A Bride for Lord Wickton (Zebra Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: So-so book with toadish hero...
Review: I cannot recommend this book very highly, despite a spirited heroine and some decent secondary and minor characters. For one, the basic plot was far better done in Beverley's DEIDRE AND DON JUAN. For another, the hero's actions were thoroughly self-centered for most of the book. From my point of view, the realization that he comes to near the end (that the ends do not justify the means, and that true love means sacrifice) comes rather too late to redeem this particular hero. And unfortunately, his own backstory - including the gypsy blessing - was not sufficiently interesting to redeem this character and ultimately this story.

The hero has spent 5 years at war, without writing to his betrothed wife, an heiress (through her maternal grandfather a Cit). She was in love with him when he left for the battlefields, but she has since fallen out of love with him. Or so she says. At any rate, she refuses to marry him when he returns, prompting angry rebukes from her mother (a faded lady consumed with the desire to please those higher in rank) and her would-be mother-in-law (a thoroughly selfish, egoistic, and unpleasant woman). Isa's father does not appear in the book (unless I am mistaken), and he clearly married Isa's mother for her money and left for happier hunting grounds once a child was born (and presumably his income secured by the settlement). Isa's grandfather does appear in the book, and he sounds a rather interesting man.

Unfortunately, Isa's choice of preferred husband is much the same as Deirdre's preferred husband (in the book by Jo Beverley). Isa, like Deirdre, has mistaken scholarly ambition for decency, affection, and love. [Nothing wrong with being a scholar, but Isa's would-be husband Peter Effinton is clearly not going to be a family man]. Unfortunately, Isa does not realize this completely, even when Effinton shares his vision of the future with her.

I was a little puzzled by discontinuities here and there, notably a scene where Isa's mother suddenly becomes Louise. [Surely, mothers and daughters were not on first-name terms in the Regency].

The writing was not bad, but it did not sparkle. The plot was adequate but not inspired. The characters were average, with nothing in them (their backstories, their mannerisms, their friends, their hopes and dreams, their personalities) that particularly made them stand out from the usual hero or heroine. A rating of 2 stars may seem harsh for an average romance, but I have read so many better this year.

Rating = 2.7
Recommended only with reservations
Edited July 22, 2002 for grade

Rating:
Summary: A Clever Story
Review: This book moves along at a nice fast pace with some great dialogue between the characters. It also nicely developes the love story between Barth and Isa. Neither are perfect and both must compromise to earn a future together. I was really pulled into this book and found myself losing track of time. Always a sign of a good book.

Rating:
Summary: a very satisfying storyline
Review: This is the second installment of the 'A Rose For Three Rakes' trilogy, and while it is not quite so light hearted as the first installment, "A Bride For Lord Challmond", it nonetheless possesses a very soul satisfying storyline.

Barth Juston, Earl of Wickton, has decided that he cannot put off marrying Isa Lawford any longer. He is near penniless and his estates badly needs the influx of hard cash that Isa will bring to the marriage. So, nobly he curtails his pleasurable activities in London and leaves for Kent in order to claim his bride. However he suffers a great shock when Isa calmly informs him that she has no intention of marrying a selfish rake, and that she intends to marry someone else. Isa's father was a bit of a selfish rake who had married her mother for her mother's money, and Isa has no intention of having the same kind of marriage her mother had. Furthermore, Isa is more than a little hurt at Barth's casual dismissal of her feelings and affections all these years.

Not one to have his plans thwarted, Barth plans an aggressive campaign to rid himself of his rival and to win Isa's affections. Isa immediately sees what he is doing, and she cannot help but wonder if Barth is doing all this because he cannot bear to have his plans hindered or if perhaps he actually has warmer feelings for her than he is willing to admit.

Debbie Raleigh has done a wonderful job in her portrayal of Barth and Isa. At first is quite difficult to peg Barth: he has moments when he shows his warmer and more caring side; however for most of the book he shows only his more domineering and competitive side, so that the reader's sympathies are entirely with Isa, who fears ending up in a relationship where she will not be valued very highly, and one in which her feelings will be severly trampled by the more dominant Barth. This is a novel that delivers a message: the end does not justify the means. And when Barth comes to realise this and sees how selfishly he has behaved, never taking Isa's wishes into consideration, you just know that the happy ending awaiting the principal characters in the following chapter, makes sense.

"A Bride For Lord Wickton" lives up to the expectations raised in "A Bride For Lord Challmond". This is definitely a book to be enjoyed in a cosy chair with a cup of tea and a plate of madeleines!

Rating:
Summary: a very satisfying storyline
Review: This is the second installment of the 'A Rose For Three Rakes' trilogy, and while it is not quite so light hearted as the first installment, "A Bride For Lord Challmond", it nonetheless possesses a very soul satisfying storyline.

Barth Juston, Earl of Wickton, has decided that he cannot put off marrying Isa Lawford any longer. He is near penniless and his estates badly needs the influx of hard cash that Isa will bring to the marriage. So, nobly he curtails his pleasurable activities in London and leaves for Kent in order to claim his bride. However he suffers a great shock when Isa calmly informs him that she has no intention of marrying a selfish rake, and that she intends to marry someone else. Isa's father was a bit of a selfish rake who had married her mother for her mother's money, and Isa has no intention of having the same kind of marriage her mother had. Furthermore, Isa is more than a little hurt at Barth's casual dismissal of her feelings and affections all these years.

Not one to have his plans thwarted, Barth plans an aggressive campaign to rid himself of his rival and to win Isa's affections. Isa immediately sees what he is doing, and she cannot help but wonder if Barth is doing all this because he cannot bear to have his plans hindered or if perhaps he actually has warmer feelings for her than he is willing to admit.

Debbie Raleigh has done a wonderful job in her portrayal of Barth and Isa. At first is quite difficult to peg Barth: he has moments when he shows his warmer and more caring side; however for most of the book he shows only his more domineering and competitive side, so that the reader's sympathies are entirely with Isa, who fears ending up in a relationship where she will not be valued very highly, and one in which her feelings will be severly trampled by the more dominant Barth. This is a novel that delivers a message: the end does not justify the means. And when Barth comes to realise this and sees how selfishly he has behaved, never taking Isa's wishes into consideration, you just know that the happy ending awaiting the principal characters in the following chapter, makes sense.

"A Bride For Lord Wickton" lives up to the expectations raised in "A Bride For Lord Challmond". This is definitely a book to be enjoyed in a cosy chair with a cup of tea and a plate of madeleines!