1586-ot írunk. Spencer Thorntonnak, a fiatal, léha nemes nem akarta feleségül venni a szülei által, számára kiszemelt fiatal lányt. Jegyese, Lady Roselyn Harrington szíve sem hozzá húz, így az esküvő napján faképnél hagyja vőlegényét. Wight szigetére, szülei távoli birtokára menekül és London társasági életének nyüzsgése helyett a falusi élet dolgos egyszerűségét választja. Két évvel később, amikor az Anglia legyőzésére induló spanyol Armada a sziget partjainál összecsap őfelsége flottájával, egy sebesült tengerészt sodor partra a tenger. Roselyn a házába viszi, hogy ápolja, és döbbenten ismeri fel a férfiban egykori jegyesét. Spencer és Armada legénységének öltözékét viseli. Hazaáruló, vagy a királynő kémje? Hihet-e a lány annak az embernek, akit a fővárosi arisztokrácia színe előtt megalázott? Ami azonban ennél is rosszabb: új, eddig ismeretlen érzések ébrednek benne a gyűlölt férfi iránt…
USA Today Bestselling author Gayle Callen writes historical romances for Avon Books. Her twenty-second novel, The Wrong Bride, was published in November 2015.
Gayle’s novels have won the Holt Medallion, the Laurel Wreath Award, the Booksellers’ Best Award, and finaled in the National Readers Choice Awards. She was a nominee for RT Book Reviews Magazine’s Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She also writes the contemporary romances as Emma Cane.
Gayle resides in central New York with her husband. Now that her three children are grown, she has time to read, sing, and delve too deeply into historical research. A past President of the Central New York Romance Writers, she is also a member of Romance Writers of America and Novelists Inc. Visit her website at http://www.gaylecallen.com
3.5 stars. Roselyn and Spencer. I liked this story. Heroine goes through a lot in this one. Betrothed. Jilts her betrothed at the alter. Marries another guy who turns out to be a jerk, her parents disown her, loses her first born daughter and her awful first husband to the black plague, etc. All of this stuff happens before the book is even half way through. Spencer makes no effort to get to know his betrothed, wants to get revenge due to her jilting him, happens to wash up on the shore where she finds him and helps him heal, has spy issues going on that he can not communicate with her. etc. Makes a weird decision to protect her by leaving her AFTER he has sex with her. In short, these two really had to work at their epic hea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I hv nothing against the author's writing style. It was pretty decent. But I hated the plot. I read the blurb and got Intrigued but within the first 20-30 pages of the book I realised this is not what i thought and expected. A reluctant fiance is one thing but being an earl's daughter and eloping with a stable groom is plain stupid and disgusting. Its not even like the heroine is in love with the groom she just likes the way he talks (wtf). The heroine is just stupid and deserved whatever she went through.....not all foolhardy girls like her gets a happy ending in real life.....i know its all fiction and all...but i dont want stupid selfish girls like her hving a happy ending.....what i hated most is even after 2 years after her "mistake" she was showing attitude to the hero...wtf. Its like she has selective intelligence, using her brain too much unnecessary just in case of our hero( spy and sudden patriotism)and otherwise turning her brain off in every other matter.
I found this a wonderful read. I couldn't put it down & completed it in one day. The story moved right along and there was no foul language or too explicit love scenes. The dialog was well done & realistic. I will definitely read the rest of Callen's trilogy.
O n the eve of her wedding, at a party to celebrate the joining of their families, Lady Roselyn Harrington laid eyes on her betrothed for the first time.......to sort out the problem she did something unpredictable........intresting solution leads to an intresting encounter with a spanish sailor...now what happens next is intruging and intresting!!!!
This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I got the book free. I almost didn’t finish because the book was slow and boring about daily routines. It was not very historical in parts because the heroine was independent. She hand fasted with a servant rather than marry the hero two years prior. She was disinherited by her parents and was subsequently a widow in this book. Obviously, the H/h had issues with each other when she found him washed up on the beach as a spy. The hero was a jerk at the beginning of their first and second meeting.
There were a few bad sentences which need to be corrected and a few misspelled words. The scene at the end was unbelievable. I did finish it so I gave it 3 stars.
I had misgivings when this started out so dismally... Another awful arranged marriage set up by conniving parents, a groom who was an utter arse, and then a disastrous decision leading to a worse union with bitterness for all.
As the story built and the couple gradually learned about each other, however, it felt more and more hopeful. Add in a generous helping of wartime intrigue, treachery, secrets, uncertainty, and a race to the queen to build suspense, but it was obviously headed to a happy ending (as these things invariably do).
Some nice complexity in what could have been just another forced marriage story.
I thought this was a good entertaining read. It was a bit frustrating in the beginning because of all the back and forth between the hero & heroine. She was stubborn and wouldn't give and he was just as stubborn & bull-headed as she was. So many times I wanted the two to just let go and let it all out. But there was too much pride between the two of them. I'm happy they finally came to their senses and found their happy ending. This is my first book from Gayle Callen. This was a goodread for me and I'll be picking up book 2 in this series. low 4 stubborn stars outta 5 for this read!!
I love Elizabeth's England. It was an age of treacherous politics and outrageous fortune. Pirates, armadas, exploration and formality what's not to love. The story is mainly a second chance romance in a small village. It removes all the elements of awesome drama and focuses on the boring parts. I wouldn't be so upset if the awesome drama of a spy ring being killed and an undercover agent living among Phillip's navy wasn't such a cool idea. He's badly wounded and she nurses him back to health.
His Betrothed by Gayle Callen was a Story with an Interesting Turn of Events!
Lady Roselyn Harrington, the "h", was a nice surprise, with a good, kind heart. Her demeanor made me like her right from the start.
Spencer Thornton, the "H", gave me pause at the beginning of the story, but as the plot unfolded, and his character evolved, I found myself liking him as well.
I am glad that they achieved their happy ever after, since they both deserved a good life.
3.5 Stars! This was a good time. I had to hold back a cringe/suspend disbelief a little bit, but overall I enjoyed the characters/plot. If you're looking for an easy romance/historical setting--this could be for you. The twist at the end was kinda annoying.....but I had a good enough time to let it be. I felt good tension between characters and I love forced proximity--probably my favorite romance trope.
Lady Roslyn's reasoning for rejecting Spencer was valid. However, her life did not play out the way she wanted it to. After finding Spencer washed up on shore she learned a lot about herself and what a relationship is. Fortunately her loyalty paid off and she was able to save Spencer and to find her happily ever after
Words can not describe how enticing this story is. The drama, suspense, and my but the utter disregard for social norms made it so thrilling. I loved the scene with the Queen, definitely dramatic.