The Bridegroom

Rating:
Summary: A Thrilling, Sensual, Exciting Book!
Review: "The Bridegroom" hooked me from the first page and never let me down. I stayed up all night reading it and was sorry to see it end. The twins, especially Reggie, who delighted us in the earlier Captive Heart books, take the reader on a whirlwind ride. Ms. Johnston has provided the reader with a sensual, thrilling, exciting read to conclude the Captive Heart series. Its no wonder "The Bridegroom" has been on the bestseller lists since its debut. Ms. Johnston's books keep getting better and better. She never lets her readers down.

Rating:
Summary: From the perspective of a critical reader
Review: - this book fell into the "I wish I had not bought this" category. It is not particularly badly written, but I found the hero's actions to be less than romantic and the whole scenario somewhat unbelievable. Furthermore, although the story is set in Regency-era London and then in Scotland, there was very little detail provided to make me feel that I was really in the period. Yes, there was a derelict castle, there were the usual retainers. But the story could have been set in Scotland in any year, in any century, apart from the occasional reference to transportation . There were no references to what was happening elsewhere in politics, society or even in Scotland itself. I find this kind of a narrative, torn from history, rather hard to take. Where was the history in this historical romance?

I *am* picky about such things, and this review is for people who care about the use of history as more than wallpaper or a generic label. If you are a Joan Johnston fan (or the author herself), ignore this review. If you don't particularly care that the historical setting be somewhat close to real history, again, this review is not for you.

This book is related to AFTER THE KISS, although I suspect I am missing a book in between. Very briefly put, between AFTER THE KISS and this book THE BRIDEGROOM, the daughters - of a British duke have grown up. One of them, Rebecca, is unhappily married, and comes to love a man whom she cannot marry since he is so low in rank. [Her story and his forms the backdrop to the major story, that of her sister and a man out for revenge].

The hero Clay is a peer who has been disgraced by her father's actions (however well-intentioned). Since he lost his family, his title, his estates, and then his freedom, he bears a grudge against her entire family. Althouh the heroine, Regina (Lady Regina Blackthorne) knows this, she forms a friendship with him, believing his grudge to be a matter of the past. He has her kidnapped, thrown into a brothel from where he pretends to rescue her. He then persuades her to marry him, before springing the series of revelations - he hates her and her family, he wants to be revenged on her father, and so forth. He keeps his promises by preventing Regina from meeting her father, and vice versa. There is some mystery generated by the fact the hero has been wrongly accused, of course, and that the real villain is at large and in an unexpected position to strike again. There is however no reason given for the villain to want to hurt the hero in particular.

Part of my problems with this book was that I could not believe in the whole revenge scenario. I could believe that the hero would want to be revenged for his sufferings, and that he could present himself falsely to a gullible female. But could the heroine have been that gullible - to believe in the good faith of someone with cause for grievance, and to do some other stupid things? While a convicted felon lost his estates, removing a title even from a convicted peer was not easy. There is a complicated process of attainder. Furthermore, Rebecca's marriage could not be annulled so easily, and certainly not on the whim of her husband alone. All this rather detracted from the story. I won't even go into the problems with Mick's real identity.

I had problems with the characterization as well. Clay's desire to seek "compensation" for the loss of his title and estates (for several years) as well as the hardship he suffered is understandable. But he seemed too much like a stock character, the wronged hero out for revenge [think Edmond Dantes of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO]. He shows very little growth in the course of the story, although he recognizes - before the real villain is unmasked - that it is wrong to keep Regina and her father apart. Regina is amazingly quick to forgive Clay for putting her in danger and for tricking her into marriage, not to mention keeping her from her family.

On the other hand, Rebecca and Mick were well-drawn, and I wished the book had been about them, even though Mick's good fortune is almost unbelievable.

The minor characters tended to fade quickly and made little impression on me or even on the hero or heroine (since Regina forgot about the orphans so quickly, for example).

If you like a good tightly constructed plot, with a real sense of living in the Regency period, I really cannot recommend this book. If you want your Regency lite, this book might satisfy, but again it might not, depending on how credible you find the romance between Clay and Regina.

Rating:
Summary: From the perspective of a critical reader
Review: - this book fell into the "I wish I had not bought this" category. It is not particularly badly written, but I found the hero's actions to be less than romantic and the whole scenario somewhat unbelievable. Furthermore, although the story is set in Regency-era London and then in Scotland, there was very little detail provided to make me feel that I was really in the period. Yes, there was a derelict castle, there were the usual retainers. But the story could have been set in Scotland in any year, in any century, apart from the occasional reference to transportation . There were no references to what was happening elsewhere in politics, society or even in Scotland itself. I find this kind of a narrative, torn from history, rather hard to take. Where was the history in this historical romance?

I *am* picky about such things, and this review is for people who care about the use of history as more than wallpaper or a generic label. If you are a Joan Johnston fan (or the author herself), ignore this review. If you don't particularly care that the historical setting be somewhat close to real history, again, this review is not for you.

This book is related to AFTER THE KISS, although I suspect I am missing a book in between. Very briefly put, between AFTER THE KISS and this book THE BRIDEGROOM, the daughters - of a British duke have grown up. One of them, Rebecca, is unhappily married, and comes to love a man whom she cannot marry since he is so low in rank. [Her story and his forms the backdrop to the major story, that of her sister and a man out for revenge].

The hero Clay is a peer who has been disgraced by her father's actions (however well-intentioned). Since he lost his family, his title, his estates, and then his freedom, he bears a grudge against her entire family. Althouh the heroine, Regina (Lady Regina Blackthorne) knows this, she forms a friendship with him, believing his grudge to be a matter of the past. He has her kidnapped, thrown into a brothel from where he pretends to rescue her. He then persuades her to marry him, before springing the series of revelations - he hates her and her family, he wants to be revenged on her father, and so forth. He keeps his promises by preventing Regina from meeting her father, and vice versa. There is some mystery generated by the fact the hero has been wrongly accused, of course, and that the real villain is at large and in an unexpected position to strike again. There is however no reason given for the villain to want to hurt the hero in particular.

Part of my problems with this book was that I could not believe in the whole revenge scenario. I could believe that the hero would want to be revenged for his sufferings, and that he could present himself falsely to a gullible female. But could the heroine have been that gullible - to believe in the good faith of someone with cause for grievance, and to do some other stupid things? While a convicted felon lost his estates, removing a title even from a convicted peer was not easy. There is a complicated process of attainder. Furthermore, Rebecca's marriage could not be annulled so easily, and certainly not on the whim of her husband alone. All this rather detracted from the story. I won't even go into the problems with Mick's real identity.

I had problems with the characterization as well. Clay's desire to seek "compensation" for the loss of his title and estates (for several years) as well as the hardship he suffered is understandable. But he seemed too much like a stock character, the wronged hero out for revenge [think Edmond Dantes of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO]. He shows very little growth in the course of the story, although he recognizes - before the real villain is unmasked - that it is wrong to keep Regina and her father apart. Regina is amazingly quick to forgive Clay for putting her in danger and for tricking her into marriage, not to mention keeping her from her family.

On the other hand, Rebecca and Mick were well-drawn, and I wished the book had been about them, even though Mick's good fortune is almost unbelievable.

The minor characters tended to fade quickly and made little impression on me or even on the hero or heroine (since Regina forgot about the orphans so quickly, for example).

If you like a good tightly constructed plot, with a real sense of living in the Regency period, I really cannot recommend this book. If you want your Regency lite, this book might satisfy, but again it might not, depending on how credible you find the romance between Clay and Regina.

Rating:
Summary: A fitting finale to a wonderful mini-series
Review: After over thirty-five romances, many of which were best sellers, one would think that Joan Johnston has written about everything and could only be trite and stale. However, the incomparable grandmaster of historical romance shows she is quite refreshing as she provides her audience with a majestic tale of love's struggle to surmount a quest for revenge engraved inside the hero's soul. The story line is a fast-paced, yet seductive love story that makes for a wonderful climax to the captivating "Captive Hearts" series (see CAPTIVE, AFTER THE KISS, and THE BODYGUARD). Ms. Johnston should be right back where her readers always seem to place her, at the top of all the best selling lists.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Charm and authenticity
Review: By Dolores Monaco, Pensacola Florida

For years I searched for a modern Regency romance with the charm and authentic period detail of the original Georgette Heyer novels. I found all that and more in Joan Johnston's "The Bridegroom":

-- A strong but wounded hero transformed by an equally strong and lovable heroine

-- A story with heart as big and complex as love itself

-- A subplot and secondary characters that mesh with the main storyline and enhance it

-- Minor characters who delight, touch and amuse; whose interaction with the principle characters develops them and the plot

-- Realistic conflict grounded in human nature and the social order of the period

BRAVO, MISS JOHNSTON: Come back from the Wild West and give us more of your topnotch Regencies!

Rating:
Summary: Last in the Captive Heart Series
Review: I did enjoy this story. Regina was a wonderful character full of spunk! I knew she would be able to break down the wall around Clay's heart. Revenge is never worth the pain it can cause and she made him realize that their love was more important than revenge on her father. This was a great series. For those of you who have not yet read it, I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: It was Great!
Review: I loved this book from the start. I never wanted to put it down. The characters were inspiring and full of life. I was happy to see that I could not predict the ending as easily as you can most romance novels.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I normally would not write a review, but I felt I just had to let other readers know this is a great book.

If you enjoy Regency Historicals you can't help but love this book.

Rating:
Summary: WoW this book is a must read...
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think i'm going to read it again it was different and funny and had an intresting plot that will keep you wondering what will happen next...my advice is that every fan of romance books shouldn't miss this one...;)

Rating:
Summary: The last in the captive heart trilogy and worth waiting for.
Review: I waited anxiously to get this book since the other 2 were so good. But this story certainly went a different route than I expected. Nevertheless, it was very enjoyable and it wrapped the series up.