The Bride Price (Avon Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Anne Mallory (Author)
Key Phrases: bride price, aquamarine eyes, Lady Sarah, Lady Tevon, Sebastien Deville (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Winner take all . . .

Sebastien Deville, the debauched, dangerously handsome illegitimate son of the Duke of Grandien, has waited his whole life for revenge—and suddenly it is there for the taking. A competition sponsored by the ing has all the ton talking. The winner will receive an immense fortune, a newly created title, sponsorship, and a well-born bride—everything Sebastien needs to reclaim his mother's stolen lands and to wield the colossal power itching beneath his fingertips. His victory is all but assured . . . until he meets Caroline.

Caroline Martin knows all about Sebastien, the legendary heartbreaker who leaves women weeping in his wake, and she is determined not to see him win the competition in which he would claim her friend as his bride. Yet sabotage is so very hard to concentrate on when the target's searing glances promise incredible pleasure and his skillful hands vow unimaginable desire. She knows the danger he presents, the temptation he offers, yet she is willing to risk everything for all she holds dear.

But Sebastien Deville will do anything to win . . . and Caroline's heart may become the ultimate prize.

About the Author

Anne Mallory is a lifelong romance reader who sold her first novel to Avon Books after becoming a finalist in RWA's Golden Heart contest. The Earl of Her Dreams is her fourth book. Aside from writing, she is an enthusiastic hobby collector, game player, water girl, cat lover, chocolate consumer, and homebody—not necessarily in that order. A native Michigander, Anne currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061579130
• ISBN-13: 978-0061579134
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,648 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting plot but... 3.5 stars, November 17, 2008

By	Jody Allen (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was interesting if farfetched plot for the period. The heroine comes off as too mature and then bounces between distrust and attraction toward the hero, not very mature. One would think she could see through his tricks. A bit too cliche at times. The female secondary character who is the prize of the tournament is too one dimensional until she finally gets a backbone and stands up for herself. Unfortunately, we don't see how it happened and learn about it in dialogue rather than her own action. Had this only been hinted it could have led to a spinoff book because her suitor was an interesting character who was sort of there but not really. To bad because this author's talent was in making interesting male characters: good or bad. In this book the hero stole the limelight: he was a blend of the bad boy we all love and yet right from the start he displays a sense of integrity born not of blood but of character. It is the hero that makes this book a better than average read.

There are a few surprises that explains things if the readers can hang on to the end. Though not one I would read again, I am glad that I hung in until the end. This author has the gift for creating yummy tortured heroes if only she could give them more interesting heroines and a believable plot.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting...Entertaining...Engaging 4.5 Stars, November 1, 2008

By	R. Phillips (MS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The illegitimate son of a Duke, Sebastien, is pitted against his legitimate brother and others in a competition to win the home in which he grew up. Winning the competition also brings the victor a title, other properties and a bride, Lady Sarah - the daughter of an earl. Sebastien's only interest is the ability to keep the only place he's ever called home. His father, the Duke, added the home to the competition to force his son to participate in the competition. Throughout the story, the Duke constantly attempts to manipulate both sons into behaving as he wishes.

The heroine, Caroline, looks after the happiness and best interests of the prize bride Sarah. She believes this competition will ruin Sarah's chance at happiness and wants to do whatever she can to make sure that Sarah is not forced into an unwanted marriage. In doing so, she encounters Sebastien and sparks fly from the moment they meet.

I liked this book because the story was new and a little different. The tension between the hero and heroine was intense and enjoyable. In the beginning, where there is so much focus on the games, I thought it might become a little boring, but it picked up and focused more on the characters than on the details, which made it much better. I liked all of the characters and the tensions between them as well. The romance was hot and the h/h seemed so real...emotions, personalitites, fallibilites, vulnerabilities. It also showed of the nuances of falling in love. It shows the love rather than just tells you the h/h love one another and that it isn't just lust....you actually see that it is so. Good read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Improbable romance, December 8, 2008

By	Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When reading a book it helps if the reader actually believes in the fundamental plot thread undergirding the action. In the case of 'The Bride Price' I found the competition between 15 illegitimate or third-or-fourth sons to win an aristocratic title, some land and property and a particular woman as a wife, to be laughably unlikely. As a tool for our hero Sebastien Deville, illegitimate son of the Duke of Grandien, it worked well enough; he had a chance to shine in the traditional noble pursuits of gambling, horse riding, fencing and the rest of it, but it also gave him an excuse to spend two months amongst other men (including his half brother) and a passel of women, including the heroine, Caroline Martin.

The competition also allowed Caroline to do some sabotaging as she doesn't want Sebastien to win as he would win the hand of her friend Lady Sarah as a bride and Caroline knows Sebastien and Lady Sarah won't suit. Sebastien doesn't seem interested in Sarah, however, but he is interested in Caroline - very much so - and although his pursuit might be put down to a bet, there might actually be much more to it. Caroline has thrown her life away on a worthless man once before, will she make the same mistake again?

So the competition is a useful device upon which to hang various events. But it's so incredibly unlikely, along with many of the events that take place in this novel, that I was unable to take the story seriously. There were some interesting vignettes into people's lives changing, people growing up and learning what's important, but it was all emeshed within the threads of the competition and so it lost its force for me. The author also made some errors of language where people speak American rather than English, including a reference to people behaving like 'chickadees', a word for a bird unused in England (we have the rather more amusing 'tits' instead). The behaviour amongst the houseparty guests seemed very unlikely too and the neatly-wrapped ending didn't convince. Overall this is a story with some good points but equally many points of annoyance and unbelievability.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008