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Rebellious Bride
Determined to live without romance, sheriff's daughter Lillian is shocked to wake up one morning in the bed of Rolfe, the town's most eligible bachelor
330 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
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172 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 12, 2026
When the town crier of Little, Dakota Territory, ran through the streets announcing, “The lord is coming! The lord is coming!” I thought I had inadvertently wandered into a religious tract, but no. The lord in question was the younger brother of an English peer, a handsome widower, who had decided to escape his grief by relocating to America and building a profitable ranch. When he alighted from his gleaming coach onto the dirt streets of Little, dressed in gentlemanly finery and carrying a silver-tipped cane, women swooned.
Except Lil Prescott, who took one look and pronounced him a dandified milksop who would expect everything done for him. Why, he probably couldn’t even ride a horse, she snorted. Handsome or not, she wasn’t interested. She dreamed of a manly man, if she thought of one at all.
Lil’s strawberry blonde hair, tiny waist, and gorgeous face certainly got Lord Sherborn’s attention, but her lack of gentle, refined modesty, her forward manners, and her sharp tongue offended his every sensibility. Worse, she assisted the local doctor and was passionate about practicing medicine, and what kind of young woman discussed illness and body functions and routinely saw unclothed men? Beautiful or not, she was a woman he would never consider.
Then they woke up in bed together in a brothel, and her father, the sheriff, and the brothel’s owner discovered them there. How that happened didn’t matter; they were standing before a preacher by noon the same day.
This was a new-to-me author. The prose was serviceable instead of elegant or graceful, but confident. The plot incorporated a cultural clash, a gender war, and a story of two opposites finding common ground, necessitated by a forced marriage and the fact that neither could keep their eyes, their minds, and eventually their hands off each other. Lack of communication happened, but was quickly balanced by over communication, frequently shouted. It didn’t need the tacked-on, goofy ending featuring a mad villain or the clichéd childbirth-while-stranded-in-a-shack (although somehow the author managed to inject some freshness into that overused situation).
But I had a blast reading this book, adored it in spite of its flaws. It was copyrighted in 1993 and has all the flamboyance of romances written in that era. I loved the vividness. I loved the harshness. Mostly, I loved the characters. Each had stupid moments, were stubborn, cranky, thoughtless, and aggravating. But they were also courageous and unique, kind and loyal and passionate, and I wanted to cheer them almost as often as I wanted to slap them. I will definitely be reading more books by Donna Fletcher.
Except Lil Prescott, who took one look and pronounced him a dandified milksop who would expect everything done for him. Why, he probably couldn’t even ride a horse, she snorted. Handsome or not, she wasn’t interested. She dreamed of a manly man, if she thought of one at all.
Lil’s strawberry blonde hair, tiny waist, and gorgeous face certainly got Lord Sherborn’s attention, but her lack of gentle, refined modesty, her forward manners, and her sharp tongue offended his every sensibility. Worse, she assisted the local doctor and was passionate about practicing medicine, and what kind of young woman discussed illness and body functions and routinely saw unclothed men? Beautiful or not, she was a woman he would never consider.
Then they woke up in bed together in a brothel, and her father, the sheriff, and the brothel’s owner discovered them there. How that happened didn’t matter; they were standing before a preacher by noon the same day.
This was a new-to-me author. The prose was serviceable instead of elegant or graceful, but confident. The plot incorporated a cultural clash, a gender war, and a story of two opposites finding common ground, necessitated by a forced marriage and the fact that neither could keep their eyes, their minds, and eventually their hands off each other. Lack of communication happened, but was quickly balanced by over communication, frequently shouted. It didn’t need the tacked-on, goofy ending featuring a mad villain or the clichéd childbirth-while-stranded-in-a-shack (although somehow the author managed to inject some freshness into that overused situation).
But I had a blast reading this book, adored it in spite of its flaws. It was copyrighted in 1993 and has all the flamboyance of romances written in that era. I loved the vividness. I loved the harshness. Mostly, I loved the characters. Each had stupid moments, were stubborn, cranky, thoughtless, and aggravating. But they were also courageous and unique, kind and loyal and passionate, and I wanted to cheer them almost as often as I wanted to slap them. I will definitely be reading more books by Donna Fletcher.
November 29, 2019
A wonderful crossover of a historical British romance and a western romance. Great character development, challenging situations and interesting relationships. A British Lord buys a ranch outside of the small town Little in the wild west. He gets caught up with the very independent assistant to the town Doctor. I read this one right through.
July 6, 2020
4.5 stars - Donna Fletcher's Rebellious Bride is a lovely stand-alone historical American West romance. Lil and Rolfe are from two different worlds, but they are a perfect match.
Lil is skeptical of the fancy-pants English lord moving to her town. She is an independent American woman who has a job and is respected for her medical training. She is kind of disgusted by a man who is more concerned with propriety than anything else.
But Rolfe isn't what he seems. He's no dummy, he hides behind his Englishness to determine who will be a truly ally in his new hometown. He doesn't understand Lil's fierce determination or her desire to have a job and help sick people.
An unfortunate compromising situation puts these two together as husband and wife. Even though they are very different, they will have to find a way to get along if they want to live happily every after.
Donna Fletcher is a fantastic writer and the plot in this book was really good. A little bit of mystery added to keep it interesting. I did wish for more heat in the love scenes, but I really liked the setting, characters and the book itself. Well done.
Lil is skeptical of the fancy-pants English lord moving to her town. She is an independent American woman who has a job and is respected for her medical training. She is kind of disgusted by a man who is more concerned with propriety than anything else.
But Rolfe isn't what he seems. He's no dummy, he hides behind his Englishness to determine who will be a truly ally in his new hometown. He doesn't understand Lil's fierce determination or her desire to have a job and help sick people.
An unfortunate compromising situation puts these two together as husband and wife. Even though they are very different, they will have to find a way to get along if they want to live happily every after.
Donna Fletcher is a fantastic writer and the plot in this book was really good. A little bit of mystery added to keep it interesting. I did wish for more heat in the love scenes, but I really liked the setting, characters and the book itself. Well done.
January 8, 2023
I liked the story and the romance, but the idea of an English lord settling in the old west was just so far-fetched that it would frequently take me out of the story.
The characters in this book were amazing. I loved the heroine and the Hero was pretty great too. He could have treated her cruelly because they had a shotgun wedding when neither of them wanted to get married, but he was very patient with her and accepting which was a nice change. I always love Donna Fletcher’s side characters though and it was no different in this story. Her father, the doctor, the butler, even the prositutes, had a lot to add to the story.
The characters in this book were amazing. I loved the heroine and the Hero was pretty great too. He could have treated her cruelly because they had a shotgun wedding when neither of them wanted to get married, but he was very patient with her and accepting which was a nice change. I always love Donna Fletcher’s side characters though and it was no different in this story. Her father, the doctor, the butler, even the prositutes, had a lot to add to the story.
January 27, 2020
I received this book as a free gift at Christmas for subscribing to Donna’s newsletter. It was really enjoyable even though it was not necessarily a book I would have chosen. Rolfe and Lillian are great characters who are complete opposites in terms of personalities. It is an interesting read. I will look to read more of Donna’s books set in this setting and time period.
May 16, 2018
Loved this book and the interaction between the two main characters. I laughed and bit my nails all through the book. Will be reading more from this author.
May 18, 2019
Great story
I don't usually read books 're the American west , but this was the best ever. I certainly look forward to reading more of your stories.
I don't usually read books 're the American west , but this was the best ever. I certainly look forward to reading more of your stories.
August 17, 2019
A great historic romance
Still stands the test of time, love this book, a beautiful young woman who is like no other and a great alpha man before we called them alpha
Still stands the test of time, love this book, a beautiful young woman who is like no other and a great alpha man before we called them alpha
June 13, 2020
DNF ~
July 18, 2016
3.5 stars
January 6, 2018
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews