Almost a Bride

Starred review from February 28, 2005
In this boundary-pushing page-turner, bestseller Feather (The Bride Hunt
) forsakes the familiar terrain of the Regency era for an earlier decade, that of the French Terror. Englishman Jack Fortescu, the duke of St. Jules, lost his sister in the Terror. Determined to take vengeance on Frederick Lacey, the man who betrayed her to the securité
, Jack ruins him at cards, gaining his fortune after Lacey kills himself. With the estate, however, comes Lacey's 28-year-old half-sister Arabella, who's self-confident, blunt and wary of the intentions of the polished but arrogant duke. When he proposes a marriage of convenience, deciding that possessing his enemy's sister is his final revenge, Arabella's suspicions redouble. But she's without support in the world, and marriage would bring her into the London political circles she has always wished to join. While their marriage is more satisfying than either expects, the distrust on both sides and Jack's silence on his past create obstacles that only Arabella's emotional bravery can overcome. Rich with details that put the "historical" back into historical romance, this tale seethes with breathtaking tension even as it explores the aches and joys that a true emotional union brings.

March 15, 2005
Jack Fortescu, Duke of St. Jules, seeks to ruin Frederick Lacey; then, after Lacey's death, he goes to Lacey's country estate to inform his vanquished foe's half-sister, Arabella, of her brother's demise. He then proposes marriage, and is surprised by her unwillingness to accept his generous offer. But Arabella realizes immediately that Jack has ulterior motives, and she is not sure that she is willing to give up the little independence she has at the ripe age of 28. She knows that her brother was a coward, but she doesn't understand why the duke wants her after ruining Frederick, even as she realizes that a woman without a male relative has very few options. When Jack finally claims Arabella, his plans for revenge are complete, yet he finds that he is getting far more than he bargained for. Feather explores the dark side of the early Regency period and the French Revolution in this moving and complex romance, one of her best yet.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)