Honor's Bride

by Gayle Wilson

Without honor, there is nothing . . .

So Kit Montgomery, Lord St. John, had been taught since the cradle, yet his soul whispered there was something more. Something that made him long to look into the haunted depths of Judith Haviland's gaze and offer comfort, long before he had the right . . .
Though he had comforted Judith in the darkest hours of her husband's abuse, Lord St. John's kind regard had never once gone beyond the bounds of friendship. Even now, his offer of marriage was meant only to preserve her honor. Yet could she marry him to stop the rumors that only told the truth of what was in her heart?

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Harlequin, Marriage Of Convenience, Regency Romance

298 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Gayle Wilson is a two-time RITA® Award winner, taking home the RITA® Award for Best Romantic Suspense Novel in 2000 and for Best Romantic Novella in 2004. In addition to twice winning the prestigious RITA® Award, Gayle’s books have garnered more than 50 other awards and nominations, including most recently the Daphne du Maurier Award for the Best Single Title Romantic Suspense of 2008, awarded to Victim, her latest novel from MIRA.

Gayle holds a master’s degree in secondary education, with additional certification in the education of the gifted. Although her specialty was teaching honors and gifted students, as a former high school history and English teacher, she taught everything from remedial reading to Shakespeare—and loved every minute she spent in the classroom.

Gayle was on the board of directors of Romance Writers of America for four years. In 2006 she served as the president of RWA, the largest genre-writers’ organization in the world.

Gayle has written 41 novels and four novellas for Harlequin Enterprises, including works for Harlequin Historicals, Harlequin Intrigue, Special Releases, HQN Books, MIRA, and Mills & Boon.

Reviews

[HR-ML · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Warning: some domestic violence,
but not at the hands of the H.***

Regency, based in Portugal (war setting) & England. This
was a story about honor: who was brave or a coward? Who
told the truth or lied?

Thanks to trusted reviewer, Danker, for bringing this book
to the attn of fellow readers.

Christopher, "Kit" was an earl's younger son. He became
more responsible and mature by serving as a Major in
the Army. Judith 'followed the drum' for her spouse the
Captain who drank too much and beat her. This story
held my interest, as did the eventual love of Kit+ Judith.

Kit was wounded in war & his wound festered. The author
noted his delirious state with fever & another time she
described Kit as 'nearly delirious.' I have seen people in
real life, in a delirious state, because an infection spread.
The person tended to be anxious, agitated, and irrational
in thinking + speaking. If Kit experienced a true delirious
state, it was unlikely he would kiss and fondle the h,
unlikely he'd recall her the next day.

Kit out-shown every man in the story for honor, bravery
and truthfulness.

[🐝 Shaz 🐝 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story, set in Portugal in 1808.

[Natalija · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember the last time I was so invested in a plot-driven book. Romance takes a somewhat secondary role, but I didn't find it lacking whatsoever. The relationship between Judith and Kit was gentle and full of longing, and in my opinion, a stronger focus on the romance would have taken away from the story. Highly recommended!

Setting: London - Portugal
Year: 1808-1811

[LaBlue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing.

It’s a long tale of honor and duty. The yearning secret love of the two main characters as they try to survive war and society are so wonderfully expounded in this regency era romance.

The author had me again going through loops on what I thought would happen and what actually did happen. I hated that she saved the ultimate intimacy for the very last pages. I wanted the couple together a lot sooner then they were. I’m also super spoiled and I wished this author had given an epilogue or something for a longer HEA at the end. I hate the finality of the abrupt ending.

This author truly grabs you and makes you suffer with her characters. You sink into the tale and breathlessly wait for the love to triumph over all. I can’t get enough of this author even though these are very old books. I wish she was a modern writer popping out lots of books. But then, they probably wouldn’t be as good as these oldies emphatically are. I have a couple more I’ve purchased from this author that I simply can’t wait to read.

ENJOY!!

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an alright story. As it begins I was convinced I wouldn’t be able to get through it as it felt like more war/military forward but it got better. Also, from the synopsis, I saw something a little different for the storyline. It was definitely missing emotion for me. Like you couldn’t “feel” the attraction between the characters, it was just kinda monotone. The best part of the book to me was the last couple chapters (and not just because it was ending) and even then it could have used more emotion. The potential was there it was just missing the emotional connections.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some parts that I liked. And then there were some parts that were vastly frustrating. There was far too much of a preoccupation with honor, which I suppose I should have expected, considering the title. Give me an amoral rogue any day over someone who sabotages themself in the name of honor.

The main premise of the entire story was especially frustrating. Both the hero and heroine are in love with each other, but even after the heroine's husband dies, they just won't say anything to each other. They just wallow in the misery of being in love with each other, even when married (for convenience), and it just got annoying.

I was rather enjoying the story until about halfway through, when the hero, whose arm had been wounded and became infected, is saved by a Portuguese healer woman. But she's not just any healer. Oh, no. She's a magical exotic foreign healer with penicillin. In 1811. Okay, I suppose it's possible, and Wikipedia tells me that people did use mold to treat infections. However, the woman in the book seemed to have distilled it somehow, whereas my (very quick) internet research points to people using the actual mold. I would really have preferred if they'd just gone and amputated the hero's arm, rather than making up something mysterious. (This is the type of situation you need an author's note for.)

And the duel at the end! The hero was completely convinced he'd die, but with the pistols of the time, it really would have been a much smaller chance than he thought. No matter how good a shot a person was, pistols in 1811 were unreliable. Add to that the fact that the person shooting the pistol was an old man and likely out of practice, I'd say chances are good that even if the man had shot, he wouldn't have hit the hero, or only injured the hero slightly. Also, the way you stand when dueling tended to be with your side to your opponent, minimizing the places they could shoot to kill you.

So the book had its good points, and some rather emotional scenes, but mostly it just annoyed and frustrated me.

[Mary Lauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

so much angst! I would have given this one 4 stars if there was actually more than 1.5 paragraphs of a happy ending. I actually found hte paperback on my shelf and got it as an ebook just so I could re-read it on my Kindle. 8-)

[Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that makes honor look stupid. Enough said.

[Emy]

Actually read in 2 in 1 but logging separately for challenge count.