The China Bride
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4.5 • 19 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A lord yearning for adventure and a lonely woman longing for a home...
The daughter of a Scottish father and a Chinese mother, Troth Montgomery grew up in Macao fluent in the language and culture of both parents, but her father's sudden death condemned her to a shadowy life as an interpreter in Canton. Then Kyle Renbourne, viscount and adventurer, discovers her true identity and persuades her to be his guide for a dangerous journey into the heart of the Celestial Kingdom.
For Kyle, Troth is an enchanting combination of strength and wisdom unlike any woman he's ever met. As they travel together, attraction flares into a searing passion that ends when Kyle is captured and condemned to death. After a desperate prison cell marriage, Troth promises to carry news of his fate back to his family.
Believing him dead, Troth makes the long journey to England, arriving in bitter winter at the estate of Kyle's brother. Though accepted as bride and widow, she is haunted by the memory of her dashing husband and the brief, forbidden love they shared as she struggles to adjust to her new life.
Then the past reaches out to Troth, bringing passion, despair, and a danger that has followed her halfway around the world. In the wild hills of Scotland she must draw on her unique heritage to save all she holds dear—and find the love and home she has always dreamed of.
The Bride Trilogy:
The Wild Child, #1
The China Bride, #2
The Bartered Bride, #3
Praise for The China Bride:
"Mary Jo Putney continues the enthralling story of the Renbourne family in her latest book, The China Bride… Putney presents a fascinating look into the life of a lonely bride struggling to fit in two worlds. Admirers of Putney's work will be delighted with this adventurous tale of intrigue and romance."
—Times Record News
"Smoothly integrated references to the ancient practices of tai chi, feng shui, and wing chun add interest and authenticity to this highly sensual, emotionally involving romance, which also addresses a number of women's and ethnic issues still relevant today."
—Library Journal
"How does Ms. Putney create so many unique characters as protagonists? Troth is learned in Eastern and Western studies and is adept in martial arts, but she remains human with all the insecurities of someone who seems to fit nowhere. Yet Kyle is equally complex and fascinating as a man who has lost one great love and is seeking something to fill his empty places. How they interact and what their lives hold in store for them make for a superb love story."
—Romance Reviews Today
"Putney brings compassion and depth to a tender, deeply conflicted pair of lovers… Putney understands the internal conflicts that shape two misfit individuals' desire for a relationship that feels like home when there is no physical place that does."
—Contra Costa Times
About the Author:
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USAToday bestselling author, Mary Jo Putney's novels are known for psychological depth and intensity and include historical and contemporary romance, fantasy, and young adult fantasy. Winner of numerous writing awards, including two RITAs, three Romantic Times Career Achievement awards, and the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from Romance Writers of America, she has had numerous books listed among Library Journal's and Booklist's top romances of the year.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nineteenth-century China, England and Scotland are the settings for Putney's continuing saga of the Renbourne twins, Dominic and Kyle, begun in The Wild Child. There, Kyle handed over his unwanted betrothed, Meriel (a match arranged at birth), to his twin brother, Dominic, and escaped to Spain with his terminally ill mistress, Constancia. Ever since his true love's death, Kyle has been exploring the world. In 1832, he is in Macao. His father's health is failing, however, and Kyle plans to fulfill his lifelong dream of seeing the Temple of Hoshan, "an image of peace and unearthly beauty," then return to England to resume his duties as Lord Maxwell. Unfortunately, China is closed to all Fan-qui (foreigners) and Kyle must stay within the confines of the Canton Settlement, a narrow strip of warehouses serving as shipping point for all European and American trade companies. In order to sneak into the Chinese countryside, Kyle enlists the aid of Jin Kang, who he thinks is a young male Chinese interpreter. Jin is actually Troth Mei-Lian Montgomery, feisty daughter of a Scottish trader and Chinese concubine, who is forced to make her living by spying on "foreign devils." Kyle's rash escapade is predictably unsuccessful, as he is discovered and sentenced to death. He marries Troth (symbolically) and dispatches her to England to tell his family of his fate--which, of course, turns out to be different from what she imagines. In chapters alternating between Troth's experiences in England and flashbacks to her adventures with Kyle in China, Putney contrives an awkward tale, dependant for its drama on Kyle's belief that he can never love again, and on Troth's fear of rejection by Kyle's family. Though the conflict rarely grips, the sex scenes are adequately steamy, and Putney provides plenty of atmospheric details.
Customer Reviews
Reader beware addictive
One of the most gripping books I’ve read in Regency Romance for awhile. The first chapter drawers you in, then leaves you unable to put it down as our characters unfold and you see them emerge in a wonderful tale of self discovery.