fun at the marriage mart. The story line never lets up as Max toils through the "Herculean" tasks to win the hand of his Dora. The lead couple is a delight due to their constant battling and the support cast, especially their mutual best friends, adds depth to the plot. Victoria Alexander has written a triumphant romp that will elate fans of historical romance regardless of era preference.

Harriet Klausner