Her Beguiling Bride

Beguiled #2

by Paisley Smith

Three years have passed since Isabelle Holloway gave her heart to Alice O’Malley, the brash woman Union soldier left on the doorstep of Isabelle’s Georgia plantation. Now Reconstruction Era taxes threaten their home, and Isabelle must decide between the female lover whose touch sets her flesh and soul ablaze, or a cold marriage to a wealthy man and an even colder bed.In hopes of saving the plantation, Isabelle and Alice travel to Savannah where doors close at every turn. Until Alice tenders a scandalous proposal that could cost them everything...or offer them the love of a lifetime.

Genres: Historical, Lesbian, Erotica, Romance, Historical Fiction, BDSM, Short Stories

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2012

About the author

I’m Paisley Smith! I am a full time freelance writer and can usually be found in front of my computer either writing, chatting, promoting or plotting. It’s a glamorous life…working in one’s pajamas.

I attended college in the Deep South where I obtained a slew of totally useless degrees and developed an unrelenting sense of humor.

My books can be found at Ellora’s Cave , Loose Id, and Cleis Press!

I’m a member of Romance Writers of America.

Reviews

[LVLMLeah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute, sweet story. It's the sequel or continuation of Beguiled. In this story, Belle and Alice have been living together working on Belle's family plantation trying to get a cotton crop going after the devastation of the Civil War.

What I love about this story is that Alice resumes her living as a man in order to both save Belle from losing her land due to high taxes and a low crop output and...so she can legally marry Belle.

I rather love the trope of a female passing herself off as man, so I enjoyed on this level. But I was even more inspired by the idea that they could marry, fooling all around them.

The write is typical to Paisley Smith, hot erotic sex with a strong infusion of tenderness expressed between the characters and a hint of a D/s dynamic.

This is a short story and on its own, might not be totally satisfying. However, if you read it in conjunction with Beguiled, which is a longer book and sets up Belle and Alice's story, you'll definitely want to read this.

[Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a truly wonderful love story!

[Rae Storey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed getting to know Alice and Belle, and their struggles. Which is why I picked up the second book, even though I felt there was too much sex and not enough story in the first book. This second book was a short piece that should have been worked into the first book instead of being its own entity. Either that or actually finish the Reconstruction Era story begun in this second book; there was plenty more that needed to happen before the plantation was safe from the high taxes.

The first book was written (mostly) in first person from Belle's point of view. This one isn't written in the same format which gives it a feel of the author not paying attention to her own works. I don't prefer one way over the other, but when I am reading a sequel directly related to the previous book, I would like to be reading from the same POV.

Like the first one, Her Beguiling Bride is filled with F/F sex. So if that is what you are looking for, this here is a book for you. To me, I would have like to see more story line.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Her Beguiling Bride" by Paisley Smith is the sequel to one of my favorite F/F romances, "Beguiled", and is set in the Reconstruction Era. Here we find Belle Holloway and Alice O'Malley trying to get Rattle & Snap, the plantation, back up to speed but finding it difficult due to the high taxes. Some people suggest that Belle marry a man. She refuses but decides to head to Savannah with Alice to talk to their cotton agent.
While there, Alice decides to take matters into her own hands and comes up with a daring plan to help Belle and save Rattle & Snap.

This was a great conclusion to the love story of Belle and Alice. You can see how much their relationship has progressed and how they've truly become life partners. The story is still interesting and it didn't feel forced or rushed.

"Her Beguiling Bride" gets four out of five stars from me. :) Make sure to read the first book before reading this one.

[lov2laf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good wrap up of the first book, Beguiled, and offers additional closure to the reader for Alice and Isabelle.

This story takes place three years after Beguiled ends. We learn that the community has accepted Alice and the two women as a couple but that does nothing to save their plantation which is subject to the severe taxes after the Civil War's end. What are Isabelle and Alice to do?

Like the first book, there is a bit of a history lesson here that makes the story's conflict interesting. And, similar to Beguiled, this book is a mix of erotica and romance. For those that are interested, Alice's dominant nature comes across more in this where we see a power play dynamic.

I thought this epilogue was well done. If you'd like to see Alice and Isabelle's happily ever after, give it a read.

[moxieBK · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I liked the first book in the series, I thought I give this a go. This story continues the civil war story.

I wasn't disappointed in this story. It is written as tight as the first book, with the same characters. I enjoyed the story a lot. I recommend reading the first story before this one, or else you might be a little lost. It can be read stand-alone, but I don't think it reads quite as well without a little background.

Three stars.

[Secretly Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely historical FF romance with strong writing that captures the American South in the Reconstruction era.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it but it's very short. Should've been added into the first book