The Bride Sale

November 15, 2001
Appalled to see a lovely Englishwoman about to be sold to the town's most repulsive bachelor at an illegal "wife sale," reclusive James Harkness, "Lord Heartless," impulsively bids for her himself and wins. But there is much more to Verity Osborne than he expects, and as she fights her own insecurities and struggles to maintain her dignity, she glimpses the tormented man behind Harkness's cold facade and sets out to save him with life-changing, ultimately romantic, results. Borrowing from both The Bartered Bride and Beauty and the Beast, Hern seamlessly interweaves diverse plot threads with a full complement of realistic, complex characters to form a poignant, compelling historical romance that is both true to the period and unusual in its detail. An old mystery adds interest, and the bleak and beautiful Cornish landscape lends a Gothic touch. Hern (Miss Lacey's Last Fling) is an established writer of well-received traditional Regency romances and lives in San Francisco. This is her first historical romance.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.