Genre: Historical Romance
Bottom Line: A small improvement from the first book in the series, but still a fairly unconvincing romance
Reluctant Brides Trilogy
1. Wicked
2. Wanton
3. Wonderful
Reluctant Brides Trilogy
1. Wicked
2. Wanton
3. Wonderful
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Amelia Hubbard has always lived at Miss Peabody’s School for Girls, first as a student, then as a teacher. She enjoyed her position and the independence it brought. But Miss Peabody has died, the school is closing, and Amelia has no money and nowhere to go. When Fate intervenes and hands her a dowry and a handsome husband already purchased with the money, Amelia is nervous but resigned. She reluctantly agrees to wed a man she’s never met.
Lucas Drake has never been anything but a wastrel and scapegrace. As the second son of an earl, and with an older brother who’s perfect in every way, stellar behavior seems impossible. He’s always been happy to live down to his stern father’s low expectations. But when Amelia arrives and Lucas discovers that his father has engaged him to her, his bachelor tendencies surge to the fore. He’s vehemently certain that no wedding will ever occur.
When Amelia agreed to the match, she never imagined that Lucas might not want to get married. Her prior situation has ended, and without marriage, the future is bleak. What’s a spinster to do?
Wanton seduction seems the only path, but first, she’ll need a few lessons in how to use her feminine wiles. Once she figures out what Lucas really needs, the poor man doesn't stand a chance.
RELUCTANT BRIDES… When love is the key and dowry the bait, who can predict what a woman might do?
Lucas Drake has never been anything but a wastrel and scapegrace. As the second son of an earl, and with an older brother who’s perfect in every way, stellar behavior seems impossible. He’s always been happy to live down to his stern father’s low expectations. But when Amelia arrives and Lucas discovers that his father has engaged him to her, his bachelor tendencies surge to the fore. He’s vehemently certain that no wedding will ever occur.
When Amelia agreed to the match, she never imagined that Lucas might not want to get married. Her prior situation has ended, and without marriage, the future is bleak. What’s a spinster to do?
Wanton seduction seems the only path, but first, she’ll need a few lessons in how to use her feminine wiles. Once she figures out what Lucas really needs, the poor man doesn't stand a chance.
RELUCTANT BRIDES… When love is the key and dowry the bait, who can predict what a woman might do?
My Thoughts:
This book was a small step up from Wicked. I was worried about Lucas' story since he was so lazy and rude in the first book, and I'd say my concerns were well founded. In this novel, Lucas' father has arranged for Amelia to marry Lucas, but Lucas refuses to acknowledge her. I've seen this theme in a couple books, and usually the driving force behind the son's refusal to marry is well founded. With Lucas I got the feeling that one of the main reasons he didn't want to marry was because he didn't want to be tied down to one woman. Even when they are supposedly in love, Lucas thinks of marriage as an ending to his freedom.
I was not a huge fan of Amelia either. I just couldn't imagine a girl becoming quite so...wanton while moving about in polite 1800's society. There was just never any real connection between Lucas and Amelia aside from lust, and this lust was only aided by Amelia pretending to be a different kind of person. The only redeeming part of this book was that the secondary characters weren't too awful. Aaron seems like one of the only decent people in this trilogy, so maybe (just maybe), the third book will be better.
Find it on: Amazon | Goodreads | Cheryl Holt
This book was a small step up from Wicked. I was worried about Lucas' story since he was so lazy and rude in the first book, and I'd say my concerns were well founded. In this novel, Lucas' father has arranged for Amelia to marry Lucas, but Lucas refuses to acknowledge her. I've seen this theme in a couple books, and usually the driving force behind the son's refusal to marry is well founded. With Lucas I got the feeling that one of the main reasons he didn't want to marry was because he didn't want to be tied down to one woman. Even when they are supposedly in love, Lucas thinks of marriage as an ending to his freedom.
I was not a huge fan of Amelia either. I just couldn't imagine a girl becoming quite so...wanton while moving about in polite 1800's society. There was just never any real connection between Lucas and Amelia aside from lust, and this lust was only aided by Amelia pretending to be a different kind of person. The only redeeming part of this book was that the secondary characters weren't too awful. Aaron seems like one of the only decent people in this trilogy, so maybe (just maybe), the third book will be better.
Find it on: Amazon | Goodreads | Cheryl Holt
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