TEST
The Fairy Tale Bride is the first book in a series about the large Fenster family. The heroine is charmingly optimistic, but the hero left me cold, not a terribly auspicious thing to say about a lead character in a romance novel.
Miranda, the eldest Fenster daughter, is considered unmarriageable after having been ruined at a ball by Giles Grimthrope five years before. Giles cousin, Simon Watterly, had intended to propose marriage to Miranda but before he had a chance to pop the question, Simon’s life fell apart: he learned at the deathbed of his father, the Duke of Kerstone, that he was a bastard. Feeling like a complete fraud, he enlisted in the army and served several years with great bravery on the Continent.
Upon his return, Simon inherited his father’s title, but doesn’t think he has any right to the title. Marriage, let alone love, have no place in Simon’s plans. He’s been searching for possible heirs to train so he can then stage his own death. Unfortunately, the potential heirs all died shortly after he started looking for them, leaving him with his accident-prone cousin Arthur, who has neither the inclination nor the desire to be duke.
Miranda renews her relationship with Simon after he interferes in her brother Valentine’s elopement with a peer’s daughter. Simon accidentally compromises Miranda and is forced to propose to her. He decides his plan will still work as he will leave her a “widow” in 6 months. He rationalizes that her family will then be well provided for after his “death.” The author does not soften Simon in this portion of the book and at times one wants to shake him for his obtuse stubbornness.
Simon tells Miranda that he only has 6 months to live and is too ill to have sex; he is actually afraid of getting her pregnant and having another bastard who would inherit the title. Miranda, who had assumed complete care of her younger sisters after the death of their parents, has sustained herself for some time with fairy tales and dreams. She refuses to accept Simon’s prognosis and does all she can to save him, only to be rejected and frustrated in return. Miranda’s belief in the basic goodness of people and happy endings is really quite charming and she is a strong heroine. But Simon certainly causes her to draw on all of her optimism and belief in happily-ever-afters.
The web is tangled by Simon’s difficult relationship with his mother. A mysterious American further tangles the plot, along with the villainous Giles and the accident-prone Arthur. Speaking of which, the lack of suspicion regarding Arthur’s “accidents” did not reflect well on Simon; in addition to his constant angst and nattering about his bastardy, his inability to see what was happening to Arthur made him somewhat Too Stupid to Live.
The denouement is clever enough, but there is an over-reliance on coincidence. Whether or not the problems in this book will diminish in its sequel, about Miranda’s impulsive brother Valentine, remains to be seen (and read).
Grade: C
Book Type: European Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 13/03/01
Publication Date: 2000
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.