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The Dunsworthy Bride Trilogy #1
The Perfect Bride
A Plan Gone Perfectly Awry...
A duel has left Lucian, fourth Earl of Wandersee, with a wounded arm and a sudden distaste for London society. Traveling in secret to the country, he is laid low by a raging fever--and he finds himself recuperating in a country cottage in the care of Bianca Dunsworthy, the loveliest and most outspoken young woman he has ever met. He sees at once that she is trying to pair him with her shy sister, Rosie--and delights in turning the tables.
Bianca will have none of it. As for the shivers that ripple through her whenever Lucian touches her hand...perhaps his fever is catching. Bianca has no time for romance until she fulfills a secret promise in honor of her brother. But she has never reckoned on Lucian's singular determination...or on the passion of her own heart.
A duel has left Lucian, fourth Earl of Wandersee, with a wounded arm and a sudden distaste for London society. Traveling in secret to the country, he is laid low by a raging fever--and he finds himself recuperating in a country cottage in the care of Bianca Dunsworthy, the loveliest and most outspoken young woman he has ever met. He sees at once that she is trying to pair him with her shy sister, Rosie--and delights in turning the tables.
Bianca will have none of it. As for the shivers that ripple through her whenever Lucian touches her hand...perhaps his fever is catching. Bianca has no time for romance until she fulfills a secret promise in honor of her brother. But she has never reckoned on Lucian's singular determination...or on the passion of her own heart.
- GenresHistorical Romance
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Jo Ann Ferguson
84 books33 followersPlease note, this author also writes under the name J.A. Ferguson, Jocelyn Kelley and Rebecca North.
"One of my favorite memories is lying on the grass on a knoll on a late summer day and telling my sister stories I was making up," says Jo Ann Ferguson, who also writes as J.A. Ferguson, Joanna Hampton, Jo Ann Brown, and Rebecca North."There's something magical about being able to spend time with people you enjoy in your imagination. As a writer, I get to go with my characters to their time and place so I can share their adventures and falling in love for the first time…all over again."
She has had a few adventures of her own, including a stint as an Army quartermaster officer where she was the first and only woman in her unit. She still enjoys traveling to the locations of her books and learning all about those places and people. Researching her novels is part of the fun. Whether it's ghosts, calling cards, how to fire an antique gun, or traveling to a world that exists only in her imagination, she pays a great deal of attention to the details that delight her reader. She's even learned a bit of Russian, Arabic, Welsh, and a lot of Regency slang.
Her work has been honored with award nominations from Pearl, ROMY, Romantic Times, Rom/Con, and Affaire de Coeur magazine. Amazon Books chose her novels to showcase. And Romance Writers of America bestowed the two ARTemis Awards for Jo Ann's Zebra Regencies: The Counterfeit Count and A Christmas Bride.
Nonfiction also appeals to her, because it's where she got her start, seeing her first byline when she was twelve years old. She contributed to an encyclopedia of the English Regency period published by Garland Press. For all three editions of the New England Chapter's Now That You've Sold Your Book…What Next?, she has served as co-editor.
Believing in giving back, Jo Ann has served Romance Writers of America on both the local and national levels. She has served on the national board as president as well as a director and at term as vice president. For her volunteer work, she was given RWA's highest honor, the Emma Merritt National Service Award. She is also a creative writing instructor. She was awarded a Massachusetts Art Grant to teach creative writing and then established several creative writing courses at Brown University. Many of her students have gone on to publishing careers of their own.
She lives in Massachusetts, where her favorite hero—her husband, Bill—and their children and two cats. She's not sure which is the most spoiled.
"One of my favorite memories is lying on the grass on a knoll on a late summer day and telling my sister stories I was making up," says Jo Ann Ferguson, who also writes as J.A. Ferguson, Joanna Hampton, Jo Ann Brown, and Rebecca North."There's something magical about being able to spend time with people you enjoy in your imagination. As a writer, I get to go with my characters to their time and place so I can share their adventures and falling in love for the first time…all over again."
She has had a few adventures of her own, including a stint as an Army quartermaster officer where she was the first and only woman in her unit. She still enjoys traveling to the locations of her books and learning all about those places and people. Researching her novels is part of the fun. Whether it's ghosts, calling cards, how to fire an antique gun, or traveling to a world that exists only in her imagination, she pays a great deal of attention to the details that delight her reader. She's even learned a bit of Russian, Arabic, Welsh, and a lot of Regency slang.
Her work has been honored with award nominations from Pearl, ROMY, Romantic Times, Rom/Con, and Affaire de Coeur magazine. Amazon Books chose her novels to showcase. And Romance Writers of America bestowed the two ARTemis Awards for Jo Ann's Zebra Regencies: The Counterfeit Count and A Christmas Bride.
Nonfiction also appeals to her, because it's where she got her start, seeing her first byline when she was twelve years old. She contributed to an encyclopedia of the English Regency period published by Garland Press. For all three editions of the New England Chapter's Now That You've Sold Your Book…What Next?, she has served as co-editor.
Believing in giving back, Jo Ann has served Romance Writers of America on both the local and national levels. She has served on the national board as president as well as a director and at term as vice president. For her volunteer work, she was given RWA's highest honor, the Emma Merritt National Service Award. She is also a creative writing instructor. She was awarded a Massachusetts Art Grant to teach creative writing and then established several creative writing courses at Brown University. Many of her students have gone on to publishing careers of their own.
She lives in Massachusetts, where her favorite hero—her husband, Bill—and their children and two cats. She's not sure which is the most spoiled.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 6, 2012
Despite the three star rating, I did end up enjoying this book. The book moves along nicely and I liked the characters Bianca and Lucien. I thought it was funny that Lucien caught on to Bianca trying to match him with her sister, Rose, and decided to get back at her by setting her up with one of his friends. Along the way they both start to get feelings for each other and their plans don’t quite go as they planned. While I thought they had good chemistry and I liked the plot, at times the conversation did a feel a little choppy.
Mild SPOILERS
The reason for the three stars is for the subplot going on where Bianca has an extreme grudge against Napoleon Bonaparte and has made it a personal goal to confront him and tell him all the suffering he has caused. First, it would have been a little more believable if her grudge was against someone a little less high-profile. Second, it’s very convenient that Bonaparte ends up in dock just where she happens to be. I was disappointed that she finally gets to face him and NOTHING happens. She doesn’t say anything to him. After all that time dreaming about confronting him would she really just give up that close to the end? Third, Bonaparte would not care what she had to say and it would have made no difference to him. If he cared at all about other people he never would have started so many wars. I think the whole Bonaparte angle should have been left out, or at least developed a little more.
Content: Clean romance.
Mild SPOILERS
The reason for the three stars is for the subplot going on where Bianca has an extreme grudge against Napoleon Bonaparte and has made it a personal goal to confront him and tell him all the suffering he has caused. First, it would have been a little more believable if her grudge was against someone a little less high-profile. Second, it’s very convenient that Bonaparte ends up in dock just where she happens to be. I was disappointed that she finally gets to face him and NOTHING happens. She doesn’t say anything to him. After all that time dreaming about confronting him would she really just give up that close to the end? Third, Bonaparte would not care what she had to say and it would have made no difference to him. If he cared at all about other people he never would have started so many wars. I think the whole Bonaparte angle should have been left out, or at least developed a little more.
Content: Clean romance.
Displaying 1 of 1 review