Blackthorne's Bride
A Bitter Creek Novel
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4,0 • 1 classificação
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- 4,99 €
Descrição da editora
A rogue nobleman, a rescued lady, and revenge undone by romance all play a part in New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston’s irresistible novel of best-laid plots, delicious deception, and unexpected passion.
Two years have passed since Josie Wentworth was bought from the Sioux for a gold watch and whisked back to England by Marcus Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne. When Marcus breaks his promise to return Josie to America, she ends up as a maid in the home of his charming but neglected nephews. Once Josie’s long-lost family finds her, however, the suddenly wealthy heiress sets out to save the two boys from their indifferent uncle—and teach the duke a lesson in honor.
Learning that Marcus is seeking a rich American bride to save his estate, Josie plots to catch his eye—certain he’ll never recognize the beauty she’s become as the ragged captive he rescued. But Josie doesn’t wager on her marital charade taking a tender turn, as the nobleman she’s despised for years proves to be a very different man than she’s imagined. And there’s no denying his passionate caresses, as she falls deeper under the spell of a husband determined to claim her heart.
Praise for Blackthorne’s Bride
“[Joan] Johnston’s gloriously dramatic twelfth Bitter Creek novel, the fourth installment in her Mail Order Bride subseries, whisks readers across the Atlantic. . . . [This] page-turner is replete with romantic angst, sizzling sex, and the promise of an enduring love.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Second chances, marriage of convenience, revenge, reconnection, and redemption . . . Blackthorne’s Bride is another winner from Joan Johnston that gives readers a delicious story of love, laughter, forgiveness, and family.”—Smexy Books
“Blackthorne’s Bride is a sweeping tale that takes you from the Wild West . . . to Regency England. [It’s] a feisty and surprisingly enticing romance that takes you on an adventure through the city streets of London and the countryside.”—Addicted to Romance
“Riveting . . . Johnston excels at descriptions, peppered with period details that make this book a picturesque reading experience.”—Buried Under Romance
The passionate Westerns in Joan Johnston’s Bitter Creek series can be enjoyed together or separately, in any order:
TEXAS BRIDE • WYOMING BRIDE • MONTANA BRIDE • SINFUL • SHAMELESS • BLACKTHORNE’S BRIDE • SULLIVAN’S PROMISE
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Johnston's gloriously dramatic 12th Bitter Creek novel, the fourth installment in her Mail Order Bride subseries (after Montana Bride), whisks readers across the Atlantic. In the late 19th century, Englishman Marcus Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne, is visiting the western part of America when he comes across a young woman, Josie Wentworth, being whipped by a Sioux warrior. Blackthorne rescues her and takes her back to England, nursing her himself as they make the ocean crossing. Two years later, his young wife, Fanny, dies, and Blackthorne needs to remarry someone wealthy. Josie has been working as a maid in one of Blackthorne's homes, Tearlach Castle, where Blackthorne's nephews are housed; thoughtful Fanny had her installed there so that he would have someone to turn to when she died. After Josie learns that she has inherited a fortune, she agrees to become Blackthorne's new wife, hoping to learn why he abandoned his nephews to the horrible treatment they received at the castle. Johnston's page-turner is replete with romantic angst, sizzling sex, and the promise of an enduring love.
Críticas de clientes
A happy ending, no doubt.
I've received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5*
This book was a bit odd. Not because it was bad, on the contrary, but sometimes it created contradictory feelings.
Marcus Wharton, Duke of Blackthorne, always kept me guessing. Heroic enough to save a girl and almost lose his life doing it, but not enough to deliver her directly to a safe haven. I know he “hands” her over to his friend and almost brother-in-law, but still. If I had saved someone and made sure they survived taking care of them, I wouldn’t have them with someone else at the end. Even if there was a nuance to consider.
Same thing with the “abandonment” of his nephews. For someone who said that loved them, a small letter from a governess shouldn’t be enough. At least (more in my opinion, but let’s keep a low bar) a visit once a year, to be sure they were well fed and well taken care of and were learning what they needed to learn. I agreed with the female lead character – Marcus should have sent the boys to live with him, but I understand that at the beginning, it might have been a difficult decision – but not forever.
Josie is strong-minded and she is determined to get her revenge for being left in England and not sent back home to America, and made a maid in her supposed-to-be rescuer's country house. She also wants to avenge the two boys that the duke left almost abandoned at that same house. When the opportunity arises, Josie was a bit torn about going straight home or getting her revenge, for herself and the boys, which she planned to take with her to America. Choosing the second option, Josie tricks the duke, thinking him the horrible villain, but she then starts to realize that he is a broken man, who is still suffering, and he actually believes that the girl he saved is back home with her family and that his nephews are happier in the country where they can play, than with him in the city. Josie basically tells him that he should think for himself, that he should open his eyes and see that he deals with his matters himself, and not shove them to someone else, even if he trusts them – that’s how he got into this mess.
I realized right from the beginning how everything got mixed up, but I believe the point the author wanted to make was that there wasn’t a “real” villain, but just people who were flawed and did what they thought was right even though it was wrong.
In the end, it was a nice book, because Josie managed to entice me and made Marcus understand his mistakes and correct them. And, in the end, as is should be, all the family gets back together in America, for a visit with the characters from the previous books of the series (which I haven’t read). A happy ending, no doubt.