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The Last Bride
Searching for the lover who haunts her dreams, Claire Peltier journeys to France where she is transported back in time to the Middle Ages and into the arms of the man she has been searching for, forcing her to make a difficult decision--to return to the future, or to fulfill her destiny in the past. Original.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 2, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 21, 2025
Tormented by visions of a man she's never meant but to whom she's measured all men against, the heroine is desperately searching for answers to her past. The reason why she dreams of this man, why she's haunted by a ghost of a pretty woman. When the ghost finally deems is necessary to give her clue about where to start her search, the heroine jumps on a plane to France. There, in the maze of an ancient church she finds a man who is in search of his future.
The hero needs a wife. But past mistakes and the haunting of his previous lover has made him an outcast from any available woman. No one will have him and without a wife he can not sire an heir needed to succeed him. He's fought too long and too hard for his ancestral home to be taken so he's come to the church to pray for an answer. There, he meets the most enchanting creature he's ever beheld. A woman who speaks oddly but who seems just as mystified by him as he is by her. She is without the mannerisms of a high born lady and is brash and quite honestly a bit unstable. She has the habit of at one time accepting his help then the next cringing from him like he's a beast.
Regardless, she is his last hope for a future and though she refuses his offer of marriage, he hopes with time, he can persuade her otherwise. Sher doesn't understand how it happened, but she's smart enough to realize she's somehow found herself 700 years into the past. And the man standing before her is the man from her dreams, or so she comes to realize, her previous lover from another life. She needs answers and she needs the hero to get them. The problem is, she can't seem to keep her heart guarded and the sweet disposition of this man paired with his tortured soul makes it hard for her to remain emotionally distant. She offers to help him put an end to his haunting in return for safe passage and his blessing when she decides to leave. Back at the keep, pretending to be betrothed, the heroine immerses herself in medieval life. She gradually begins to see the true injustice the hero is faced with as he's looked upon with either scorn or fear. She herself begins to realize just how unfair she's been to him in their short aquantance. She judged him harshly but only because the idea of his love for another woman was too hard for her to bare. She torments herself with the knowledge that while she loves this man, she can never have him. Her future belongs in a time beyond his understanding. The hero started out in need of a wife, but now he realizes that just no woman will do. He loves the heroine, despite her secrets and despite her refusal to his proposal. The hunt for the ghost takes them in a dark and mysterious journey but the fight for their love will be hardest of all to concur.
This heroine started off unlikeable. I found her to be judgmental, ignorant and arrogant. She had this air about her that spoke to her believe that she knew it all and those who she felt were wrong was condemned. Case in point, the hero. She used him. She knew she needed answers to her past and even though he was the man of her dreams - literally and figuratively- she treated him very ill indeed. She cast judgement on him for his past relationships with his lover and his wife and thought to lecture him on his actions without knowing the entire truth. However, the redeemable quality to his heroine was her ability to see these faults in herself and aim to change them. She saw the error in her ways and admitted to being harsh and unfair. She grew for me as a person and I liked her far better at the end.
The hero was always a kind soul who lived with his past mistakes like a boulder on her shoulders. Though no real fault of his own as he was only doing his duty by marrying the woman chosen to be his bride, he caused the death of 2 innocent women. Now, he's looked down upon and openly mocked for his problems. He was super sweet though and honestly, if this man asked me to marry him I might actually consider. He was loyal to the heroine through out the book and his desperation for a wife soon turned into his desperation for HER alone. The plot was nice, the ending, while not exactly a twist, was unexpected and I admired the sacrifice the hero made for his love knowing her life belonged 700 years into the future. This was a nice book and very enjoyable.
The hero needs a wife. But past mistakes and the haunting of his previous lover has made him an outcast from any available woman. No one will have him and without a wife he can not sire an heir needed to succeed him. He's fought too long and too hard for his ancestral home to be taken so he's come to the church to pray for an answer. There, he meets the most enchanting creature he's ever beheld. A woman who speaks oddly but who seems just as mystified by him as he is by her. She is without the mannerisms of a high born lady and is brash and quite honestly a bit unstable. She has the habit of at one time accepting his help then the next cringing from him like he's a beast.
Regardless, she is his last hope for a future and though she refuses his offer of marriage, he hopes with time, he can persuade her otherwise. Sher doesn't understand how it happened, but she's smart enough to realize she's somehow found herself 700 years into the past. And the man standing before her is the man from her dreams, or so she comes to realize, her previous lover from another life. She needs answers and she needs the hero to get them. The problem is, she can't seem to keep her heart guarded and the sweet disposition of this man paired with his tortured soul makes it hard for her to remain emotionally distant. She offers to help him put an end to his haunting in return for safe passage and his blessing when she decides to leave. Back at the keep, pretending to be betrothed, the heroine immerses herself in medieval life. She gradually begins to see the true injustice the hero is faced with as he's looked upon with either scorn or fear. She herself begins to realize just how unfair she's been to him in their short aquantance. She judged him harshly but only because the idea of his love for another woman was too hard for her to bare. She torments herself with the knowledge that while she loves this man, she can never have him. Her future belongs in a time beyond his understanding. The hero started out in need of a wife, but now he realizes that just no woman will do. He loves the heroine, despite her secrets and despite her refusal to his proposal. The hunt for the ghost takes them in a dark and mysterious journey but the fight for their love will be hardest of all to concur.
This heroine started off unlikeable. I found her to be judgmental, ignorant and arrogant. She had this air about her that spoke to her believe that she knew it all and those who she felt were wrong was condemned. Case in point, the hero. She used him. She knew she needed answers to her past and even though he was the man of her dreams - literally and figuratively- she treated him very ill indeed. She cast judgement on him for his past relationships with his lover and his wife and thought to lecture him on his actions without knowing the entire truth. However, the redeemable quality to his heroine was her ability to see these faults in herself and aim to change them. She saw the error in her ways and admitted to being harsh and unfair. She grew for me as a person and I liked her far better at the end.
The hero was always a kind soul who lived with his past mistakes like a boulder on her shoulders. Though no real fault of his own as he was only doing his duty by marrying the woman chosen to be his bride, he caused the death of 2 innocent women. Now, he's looked down upon and openly mocked for his problems. He was super sweet though and honestly, if this man asked me to marry him I might actually consider. He was loyal to the heroine through out the book and his desperation for a wife soon turned into his desperation for HER alone. The plot was nice, the ending, while not exactly a twist, was unexpected and I admired the sacrifice the hero made for his love knowing her life belonged 700 years into the future. This was a nice book and very enjoyable.
June 16, 2022
Time travel romance with a modern day heroine and medieval hero? Well I jumped right for it! However I got trapped in vengeful mistresses (one of my least favourite plot points) and weird reincarnation.
Our heroine has been having dreams of a man, a stranger- and it is driving her crazy. One day she recognises in a travel magazine a place where she saw the man in her dreams and decides to fly halfway across the word to Paris to visit an old church. However she somehow ends up in medieval France with this man she knows but doesn’t.
I like time travel romance but only if it’s done right. Unfortunately there was too much going on in the plot, but also not at the same time if that makes sense?
Our heroine has been having dreams of a man, a stranger- and it is driving her crazy. One day she recognises in a travel magazine a place where she saw the man in her dreams and decides to fly halfway across the word to Paris to visit an old church. However she somehow ends up in medieval France with this man she knows but doesn’t.
I like time travel romance but only if it’s done right. Unfortunately there was too much going on in the plot, but also not at the same time if that makes sense?
July 31, 2011
I’ve been into time travels again after reading and reviewing two last month. In keeping with my monthly pull an old book out of a drawer to help the TBR pile dwindle some, I finally decided to read this book instead of passing it over like I’ve done for a while now. While the time travel and other paranormal elements of it are good, as is the medieval hero, it’s the heroine who gave me problems this time around.
Claire has had dreams of the same handsome man for years. In fact, he’s pretty much ruined any other man for her and she’s just broken her engagement because she can’t love her ex-fiance like she should. She’s also experienced the appearance of a ghost over the years, so she’s one who’s open-minded about things that can’t be explained. So when her ghost gives her clues to head to France, hoping she might find the answers she’s been searching for, she doesn’t hesitate. When she finds herself standing on the familiar floor of an ancient labyrinth, she’s thrown back into the time of the man who has haunted her day and night.
Needing to find a bride to secure his family line, Aiden Delacroix has to search far and wide because a mixture of his past and a ghostly curse cause people to give him a wide berth. His home no longer enjoys the laughter of children nor the closeness of family, and a family is what he wants and needs. Knowing he will not find his bride among the women in his region, he heads to Chartres Cathedral to pray to the Virgin for help. And, heaven help him, his prayers are answered in the form of the most beautiful and the strangest woman he’s ever seen. Her uniqueness won’t deter him, however, as he hopes his past and his current life won’t cause her to see him as everyone else does.
I enjoyed Aiden quite a bit. He’s a lonely man because of a superstitious society, but he takes his duty seriously while still hunting for a mate. Claire is the one who really irritated me. Suddenly when she’s in the past, Aiden isn’t the man of her dreams any longer. She doubts him at every turn, is in a hurry to fix Aiden’s problem so she can return home and hopefully live a dream-free and question-free life. I was surprised the author took this path with Claire. She’d always turned down men because of Aiden, but when she’s face to face with him, the man can do nothing right for her. Even when she realizes she’s falling for him, her doubts are still front and center, and even if she talks herself into believing him about one thing, she finds something else to take its place. It just didn’t ring true after we were led to believe Aiden’s the man she’s been dreaming of and longing for.
I was also disappointed in the “ghost” part of the story. In fact, what we end up with in the end just didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Reincarnation also plays a big role in the book, which was quite interesting the way it was done, Aiden’s touch bringing on Claire’s visions. There are a couple of things left wide open with no resolution, the worst being the fate of Claire’s brother back in modern times. Again, it just didn’t make sense in the way the author chose to handle it.
An okay read, but nothing spectacular, especially compared to the time travel authors of today.
See my complete review at http://www.goodbadandunread.com
Claire has had dreams of the same handsome man for years. In fact, he’s pretty much ruined any other man for her and she’s just broken her engagement because she can’t love her ex-fiance like she should. She’s also experienced the appearance of a ghost over the years, so she’s one who’s open-minded about things that can’t be explained. So when her ghost gives her clues to head to France, hoping she might find the answers she’s been searching for, she doesn’t hesitate. When she finds herself standing on the familiar floor of an ancient labyrinth, she’s thrown back into the time of the man who has haunted her day and night.
Needing to find a bride to secure his family line, Aiden Delacroix has to search far and wide because a mixture of his past and a ghostly curse cause people to give him a wide berth. His home no longer enjoys the laughter of children nor the closeness of family, and a family is what he wants and needs. Knowing he will not find his bride among the women in his region, he heads to Chartres Cathedral to pray to the Virgin for help. And, heaven help him, his prayers are answered in the form of the most beautiful and the strangest woman he’s ever seen. Her uniqueness won’t deter him, however, as he hopes his past and his current life won’t cause her to see him as everyone else does.
I enjoyed Aiden quite a bit. He’s a lonely man because of a superstitious society, but he takes his duty seriously while still hunting for a mate. Claire is the one who really irritated me. Suddenly when she’s in the past, Aiden isn’t the man of her dreams any longer. She doubts him at every turn, is in a hurry to fix Aiden’s problem so she can return home and hopefully live a dream-free and question-free life. I was surprised the author took this path with Claire. She’d always turned down men because of Aiden, but when she’s face to face with him, the man can do nothing right for her. Even when she realizes she’s falling for him, her doubts are still front and center, and even if she talks herself into believing him about one thing, she finds something else to take its place. It just didn’t ring true after we were led to believe Aiden’s the man she’s been dreaming of and longing for.
I was also disappointed in the “ghost” part of the story. In fact, what we end up with in the end just didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Reincarnation also plays a big role in the book, which was quite interesting the way it was done, Aiden’s touch bringing on Claire’s visions. There are a couple of things left wide open with no resolution, the worst being the fate of Claire’s brother back in modern times. Again, it just didn’t make sense in the way the author chose to handle it.
An okay read, but nothing spectacular, especially compared to the time travel authors of today.
See my complete review at http://www.goodbadandunread.com
March 29, 2018
Just an imaginative world of unexpected twists. Such a lovely story.
May 13, 2008
Eh. I wasn't really into this book. It was alright, but the time travel aspect was mediocre, the ghost story wasn't very believable and still, after finishing the book, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It felt like a hastily written book that wasn't well thought through.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews