Customer Reviews

The Wedding Bargain

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!!!!!

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!

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

While I generally don't like to see women play games to win a man, Pandora's character begins her games in a way that is engaging and entertaining. There does come a point at which you just want to say, oh give it up already.... but just as you say that, the heroine herself begins to question the game as well! Great timing, witty dialogue

This is the first Victoria Alexander book that I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of her books. The by-play between Pandora Effington and Maximillian Wells, the Earl of Trent is wonderful. The fact that Pandora refuses to marry for anything other than love irritates Max, especially considering the passion that flares between them. Max, however, is not prepared to give up, and with a little help from Pandora's family will even follow Pandora's 'Twelve Labours of Hercules' to win her. A very funny and very enjoyable book to read. I look forward to reading many more of VA's books

Started with a bang, but it got so tedious towards the end, I just wanted to jump in the book and slap the heroine. Love him already will ya Pandora!!! Took me a week to get to the end, just could not get into the book like her others.

Brought up by loving, wealthy, and unconventional parents, Lady Pandora Effington Pandora dubbed the "Hellion" of Grovsner Square has freedoms few debutantes are allowed including the choice to marry...or not! After seven seasons (depending on who's counting) only one man has ever piqued her interest, Maximillian Wells, the Earl of Trent. Consequently because he never seemed to notice her Pandora was taking steps to change that.

Maximillian wasn't around for Pandora's first few seasons, but he did notice and was intrigued by her these last few years. He was happy to note his feigned disinterest was working remarkably well in gaining her attention. A well-known rake, he'd sown his oats and was ready to settle down. But, Maximilian wanted more in a mate than the placid simpering debutantes up for grabs - no, what he needed was a wife with spirit and the "hellion" was precisely what he needed. On a lark he asked that she give him a test to show he could be her hero -- never suspecting she'd give him the twelve tasks of Hercules to achieve. For a mere man these tasks would be impossible, but with ingenuity, resolve, and creative interpretation Max would succeed!

Some authors were born to write Regency Romance and one must truly put Victoria Alexander in this category! In this reissued book of what appears to be the beginning of the Effington family series her dialogs were witty and the main characters were quickly embraced for their affability. I absolutely loved Pandora Effington whom I found to be a delightful intelligent and independent heroine. I'm also looking forward to discovering the rest of this larger brood of other unique Effington family members after getting a glimpse of a couple of them in this volume. I loved Max, the reformed rake and the `take-charge' hero as he came up with creative ways of working around the impossible Herculean tasks on his list to win the lady of his heart. If he ended up with a little bit of some ingenious help from Pandora's relatives who were all most anxious to have him succeed at his tasks, then so be it! The secondary romance that blossomed between the protagonists' best friends added another layer of interest to this regency romp that kept the entertainment at a high pitch and the sensual heat at a more than adequate simmering temperature! This should be high on the top of all regency genre lovers buy lists.

Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization, for [...]

After seven seasons, Pandora Effington realizes that she must soon settle down. She's in no particular hurry, however, when the Earl of Trent suggests a bargain. He proposes that she set before him a test of her own choosing. If he wins, she must marry him. If he loses, she can name his bride. Trent is almost certain that the bride he has chosen will, in fact, be his. Pandora throws him a curve when she sets before him a test of Herculean proportions. From there, with the help of well-intentioned friends and family, it is anyone's game but the stakes are raised dramatically when the prize turns out to be love.

Victoria Alexander has taken a tried plot and has turned it, somewhat creatively, on its head. The strength of this story lies in Trent's cleverness and, increasingly, what he is willing to do or forsake for Pandora. His creativity and the support of the Effingtons are the backbone of this book. The secondary story between Trent and Pandora's friends is charming and entertaining. The weakness in this story stems primarily from Pandora. According to the reputation Pandora has made for herself, there is very little she would not risk. Though she frets about Trent never speaking the words she needs to hear, neither does she confront him with her own feelings. While she believes that being in love means taking action, she does not practice what she preaches. The lack of communication between the two leading characters proved to be problematic as well. This is a well-written book with a creative twist and engaging characters. It simply would have been stronger if the heroine had been more convincing and communication between the hero and heroine had not been so delayed.

I guess you could call this -two stubborn people find love. And sometimes their stubborness got in the way of an enjoyable love story. I actually go back and forth on some of Victoria Alexanders characters. some are very shallow some are very compelling. MAx and Pandora were a little bit of both, but neither completely likeable or endearing. Actually the secondary characters Cynthia and the Twit might be more real. Max, now decides he wants to marry, and he has been eyeing up the Hellion Pandora for years but never giving her any attention. Pandora has had 7 seasons and given all the men of the ton a hard time and is actually rather agrivated that Max has never paid her any attention. So they both start of rather at odds with the other. Striking up a bargain to have some ridiculous contest (and it was rather stupid) to see if Maz can indeed be her hero and then she will agree to wed him Of course all these tests of Hercules are impossible so Maz uses jewelry and symbols to win the tests. But the real key here is they begin to both fall in love - but since they are both so stubborn neither will tell the other. It is certainly good for them that friends and family step in and help them to finally actually by accident admit thier feelings. I find people this stubborn rather trying and tedious, thus the 3 verses 4 stars. Some of the plot moved well and was certainly readable. And if you want to get a complete picture of the Effington family and their friends you need to read all of the books - at least that is the way I approach series romances. So I would recommend the book, but know that it might be one of the weaker links in the chain.

I LOVED this book! Victoria Alexander has written a book that is really funny without being stupid or slapstick. The dialogue is sharp and smart and fast-paced, the plot is wonderfully entertaining and clever. Too many of the romances that are supposed to be funny just aren't. This one is definitely is - I just couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I will certainly look for her other books, and can't wait till the next one (am hoping to see the hero's sisters in future books!).