The Veiled Bride

Rating:
Summary: Read it in one day--couldn't wait to see how it ended!
Review: I had read another book by this author, called Friday Dreaming, which I hadn't cared for, so I was a bit cautious about buying this book. I am glad I took the chance! I really liked this book. I do tend to like the "tortured hero" type, and Anton, Lord Raith, delivered! He was mysterious and sexy, and very tender underneath his hard shell. The heroine, Rosina, had a secret, and the story is about how this secret comes out and how it affects the marriage of the main characters. If I tell you the secret it won't be a secret, of course...so I will just say that the plot is driven by more than a "big misunderstanding." Neither of the main characters are perfect, nor are they always nice to each other as they are trying to work through making their marriage a real one, where there is give and take. Both of them learn how to love in an unconditional way. The book was a bit too short to develop their relationship the way I would have liked it--I think it would have been a bit better if it had been marketed in an expanded historical romance rather than in the Harlequin historical line, which is pretty short. Still, given the length constraints of the book, the reader still gets to go along for the ride as the hero and heroine explore their feelings for each other. Lord Raith has a sad past, and while Rosina's love doesn't "cure him" magically of his hang-ups, he does learn to feel loved and to not take himself so seriously. For those who want to know about the "heat" rating in this book, it is only mildly graphic, and is more about sexual tension than the act itself, so it wouldn't really appeal to those who like multiple, "hot" love scenes in a book. It would appeal to those who like to watch good character development. The reader gets to take a peek into the hearts and brains of each of the main characters in turn. The secondary character of the solicitor, Mr. Otterly, deserves a mention because he is interesting and plays an important role in getting the couple together, and later, back together. I highly recommend this book and it is going on my keeper shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Quite possibly the worst book I have EVER read
Review: Rosina Charlton wondered what kind of man had to advertise for a wife, but she was desperate and she was now wedded to a stranger. It wasn't until she met Anton, Lord Wraith, at the altar that she saw why - his face was marred by a hideous scar (and his temper is hideous, too, as we soon learn). Still, Rosina is determined to make this marriage work.

Okay, sounded good at first to me. I love regency romances and I have a thing for wounded men. Lord Wraith, however, was a totally unlikable character. He really should have been named Lord Wrath, for he was constantly lashing out at Rosina, saying some very hurtful things. He had his tender moments, but those are hard to appreciate when he's constantly switching back and forth from devoted husband, to casual indifference, to downright cruelty. His temper turned on a whim, and poor Rosina never knew when he'd strike out at her.

There was also an overtone of violence that I absolutely did NOT appreciate. A few times, Anton mentioned that he should beat Rosina. Another time, he grabbed her wrist so hard that he injured her and bruised her wrist. And worst of all, when he was particularly angry at her, he wrapped his hands around Rosina's throat and told her how easy it would be for him to choke the life out of her. Tender hero? I think not! And his behavior did not improve as the book went on!

The blurb on the back of the book was also quite misleading. Sure, Anton's scars and insecurities played a big role in the book (especially the first third), but that wasn't the main plot in the book. Much of the book was devoted towards Anton desperately trying to figure out if Rosina was truly a virgin or not. Nevermind that he talked to her about his going ons with prostitutes (at the dinner table, no less!), if Rosina was anything less than a virgin, he didn't want her (even if she had been raped). Upon deducing from her actions that she had suffered some sort of sexual trauma in her past, he was less concerned with Rosina's feelings and more concerned about finding out what had happened and who had done it. In the process of trying to find out what had happened to Rosina, he called her vile names, insulted her terribly, and spied behind her back. Ick. If he couldn't be Rosina's first, he was determined to destroy her...and he nearly did. And it didn't matter what Rosina said to him, because he wouldn't believe her anyway. Instead, he thought to get the truth from the men he thought had abused her? Yeah, sounds like a plan to me.

Usually, I am always rooting for the heroine to get with the hero, but in this book I was sincerely hoping Rosina would not end up with Anton in the end. He was a cruel, abusive man, and this "romance" was nothing more than a glorification of an abusive relationship. You had Anton, an abuse victim who grew up to be an abuser, and Rosina, who had been abused and so love-starved that she grew to love her abuser. That is definitely not what I want to read in a romance novel. This book was painful to read, and I kept hoping it would get better - sad to say, it kept getting worse as time wore on.