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Second-Best Bride
Angie didn't know all the facts!
When her sister, Cilla, decided not to marry Terzan Helios after all, Angie was persuaded to go to his Greek island to break the news.
Cilla had described Terzan as "sinfully wealthy and wickedly attractive." But she had neglected to tell Angie one thing--Terzan was now blind. Angie's heart soon went out to the proud, enigmatic Greek.
Yet she would never let him suspect that her feelings were stronger than compassion. For to Terzan, Angie would always be a mere substitute....
When her sister, Cilla, decided not to marry Terzan Helios after all, Angie was persuaded to go to his Greek island to break the news.
Cilla had described Terzan as "sinfully wealthy and wickedly attractive." But she had neglected to tell Angie one thing--Terzan was now blind. Angie's heart soon went out to the proud, enigmatic Greek.
Yet she would never let him suspect that her feelings were stronger than compassion. For to Terzan, Angie would always be a mere substitute....
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published June 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 28, 2021
I am glad i have my many firsts this year with experimenting different authors and finding great Harlequin Romances this way."Second-Best Bride" is the first book i have ever read by Margaret Rome and it tells the story of Angelina "Angie" Rose who has to take the place as a messenger for her sister to tell her sisters fiance,the Greek tycoon Terzan Helios that her sister has found another man and cannot marry him.Angelina realizes that Terzan is a blind man who suffers in agony of loneliness because of him being unable to see anything and that her sister broke the engagement for selfish reasons.Terzan is a proud man and undeniably bitter of the circumstances,but can`t help but be drawn to this woman he cannot see,but who smells of english roses.In his ruthlessness he will blackmail her and manipulate her to have her by his side forever in the name of marriage.
***
‘I am like a bee attracted by the scent of flowers—no perfume smells sweeter than that of a rose in an English garden. Wear it always,’ he urged, pausing mere inches from where she stood, ‘never change it, for to me it has become your hallmark, the scent I associate only with you.
- Terzan Helios
***
Margaret Rome is a great writer and i love the way she used poetic way of language in her purple prose,especially in the dialogue.Angelina and Terzan found each other when they least expected it and its so beautiful reading how they slowly come to fall for each other.Terzan for all his suspiciousness and bitterness towards Angelina even after their marriage was never downright cruel.Mean words have been said from him,but it was obvious he hated his vulnerability in being blind and his fear of Angelina never coming to love him because of that.There are times when he was so romantic i had to swoon,there are many unforgettable quotes from him like the one above.It was so sweet coming from him!Terzan have a great charismatic presence in the book and together with Angelina even i felt awed by him.Angelina reminds me of many other martyr heroines but i don`t think she was that much of a martyr to look stupid so it didn`t ruin my enjoyment of reading.I am much impressed by this story and look forward to reading more books by this author.
***
‘I am like a bee attracted by the scent of flowers—no perfume smells sweeter than that of a rose in an English garden. Wear it always,’ he urged, pausing mere inches from where she stood, ‘never change it, for to me it has become your hallmark, the scent I associate only with you.
- Terzan Helios
***
Margaret Rome is a great writer and i love the way she used poetic way of language in her purple prose,especially in the dialogue.Angelina and Terzan found each other when they least expected it and its so beautiful reading how they slowly come to fall for each other.Terzan for all his suspiciousness and bitterness towards Angelina even after their marriage was never downright cruel.Mean words have been said from him,but it was obvious he hated his vulnerability in being blind and his fear of Angelina never coming to love him because of that.There are times when he was so romantic i had to swoon,there are many unforgettable quotes from him like the one above.It was so sweet coming from him!Terzan have a great charismatic presence in the book and together with Angelina even i felt awed by him.Angelina reminds me of many other martyr heroines but i don`t think she was that much of a martyr to look stupid so it didn`t ruin my enjoyment of reading.I am much impressed by this story and look forward to reading more books by this author.
September 25, 2010
Key players :
Cilla = the spoiled witch aka flaky user
Angelina = the weepy limp bizkit cum long-suffering older sista
Terzan Helios = Not-so-smooth manipulator, who gets a double whammy : Blindness from an accident & dumped by Cilla da brat
MR is obviously fond of the A-ending names : Crisulla, Cilla, Lira, Angelina, it’s surprising Cruella wasn’t included in the mix. She has a flair for overwrought, poofy style that dealt a stinging blow to my senses. My head is still spinning & my eyeballs are burning from not-so-subtle metaphors & mirth-inducing purple prose. This book is Stunning, w/ a capital S, as in, stunningly bad. It takes a lotta confidence to crank out a hysterical, OTT cheez-a-thon like SBB. It reads more like a manual for Greek customs, cuisine & Gods for a potential tourist. Not to mention there’s the pages & pages of never-ending, long-winded Greek wedding ceremony & rituals. Romance takes a backseat ! It’s exhausting just scrolling thru’ the painful minutiae of rituals.
<< Cilla jerked. Terzan finally clenched. She blushed. Disembodied lips. >>
<< He swooped upon her mouth with the precision of a bee in search of nectar and kissed her until she felt drained, storm-tossed in a sea of turbulent passion. >>
Just a taste of the cringe-worthy, overly-descriptive writing. I don’t wanna visualize nectar-filled, bee-stung lips =)~ She sure over-used the word ‘storm’, U’d think it was a weather report.
<< ‘That's an old and well-tried trick of yours, my girl,' silently she berated her absent sister, 'dumping a problem in my lap, then running hell for leather out of earshot of a refusal! But it isn't going to work this time. You've swum too far out of my depth and I've no intention of being drowned, on your behalf, in the depths of the Aegean Sea!' >>
Yeah, right. Angie drowns herself in her own stupidity tho’, as she goes nilly willy to Karios as the bearer of bad news.
<< The command was voiced with such unusual sternness that in spite of her indignation she obeyed immediately, slumping into her chair with a force that was far from elegant. >>
Maybe I’m a slow learner, but I can’t seem to master the art of slumping w/ elegance. Whoevah said ‘Practice makes purrfect’ is full of B.S., dude ! I’m an amateur. Sign me up for this class.
<< Numb with disbelief, Angie watched his stiff figure retreating from the dining-room, uncertain whether to give in to frustrated tears or to howls of derisory laughter. >>
It’s simple, really. Flipping a coin woulda resolved her indecisiveness. I vote for hee-haw. Too weepy & annoying.
<< … conditions throughout the islands could be as unpredictable as the nature of the Greek himself, which was why the sun was sulking behind a cloud, the sea tossed with temper and darkly frowning. >>
Peek-a-boo, Mr. Sun ! Pls shine down on meeee… tan me up ! Would this funky-looking, frowning sea be more menacing if it had a pasty uni-brow ?
<< Mercifully, she also seemed immune to waves so rough they had been known to force spicy oaths and hasty prayers from the lips of land-loving peasants.>>
Spicy ? Mayhap the peasants need to cut down on their consumption of chili peppers.
<< The sound, new and different to her ears, made her forcibly aware that she had been transplanted into alien soil; into a land whose sun-baked earth could shrivel tender roots, amongst people whose pride and passion were inherited from legendary ancestors—from Zeus, Lord of Heaven and Prince of Light; from Apollo, the sun-god who could destroy as well as give life; from Ares, the god who loved to go to war, and from Eros, the handsome, blindfolded god of desire and passion who was said to have whetted with blood the grindstone on which he sharpened his arrows. >>
This is all v. fascinating to me *Jaw-cracking yawns*. Thanx for the redundant Greek mythology lessons. I watched Kevin Sorbo’s campy vehicle - “Hercules” to drool over his lick-a-licious washboard abs, but that’s besides the point. Can we puhleaze get on w/ the story ? We know it’s an exotic setting.
<< 'He doth bestride the narrow world. Like a Colossus.' >>
Forgiveth me. I don’th speaketh gibberish, I’m from planeth earth. Layman terms would suffice.
<< 'He has the touch of Midas,' Nikos had boasted, 'he shares the gift of the legendary king who requested of the gods that everything he touched might be turned to gold!' >>
Sigh. Again, w/ the tiresome name-dropping. I thought she’d be done w/ this pattern by now. Ye Gods !
<< each company carrying as its trademark the figure of Helios, the Greek sun god from whom he took his name. >>
Apparently she’s still on a rampage. @ least she’s consistent.
<< 'But what of the little Anghlika who droops like a slender flower beneath a weight of weariness?' >>
Seriously, did the manservant graduate w/ flying colors from a Greek school that teaches flowery poems like this utter crap ?
<< "My wife shall be as a fruitful vine,"' he quoted softly, ' "my children like olive plants round about my table." >>
His wife & kids have a dual role of being his table decorations ?
<< ‘He is not to know,' she finished coolly, 'that what he will actually be witnessing is the merging of a typewriter with a dictating machine.' >>
So it’s a safe bet that the fruit of their loins = a future transcriber
<< It was then, with his hands holding her fast, with pulses pounding and the beat of her heart drumming like the noise of a thousand flapping wings in her ears, that she stopped pretending— faced up to the fact that, in spite of his tyrannical ways, his searing wit and biting tongue, in spite of the fact that he seemed almost to dislike her, she had fallen in love with the autocratic master of Karios . ... >> Chapter 5 = Not even half-way
All ‘cuz he kisses her on their wedding day, for the benefit of the audience. Made me think she’s nevah evah been kissed B4 ?
<< After he had gone Angie remained staring blankly, oblivious to the droning of bees, to the flight of multi-coloured butterflies, to the scent rising from flowers massed around her feet, struggling to digest the unpalatable fact that Terzan Helios had used her gullibility to further his own ends, had stage-managed a scene in which he had starred as a hurt, lonely figure anxious to be reunited with his one remaining relative, acting out the lie with a conviction that had twisted her heartstrings and wrung from her so much sympathy and compassion she had been willing to do anything to ease his misery, even marry him! >>
If this poignant moment is supposed to garner sympathy vote, it misses its mark by a mile. Bleeding heart that she is, the twit got her just rewards. Only in HPlandia a chick’s willing to work for a slave-driver for free & marry the cranky, blind gazillionaire just ‘cuz his aunt shuts the door in his face ? Boo freakin’ hoo.
Strangely, the words “erect” & “olive” pop up frequently, e.g. :
<< The gentle enquiry startled his head erect… >>
<< olive branch…>> << olive tree…>> << olive plants…>>
Calling Goldfinger : << His touch turned the ice in her veins into a torrent of scalding emotion. 'Oh, Terzan!' she sobbed, collapsing trusting as a child into his waiting arms, 'Now that I know you love me, my only fear is the fear of losing you! Nikos says you have the touch of Midas—I'm a beggar in love, please teach me to turn dross into gold ...!' >> She puts out too fast !
Highlighting his swoon-worthy pick-up lines :
<< 'You had a choice, beggar maid, and you opted for the touch of Midas—even pleaded to be taught the secret of turning dross into gold.' >>
<< 'Glika mou!' he groaned hoarsely, nuzzling the sweet bare curve of her shoulder. 'Making love to you inspires in me a dash of madness! Never before have I been so strongly affected by a woman's touch, your gentle hands squeeze like a vice around my heart strings, your childish curves slip like silk through my fingers, I am seduced completely by the scent of roses, pungent as the perfumed cloud that rises above an English garden after a shower of rain. I thought last night was a mirage— which is why I had to return to find out...' >>
CHILDISH CURVES was the trend back then. It boggles the mind.
<< 'According to Greek mythology, the sun god, Helios, chose it as his bride and blessed it with light, warmth, and lush vegetation.' Angie jerked with fright when his dark profile swivelled in her direction and had the feeling that he had a message especially for her when he continued slowly, 'A similar myth recounts that Helios fell in love with the nymph, Rhodon, and named the island after her. Rhodon means rose, a flower that has grown here in profusion since earliest times, along with hibiscus, bougainvillea, jasmine, and honeysuckle.' >> Stop. Plz.
Fav classic line (I’ll use my eyelashes as dusters from now on if I run outta Swifter) :
<< 'Your lashes are so thick they could be used for dusters!' He had responded by growling a laugh against the hollow of her throat, stirring into eruption a sensuous quake that had shaken the very depths of her hungry body. >>
I luv this friggin’ book !
September 9, 2013
I'm not sure how to rate this book. While on one hand it had all of my favourite tropes; a blind hero, a compassionate, sympathetic heroine, a deliciously evil OW and a marriage of convenience, I found myself perplexed because it also had the thing I hate most - a dumb, doormat heroine who was too blind and caught up in her own insecurities to look past herself. I hated how she allowed willingly and happily let her sister (aka OW) walk ALL OVER HER. And God she felt 'hurt' about almost everything the hero said!
He's blind, you idiot! Of course he's going to lash out at everyone! And he does it most of the time because he wants to get a reaction out of you! IT IS SO FREAKING OBVIOUS THAT HE LOVES YOU!!!
She was also overly dramatic.
Gasping and crying out loud for every. Little. Thing.
Okay fine I'll stop bitching about her now. And TBH, she wasn't the only thing I hated about the book. There was something I didn't like about the hero, but I can't quite put my finger on it...
The ending was also a bit implausible, with him
But seriously, all in all it was a good book. Could have been so much more, but no matter. I liked it.
He's blind, you idiot! Of course he's going to lash out at everyone! And he does it most of the time because he wants to get a reaction out of you! IT IS SO FREAKING OBVIOUS THAT HE LOVES YOU!!!
She was also overly dramatic.
Gasping and crying out loud for every. Little. Thing.
Okay fine I'll stop bitching about her now. And TBH, she wasn't the only thing I hated about the book. There was something I didn't like about the hero, but I can't quite put my finger on it...
The ending was also a bit implausible, with him
But seriously, all in all it was a good book. Could have been so much more, but no matter. I liked it.
September 22, 2010
I realized almost immediately that this was the same author as the immortal King of Kielder. That forced, artificial combination of purple prose and info-dumping is pretty distinctive. The main difference was that instead of Scottish-flavored WTF we get Greek-flavored WTF.
It almost doesn't matter that the plot is ridiculous, the heroine is a martyr/doormat, and the hero has absolutely nothing to recommend him. Another HP author could've made that work. But none of the crazy was worth the chore of plowing through the actual words.
It almost doesn't matter that the plot is ridiculous, the heroine is a martyr/doormat, and the hero has absolutely nothing to recommend him. Another HP author could've made that work. But none of the crazy was worth the chore of plowing through the actual words.
March 2, 2021
I’m including my notes in the review. DnF after they got married.
Why I shouldn’t read anything involving Greeks.
Has the author got ANYTHING correct other that kyrios and ohi? Sadly not much. I see Greek words and try to understand what the author is talking about. They are not only wrongly used but also misspelled. Imagine if you were reading an English book and the hero said leaving a party “Hillo everyone” Oh! Hillo = hello? And why is he saying hello if he’s leaving? On and on.
And I am trying actually TRYING to understand what they are talking about every time a Greek word or custom comes up. None of which I have ever heard of, may I add. But fine. Somewhere, in some village they may have these customs. But a donkey with ribbons? They went to the church on a cart driven by a donkey? Really? I want to cry. A VICAR’s daughter married a Greek without converting. In your dreams sister. And on and on and on.
I’m not in any way a nationalist. It’s not hurt pride. But this book feels like it’s written in an alternate universe. And I have read of other Greek heroes but this one takes the cake.
Add to that the heroine is a saint. A non fun saint. Oh, I will live my life serving people cause it brings me joy and I do not want riches, for riches corrupt a mans soul and- STOOOOP! I just couldn’t. But tbh the main reason I dnf this was the author going on and on about the Greek customs she imagined. Some of which are so wrong... I’ll stop now...
Why I shouldn’t read anything involving Greeks.
Has the author got ANYTHING correct other that kyrios and ohi? Sadly not much. I see Greek words and try to understand what the author is talking about. They are not only wrongly used but also misspelled. Imagine if you were reading an English book and the hero said leaving a party “Hillo everyone” Oh! Hillo = hello? And why is he saying hello if he’s leaving? On and on.
And I am trying actually TRYING to understand what they are talking about every time a Greek word or custom comes up. None of which I have ever heard of, may I add. But fine. Somewhere, in some village they may have these customs. But a donkey with ribbons? They went to the church on a cart driven by a donkey? Really? I want to cry. A VICAR’s daughter married a Greek without converting. In your dreams sister. And on and on and on.
I’m not in any way a nationalist. It’s not hurt pride. But this book feels like it’s written in an alternate universe. And I have read of other Greek heroes but this one takes the cake.
Add to that the heroine is a saint. A non fun saint. Oh, I will live my life serving people cause it brings me joy and I do not want riches, for riches corrupt a mans soul and- STOOOOP! I just couldn’t. But tbh the main reason I dnf this was the author going on and on about the Greek customs she imagined. Some of which are so wrong... I’ll stop now...
January 5, 2018
This is a cute little book with no real surprises, and nothing likely to leave an unpleasant taste in the reader's mouth. I disagree with some of the other reviewers that All in all, a low stakes comfort read.
June 18, 2023
Where do I begin with this one, to say it became one of my favorite oldies is understatement, really. It was soooooooo amazing and I adored it. There was some parts that reminded me a lot of Chateau of Flowers, another one of Margret Rome's novel and another favorite of mine, but that didn't detract from the novel at all. The heroine Angie, went to Greece after her sister persuaded her to go and break her engagement to a Greek man. Once she gets there she discover what a selfish girl her sister was when she found out that the man was blinded by an accident. He then make her stay to act as an unofficial secretary, and when she wanted to leave he married her.
There was no single part that I didn't love, it was all written so beautifully, and the end brought me a big smile and few happy tears although I really wished it to be a little more detailed.
5 brilliant stars for an amazing author
There was no single part that I didn't love, it was all written so beautifully, and the end brought me a big smile and few happy tears although I really wished it to be a little more detailed.
5 brilliant stars for an amazing author
September 6, 2013
This is a sweet and emotional read. Angelina comes to Greece to break the news that her selfish and ambitious younger sister is not willing to marry Terzan Helios, a rich man she met on holiday. Cilla neglected to mention that Terzan is now blind, from an accident on the race track where he attempted to rescue another driver.
She pities him but soon grows to love him and agrees to marry him and be his help meet despite believing him still in love with Cilla.
The relationship between Angelina and Terzan grows over the months of their marriage, but Cilla arrives and through her machinations they become estranged. I really love this kind of marriage of convenience story and the ending was very moving.
She pities him but soon grows to love him and agrees to marry him and be his help meet despite believing him still in love with Cilla.
The relationship between Angelina and Terzan grows over the months of their marriage, but Cilla arrives and through her machinations they become estranged. I really love this kind of marriage of convenience story and the ending was very moving.
February 19, 2018
this one was a buuurn. I had such a good run but it came to an end. I think the book deserves maybe more than 2 stars? idk.. its a case of it's me not you.
It is just so plain and boring?!?. The H throws at her mean things like all the time..at first it was semi excusable bc you know life is unfair to greek gods..but then we continues to say this stuff to her and still he is the likeable one. Go figure!! Mainly i think he was like that because she didnt put him in his place.. she just cried all the time(and thanked the stars than he cant see her tears) and took it!!She was so annoying.
It is just so plain and boring?!?. The H throws at her mean things like all the time..at first it was semi excusable bc you know life is unfair to greek gods..but then we continues to say this stuff to her and still he is the likeable one. Go figure!! Mainly i think he was like that because she didnt put him in his place.. she just cried all the time(and thanked the stars than he cant see her tears) and took it!!She was so annoying.
August 3, 2013
LOL, this was the first ever Harlequin romance I ever read (way back in the early 80's when it came out) and even though it totally represents EVERYTHING I loathe about romance:
1) The clueless ingenue who doesn't know what sex is and is also way too good to be true;
2) The asshole hero who's uber-rich and mondo-damaged which explains why he's a jerk;
3) The bitchy other woman (in this case a glamorous and 'prettier' sister) who tries to thwart the course of TWU WUV.
Somehow this book has been one of my comfort reads but not because of the main characters. Mainly it's the vivid descriptions of the Greek isles, its people and customs. If Ms. Rome could have dumped the stock hero and heroine, this novel reads like a wonderful travelogue. Every time I re-read this, I just want to go to Greece and eat lots of food and I learned some basic Greek words too--"kalispera". Otherwise, I still find myself mentally smacking some sense into the oh-so-virtuous to the point of saintly Angie and castrate the oh-so wealthy Terzan. I don't give a damn that he's damaged goods or whatever reason he's such an abusive asshole. Sorry ladies, I just cannot and will not wrap my brain aroind the appeal of a "hero" who shows no respect for the heroine until the very end--and in this case actually tries to guilt-trip her because Terzan's giant-sized ego doesn't bother to tell the woman he claimed to love and married, that he has a chance to be made anew while allowing the sister to come in and try to disrupt the marriage.
Let's face it, we all have our guilty pleasures. This one just happens to be mine. And the reason why I prefer sci-fi/fantasy.
1) The clueless ingenue who doesn't know what sex is and is also way too good to be true;
2) The asshole hero who's uber-rich and mondo-damaged which explains why he's a jerk;
3) The bitchy other woman (in this case a glamorous and 'prettier' sister) who tries to thwart the course of TWU WUV.
Somehow this book has been one of my comfort reads but not because of the main characters. Mainly it's the vivid descriptions of the Greek isles, its people and customs. If Ms. Rome could have dumped the stock hero and heroine, this novel reads like a wonderful travelogue. Every time I re-read this, I just want to go to Greece and eat lots of food and I learned some basic Greek words too--"kalispera". Otherwise, I still find myself mentally smacking some sense into the oh-so-virtuous to the point of saintly Angie and castrate the oh-so wealthy Terzan. I don't give a damn that he's damaged goods or whatever reason he's such an abusive asshole. Sorry ladies, I just cannot and will not wrap my brain aroind the appeal of a "hero" who shows no respect for the heroine until the very end--and in this case actually tries to guilt-trip her because Terzan's giant-sized ego doesn't bother to tell the woman he claimed to love and married, that he has a chance to be made anew while allowing the sister to come in and try to disrupt the marriage.
Let's face it, we all have our guilty pleasures. This one just happens to be mine. And the reason why I prefer sci-fi/fantasy.
July 24, 2018
Its a nice book. The H is engaged to the h sister. The h is the ugly one of the two even though they are both attractive in their own way. The sister is more spoiled because she's the more beautiful one. Expensive clothes and trips ect while the h stays home to help the father. The sister got engaged to the H after vacationing on his island with her friends and now she's back home and wants tp end it cause she wants to marry someone else that has both money and status. The H only has money. So she sends the h to go break up with the H on his island. When she gets there she realises that the sister wants to break up with the hero cause he had an accident and is now blind. The H manipulates her marry him as punishment for i dont know what and they are married a few months when the sister arrives to stir up some drama. She does and the difference between the sisters is evident to the point the H chooses to spend time with the h but the h still thinks he's head over heels over the sister.
Then there is this confusing misunderstanding that even i did not get which is why it got 3 stars and not 4. The H goes to get surgery for his eyes and the h thinks that he went tp get a divorce. She knows he's in the hospital for his eyes but is still surprised that he fixed his eyes. After this misunderstanding whick lasted 3 months they resolve it in 1 minute and all is ready for their HEA with their baby on the way.
Its a nice book. They are both flawed people that need to be loved for who they are and they find that in each other. Him because hes an orphan self made man that people seem to love only because of what he can give them and she because she was raised in the shadow of her selfish sister.
Then there is this confusing misunderstanding that even i did not get which is why it got 3 stars and not 4. The H goes to get surgery for his eyes and the h thinks that he went tp get a divorce. She knows he's in the hospital for his eyes but is still surprised that he fixed his eyes. After this misunderstanding whick lasted 3 months they resolve it in 1 minute and all is ready for their HEA with their baby on the way.
Its a nice book. They are both flawed people that need to be loved for who they are and they find that in each other. Him because hes an orphan self made man that people seem to love only because of what he can give them and she because she was raised in the shadow of her selfish sister.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2021
Angie didn't know all the facts!
When her sister, Cilla, decided not to marry Terzan Helios after all, Angie was persuaded to go to his Greek island to break the news.
Cilla had described Terzan as "sinfully wealthy and wickedly attractive." But she had neglected to tell Angie one thing--Terzan was now blind. Angie's heart soon went out to the proud, enigmatic Greek.
Yet she would never let him suspect that her feelings were stronger than compassion. For to Terzan, Angie would always be a mere substitute.... (l
When her sister, Cilla, decided not to marry Terzan Helios after all, Angie was persuaded to go to his Greek island to break the news.
Cilla had described Terzan as "sinfully wealthy and wickedly attractive." But she had neglected to tell Angie one thing--Terzan was now blind. Angie's heart soon went out to the proud, enigmatic Greek.
Yet she would never let him suspect that her feelings were stronger than compassion. For to Terzan, Angie would always be a mere substitute.... (l
July 21, 2021
Maldito, por descargar sus frustraciones y fracasos pasados con ella, quien de lo único de lo que es culpable es de su ingenuidad y de no ver la maldad de las personas y de lo fácil que se deja manipular...
August 11, 2026
4 stars
I enjoyed Second Best Bride despite having significant problems with its lack of emotional payoff at the end. I loved the angry, punishing hero and all the angst and anguish Angelina suffers because those are my fave romance tropes. What the book lacked was the necessary balance: signs of Terzan's frustrated devotion and vulnerability beneath his cruelty, followed by an ending with substantial demonstration of that love and enough contrition to make up for what he put her through.
Had those elements been there, I could have loved this book. As it stands, the angst was excellent but the catharsis was not.
Angelina/Angie is the hardworking, long-suffering older sister of beautiful, spoiled Priscilla. Angie adores her younger sister and continually excuses her selfishness, considering it Cilla's harmless wild teenage phase. Their father is a much-loved but relatively poor vicar, while their late mother came from a wealthy background.
Priscilla bitterly resents the comparative poverty she grew up in. She mixes with their mother's wealthier relatives and wants to recover that lifestyle through marriage.
Angie, by contrast, is dutiful, self-sacrificing and devoted to her father and parish responsibilities. Quietly stoic is exactly the kind of heroine I enjoy. Some readers found her a doormat, but I didn't mind her long-suffering nature. She wasn't stupid or entirely spineless; she simply endured too much for the people she loved. My problem is that the ending didn't adequately reward her for it.
At the start, Angie discovers that Priscilla became engaged to a wealthy Greek man while on holiday but now intends to jilt him and marry the son of a viscount. Her new fiancé's aristocratic family is snobbish, and Cilla is terrified that if her Greek fiancé comes to England and causes trouble, they will persuade their son to abandon her.
She therefore needs somebody to break the engagement for her. Angir refuses to clean up Cilla's mess.
But when Priscilla upsets their father through other selfish behaviour, Angie can't bear to add another scandal. Cilla then conveniently persuades their father that Angie deserves a holiday and promises to take over her parish work while she's away.
In reality, she's sending Angie to Greece to do her dirty work.
Angie travels to the remote Greek island where Terzan lives and almost rules, intending to return his engagement ring and persuade him not to pursue Cilla.
Their first meeting is immediately uncomfortable. The room is dark, and Terzan initially thinks Priscilla has finally returned. When he realises she has sent her sister instead, he becomes cold and mocking.
Angie, irritated by his manner, bluntly tells him that Priscilla doesn't love him, doesn't want to marry him and is already engaged to another man.
When Angie hands him the ring and he accidentally knocks it onto the floor, she suddenly realises that Terzan is blind.
She's horrified.
Priscilla never told her.
Worse, Angie later learns from his servants that Terzan became blind after the engagement. Cilla therefore abandoned her fiancé after he lost his sight, at precisely the time he was most vulnerable.
Angie has a conscience and is appalled. But she keeps trying to defend her sister out of habit, which only infuriates Terzan further.
Terzan insists that Angie compensate for what Cilla has done by remaining on the island as his secretary. He cannot read his correspondence, his existing servants don't read English, and he cannot tolerate bringing unfamiliar employees into his home while adjusting to his blindness.
Angie had intended to leave the following day but finds herself manipulated into staying.
Terzan repeatedly toys with the idea that since Priscilla sent Angie in her place, perhaps Angie should replace her in other ways too—including becoming his wife.
Eventually he plays heavily upon Angie's sympathy. He tells her about his lonely orphaned childhood and introduces her to the greedy, alcoholic aunt who raised him. Angie already feels desperately sorry for a man she believes was abandoned by her sister after becoming blind. She agrees to marry him.
But soon realises he manipulated her emotions. She feels dazed by what she's agreed to, feels too guilty to break it off, and convinces herself that marriage may make Terzan secure enough to believe she won't abandon him and give him time to regain his independence.
She assumes this will essentially be a marriage of convenience.
Then she sees the servants decorating the wedding bed and realises everyone expects something rather more conventional.
Angie has already fallen in love with Terzan by this stage.
On their wedding day they argue badly, and Angie finally says she has had enough of his manipulation and will leave the following morning, presumably seeking an annulment.
Terzan abruptly changes tactics.
He becomes contrite and says exactly the tender things Angie has desperately wanted to hear. Because she's already in love with him, she allows herself to believe that perhaps his harshness really has been a defensive shell and that he genuinely loves her beneath it.
They spend a passionate wedding night together.
The following morning, Terzan destroys her illusions.
He mocks her for falling perfectly into his trap and explains that seducing her ensured she could no longer obtain an annulment. He hasn't suddenly fallen in love with her. He merely found another method of forcing her to stay.
Angie is utterly humiliated.
This was exactly the kind of painful romantic dynamic I came for.
SPOILERS
Unfortunately, all the sex is fade-to-black, and the book doesn't dwell enough upon the repeated pattern that follows. Terzan continues insisting upon a passionate physical marriage, which Angie is unable to resist because she loves and desires him, yet afterwards he emotionally rejects her every time.
I would have loved at least one more fully developed instance where her hopes rise during their intimacy only for him to turn cold afterwards. That would have allowed us to experience the pain rather than simply being told it continued.
Instead, the book jumps forward three months.
During those months Angie has been Terzan's secretary, his wife and his lover while receiving almost nothing emotionally in return. He mocks and belittles her, continues comparing her unfavourably to Priscilla and speaks of her sister with apparent love and longing.
For Angie, it is three months of continually loving a man who uses her physically while apparently wishing she were someone else.
This is dreadful for her but excellent angst for me.
What was missing was any corresponding glimpse beneath Terzan's surface.
This dynamic could have been wonderful if we'd occasionally seen tiny signs that he was becoming obsessed with his wife against his will: an inability to stay away from her, moments when her care moved him despite himself, flashes of vulnerability after they slept together, or anger with himself because he needed her tenderness too much.
I love the idea of every night being passionate and every morning turning cold because Terzan cannot tolerate the vulnerability of needing a woman, particularly while blindness has made him so dependent upon other people.
But the book never clearly tells us that this is what is happening.
Then Priscilla arrives with her suitcases. It turns out the viscount had no money. So rich Terzan will do after all.
Now Cilla quickly drops any pretence of sisterly affection. When she discovers Angie and Terzan have been married for three months, she's furious. She accuses Angie of exploiting Terzan's heartbreak and vulnerability to trap him into marriage and openly announces that she intends to win him back.
So Angie now has her beautiful, scheming sister living in her own marital home while threatening to steal the husband Angie loves.
This provides some delicious angst.
Angie is also clearly pregnant by this point, although she has not told Terzan. Around the time Priscilla arrives, Angie collapses from heat and exhaustion and spends two days ill in bed.
Terzan doesn't visit her.
Instead we're told that he spends his time cosily with Priscilla.
That should have been devastating, and I wish the book had shown it properly: Angie lying alone wondering why her husband hasn't bothered to check on her, hearing the others together elsewhere in the house, eating meals alone and gradually withdrawing further into herself.
Later we're given an implication that Terzan believed Angie was exaggerating or faking her illness and may have deliberately refused to visit her as punishment. If so, I wanted the book to say that clearly.
Again, the situation contains excellent anguish but too much of it is summarised rather than emotionally dramatised.
When Angie eventually rejoins them, I also wanted Terzan to notice that she has retreated into herself and react to it. If he secretly loves her, her apparent indifference to him and willingness to surrender him to Priscilla should hurt and infuriate him.
Instead, from Angie's perspective, he simply flaunts his flirtation with her sister because he doesn't care about his wife.
We don't get enough sense of the frustrated man underneath.
Priscilla then mocks Angie's inadequate wardrobe. Terzan suddenly realise that his wife isn't dressing as the wife of a wealthy Greek man should and angrily insists upon buying her appropriate clothes.
Again, there was an opportunity here to hint that however badly Terzan treats Angie himself, it matters intensely to him that everyone else should respect her.
The book doesn't draw that emotional thread strongly enough.
During the shopping trip, Priscilla shamelessly exploits Terzan's generosity and persuades him to buy things for her too.
When Angie objects to an expensive fur coat because she hates the killing of animals for fur, Terzan mocks her concern and praises Priscilla's supposed honesty about being avaricious. According to him, at least Cilla openly wants beautiful things and rewards the man buying them with gratitude.
It is cruel and infuriating. And delicious.
Part of me interpreted his behaviour as deliberate provocation: perhaps he's increasingly frustrated because Angie won't reveal that she's jealous, won't admit that she loves him and seems almost prepared to hand him back to her sister. But the problem is that I had to construct too much of that interpretation myself. The book doesn't clearly show that this is what motivates him.
Eventually Angie makes the mistake of telling Priscilla that she's pregnant, hoping the news might finally restore some genuine sisterly feeling between them.
Instead, Cilla is furious because the pregnancy threatens her plans.
She tells Angie that Terzan has been discussing divorce with her and is almost ready to leave his wife for the woman he truly loves. Angie, she says, must not use a pregnancy to trap him for a second time.
Priscilla then sprays herself with Angie's perfume, finds Terzan in the garden and kisses him. Angie sees enough to believe her worst fears have been confirmed and walks away.
Again, this needed resolution later. I wanted Terzan to tell Angie exactly what happened: whether he pushed Priscilla away, whether he was disgusted, whether the attempt finally destroyed whatever tolerance he had for her.
Instead, the ending barely addresses it.
This is one of my biggest frustrations with the novel. A returning former love should ideally force the hero to confront the difference between the woman he once thought he wanted and the woman who has quietly become indispensable.
Priscilla could have been the catalyst for Terzan finally recognising everything Angie gives him that her sister never could. But the book doesn't use succeed in using her that way.
Worse, the eventual revelation is that Terzan was apparently never seriously in love with Priscilla at all. He had been toying with her. That undermined a large part of the revenge premise for me.
If he never truly loved Priscilla, why was he so furious with Angie? Why spend months punishing his innocent wife for her sister's betrayal? Why tolerate Priscilla's presence in his home once she returned? Why indulge her and seemingly use her to torment Angie? The ending desperately needed Terzan to explain himself.
Something as simple as him admitting that women had disappointed him all his life, that Priscilla merely confirmed his belief that women were selfish and untrustworthy, and that he initially saw Angie as another opportunist trying to exploit a rich, newly blind man would have made sense.
Then he could have explained that Angie slowly proved herself to be the kind of woman he never believed existed, but by the time he realised it, he had treated her so badly that he no longer knew how to make himself vulnerable enough to admit what she meant to him.
Likewise, I wanted him to acknowledge their physical relationship: that he kept reaching for her because he couldn't resist her, that her warmth was the only comfort he had while he felt frightened and powerless, and that he pushed her away afterwards because needing her terrified him.
That would have transformed so much of his behaviour.
But we never get it.
The final conflict comes through a large misunderstanding. Angie believes Terzan is arranging their divorce. Terzan believes Angie knows that he's leaving to undergo risky eye surgery.
When Angie tells him to make sure the "surgeon's scalpel is swift," she means the metaphorical knife of a divorce lawyer. Terzan thinks she's coldly telling him to hurry up and regain his sight because she cannot tolerate a blind husband.
He therefore leaves for surgery believing his wife despises his disability and him and really is the cold woman he hoped she wasn't.
Angie remains on the island believing her husband has gone away to divorce her.
For three months.
This stretched credibility.
Terzan's staff know where he is. Why does nobody tell his wife he's undergoing repeated operations? Why does Angie apparently receive no letters or information? Why does nobody tell Terzan that his wife is pregnant?
I could accept some misunderstanding for the sake of the plot, but three months of complete silence made the situation feel contrived.
More importantly, I wanted Angie to leave.
She's pregnant and believes her husband is divorcing her to return to Priscilla. I would have respected her far more if she'd gone home to build a life for herself and her child.
I suppose the author couldn't do this because she would have discoverd Cilla was at home and not with Terzan, as she had assumed.
But she could still have believed Terzan was undergoing surgery partly for Priscilla if necessary. There were ways to preserve the misunderstanding without requiring Angie to remain passively on his island waiting for him to discard her.
Instead, she simply stays there in luxury being cared for by his servants, depriving us of a better ending where he had to fear he'd lost her and chase her to England, finally spurn Cilla in sight of Angie, and save pregnant Angie from the impoverished drudgery of her existence in England. Now that would have been fab.
Instead, after three months, Terzan suddenly returns to the island. The surgeries have worked. He can see again.
Then one extremely brief conversation clears up almost everything.
They discover the divorce/operation misunderstanding almost immediately, confess their love, embrace, he discovers she's pregnant, and everyone is happy.
And that's essentially the ending.
After everything Angie endured, this was nowhere near enough for me.
There is little meaningful remorse from Terzan and no detailed explanation of why he behaved as he did. He doesn't unpack those months of cruelty, his apparent obsession with Priscilla, his treatment of Angie during their marriage or what was actually happening emotionally beneath all that coldness.
Nor do we get enough from Angie about what those three months of separation meant to her, or her horror at learning that he was undergoing frightening surgery alone while she believed he was arranging a divorce.
The ending needed room to breathe.
More than anything, this was our one opportunity to finally see Terzan's softness.
For almost the entire book we receive his harshness. I was willing to endure that because I expected the payoff to be discovering how deeply he had actually loved and needed Angie beneath it.
Instead, we receive barely a crumb.
And because we'd been given so little affection from him previously, even that crumb initially felt wonderful. After an entire novel of emotional starvation, the slightest tenderness naturally seems abundant.
But once I thought about it, it wasn't enough.
High angst works best for me when it is balanced by glimpses of secret devotion during the story and a cathartic ending where the hero finally lays himself bare, acknowledges the damage he caused and gives the heroine the emotional security she has earned.
Second Best Bride gives me the anguish but not enough of the reward.
I'm still giving it 4 stars because for most of the book I genuinely enjoyed the exact sort of painful romance I like: a self-sacrificing heroine hopelessly in love with a cold, dominant man who repeatedly gives her passion and then emotionally rejects her.
I could even reread it for that angst.
I just wouldn't reread it for the ending.
Had Terzan's hidden feelings been seeded more clearly, Priscilla's return been used to force his emotional awakening, and the final reconciliation included genuine remorse, explanation and devotion, this could have been considerably stronger for me. Instead, the romance feels emotionally incomplete: plenty of punishment, but not nearly enough healing.
I enjoyed Second Best Bride despite having significant problems with its lack of emotional payoff at the end. I loved the angry, punishing hero and all the angst and anguish Angelina suffers because those are my fave romance tropes. What the book lacked was the necessary balance: signs of Terzan's frustrated devotion and vulnerability beneath his cruelty, followed by an ending with substantial demonstration of that love and enough contrition to make up for what he put her through.
Had those elements been there, I could have loved this book. As it stands, the angst was excellent but the catharsis was not.
Angelina/Angie is the hardworking, long-suffering older sister of beautiful, spoiled Priscilla. Angie adores her younger sister and continually excuses her selfishness, considering it Cilla's harmless wild teenage phase. Their father is a much-loved but relatively poor vicar, while their late mother came from a wealthy background.
Priscilla bitterly resents the comparative poverty she grew up in. She mixes with their mother's wealthier relatives and wants to recover that lifestyle through marriage.
Angie, by contrast, is dutiful, self-sacrificing and devoted to her father and parish responsibilities. Quietly stoic is exactly the kind of heroine I enjoy. Some readers found her a doormat, but I didn't mind her long-suffering nature. She wasn't stupid or entirely spineless; she simply endured too much for the people she loved. My problem is that the ending didn't adequately reward her for it.
At the start, Angie discovers that Priscilla became engaged to a wealthy Greek man while on holiday but now intends to jilt him and marry the son of a viscount. Her new fiancé's aristocratic family is snobbish, and Cilla is terrified that if her Greek fiancé comes to England and causes trouble, they will persuade their son to abandon her.
She therefore needs somebody to break the engagement for her. Angir refuses to clean up Cilla's mess.
But when Priscilla upsets their father through other selfish behaviour, Angie can't bear to add another scandal. Cilla then conveniently persuades their father that Angie deserves a holiday and promises to take over her parish work while she's away.
In reality, she's sending Angie to Greece to do her dirty work.
Angie travels to the remote Greek island where Terzan lives and almost rules, intending to return his engagement ring and persuade him not to pursue Cilla.
Their first meeting is immediately uncomfortable. The room is dark, and Terzan initially thinks Priscilla has finally returned. When he realises she has sent her sister instead, he becomes cold and mocking.
Angie, irritated by his manner, bluntly tells him that Priscilla doesn't love him, doesn't want to marry him and is already engaged to another man.
When Angie hands him the ring and he accidentally knocks it onto the floor, she suddenly realises that Terzan is blind.
She's horrified.
Priscilla never told her.
Worse, Angie later learns from his servants that Terzan became blind after the engagement. Cilla therefore abandoned her fiancé after he lost his sight, at precisely the time he was most vulnerable.
Angie has a conscience and is appalled. But she keeps trying to defend her sister out of habit, which only infuriates Terzan further.
Terzan insists that Angie compensate for what Cilla has done by remaining on the island as his secretary. He cannot read his correspondence, his existing servants don't read English, and he cannot tolerate bringing unfamiliar employees into his home while adjusting to his blindness.
Angie had intended to leave the following day but finds herself manipulated into staying.
Terzan repeatedly toys with the idea that since Priscilla sent Angie in her place, perhaps Angie should replace her in other ways too—including becoming his wife.
Eventually he plays heavily upon Angie's sympathy. He tells her about his lonely orphaned childhood and introduces her to the greedy, alcoholic aunt who raised him. Angie already feels desperately sorry for a man she believes was abandoned by her sister after becoming blind. She agrees to marry him.
But soon realises he manipulated her emotions. She feels dazed by what she's agreed to, feels too guilty to break it off, and convinces herself that marriage may make Terzan secure enough to believe she won't abandon him and give him time to regain his independence.
She assumes this will essentially be a marriage of convenience.
Then she sees the servants decorating the wedding bed and realises everyone expects something rather more conventional.
Angie has already fallen in love with Terzan by this stage.
On their wedding day they argue badly, and Angie finally says she has had enough of his manipulation and will leave the following morning, presumably seeking an annulment.
Terzan abruptly changes tactics.
He becomes contrite and says exactly the tender things Angie has desperately wanted to hear. Because she's already in love with him, she allows herself to believe that perhaps his harshness really has been a defensive shell and that he genuinely loves her beneath it.
They spend a passionate wedding night together.
The following morning, Terzan destroys her illusions.
He mocks her for falling perfectly into his trap and explains that seducing her ensured she could no longer obtain an annulment. He hasn't suddenly fallen in love with her. He merely found another method of forcing her to stay.
Angie is utterly humiliated.
This was exactly the kind of painful romantic dynamic I came for.
SPOILERS
Unfortunately, all the sex is fade-to-black, and the book doesn't dwell enough upon the repeated pattern that follows. Terzan continues insisting upon a passionate physical marriage, which Angie is unable to resist because she loves and desires him, yet afterwards he emotionally rejects her every time.
I would have loved at least one more fully developed instance where her hopes rise during their intimacy only for him to turn cold afterwards. That would have allowed us to experience the pain rather than simply being told it continued.
Instead, the book jumps forward three months.
During those months Angie has been Terzan's secretary, his wife and his lover while receiving almost nothing emotionally in return. He mocks and belittles her, continues comparing her unfavourably to Priscilla and speaks of her sister with apparent love and longing.
For Angie, it is three months of continually loving a man who uses her physically while apparently wishing she were someone else.
This is dreadful for her but excellent angst for me.
What was missing was any corresponding glimpse beneath Terzan's surface.
This dynamic could have been wonderful if we'd occasionally seen tiny signs that he was becoming obsessed with his wife against his will: an inability to stay away from her, moments when her care moved him despite himself, flashes of vulnerability after they slept together, or anger with himself because he needed her tenderness too much.
I love the idea of every night being passionate and every morning turning cold because Terzan cannot tolerate the vulnerability of needing a woman, particularly while blindness has made him so dependent upon other people.
But the book never clearly tells us that this is what is happening.
Then Priscilla arrives with her suitcases. It turns out the viscount had no money. So rich Terzan will do after all.
Now Cilla quickly drops any pretence of sisterly affection. When she discovers Angie and Terzan have been married for three months, she's furious. She accuses Angie of exploiting Terzan's heartbreak and vulnerability to trap him into marriage and openly announces that she intends to win him back.
So Angie now has her beautiful, scheming sister living in her own marital home while threatening to steal the husband Angie loves.
This provides some delicious angst.
Angie is also clearly pregnant by this point, although she has not told Terzan. Around the time Priscilla arrives, Angie collapses from heat and exhaustion and spends two days ill in bed.
Terzan doesn't visit her.
Instead we're told that he spends his time cosily with Priscilla.
That should have been devastating, and I wish the book had shown it properly: Angie lying alone wondering why her husband hasn't bothered to check on her, hearing the others together elsewhere in the house, eating meals alone and gradually withdrawing further into herself.
Later we're given an implication that Terzan believed Angie was exaggerating or faking her illness and may have deliberately refused to visit her as punishment. If so, I wanted the book to say that clearly.
Again, the situation contains excellent anguish but too much of it is summarised rather than emotionally dramatised.
When Angie eventually rejoins them, I also wanted Terzan to notice that she has retreated into herself and react to it. If he secretly loves her, her apparent indifference to him and willingness to surrender him to Priscilla should hurt and infuriate him.
Instead, from Angie's perspective, he simply flaunts his flirtation with her sister because he doesn't care about his wife.
We don't get enough sense of the frustrated man underneath.
Priscilla then mocks Angie's inadequate wardrobe. Terzan suddenly realise that his wife isn't dressing as the wife of a wealthy Greek man should and angrily insists upon buying her appropriate clothes.
Again, there was an opportunity here to hint that however badly Terzan treats Angie himself, it matters intensely to him that everyone else should respect her.
The book doesn't draw that emotional thread strongly enough.
During the shopping trip, Priscilla shamelessly exploits Terzan's generosity and persuades him to buy things for her too.
When Angie objects to an expensive fur coat because she hates the killing of animals for fur, Terzan mocks her concern and praises Priscilla's supposed honesty about being avaricious. According to him, at least Cilla openly wants beautiful things and rewards the man buying them with gratitude.
It is cruel and infuriating. And delicious.
Part of me interpreted his behaviour as deliberate provocation: perhaps he's increasingly frustrated because Angie won't reveal that she's jealous, won't admit that she loves him and seems almost prepared to hand him back to her sister. But the problem is that I had to construct too much of that interpretation myself. The book doesn't clearly show that this is what motivates him.
Eventually Angie makes the mistake of telling Priscilla that she's pregnant, hoping the news might finally restore some genuine sisterly feeling between them.
Instead, Cilla is furious because the pregnancy threatens her plans.
She tells Angie that Terzan has been discussing divorce with her and is almost ready to leave his wife for the woman he truly loves. Angie, she says, must not use a pregnancy to trap him for a second time.
Priscilla then sprays herself with Angie's perfume, finds Terzan in the garden and kisses him. Angie sees enough to believe her worst fears have been confirmed and walks away.
Again, this needed resolution later. I wanted Terzan to tell Angie exactly what happened: whether he pushed Priscilla away, whether he was disgusted, whether the attempt finally destroyed whatever tolerance he had for her.
Instead, the ending barely addresses it.
This is one of my biggest frustrations with the novel. A returning former love should ideally force the hero to confront the difference between the woman he once thought he wanted and the woman who has quietly become indispensable.
Priscilla could have been the catalyst for Terzan finally recognising everything Angie gives him that her sister never could. But the book doesn't use succeed in using her that way.
Worse, the eventual revelation is that Terzan was apparently never seriously in love with Priscilla at all. He had been toying with her. That undermined a large part of the revenge premise for me.
If he never truly loved Priscilla, why was he so furious with Angie? Why spend months punishing his innocent wife for her sister's betrayal? Why tolerate Priscilla's presence in his home once she returned? Why indulge her and seemingly use her to torment Angie? The ending desperately needed Terzan to explain himself.
Something as simple as him admitting that women had disappointed him all his life, that Priscilla merely confirmed his belief that women were selfish and untrustworthy, and that he initially saw Angie as another opportunist trying to exploit a rich, newly blind man would have made sense.
Then he could have explained that Angie slowly proved herself to be the kind of woman he never believed existed, but by the time he realised it, he had treated her so badly that he no longer knew how to make himself vulnerable enough to admit what she meant to him.
Likewise, I wanted him to acknowledge their physical relationship: that he kept reaching for her because he couldn't resist her, that her warmth was the only comfort he had while he felt frightened and powerless, and that he pushed her away afterwards because needing her terrified him.
That would have transformed so much of his behaviour.
But we never get it.
The final conflict comes through a large misunderstanding. Angie believes Terzan is arranging their divorce. Terzan believes Angie knows that he's leaving to undergo risky eye surgery.
When Angie tells him to make sure the "surgeon's scalpel is swift," she means the metaphorical knife of a divorce lawyer. Terzan thinks she's coldly telling him to hurry up and regain his sight because she cannot tolerate a blind husband.
He therefore leaves for surgery believing his wife despises his disability and him and really is the cold woman he hoped she wasn't.
Angie remains on the island believing her husband has gone away to divorce her.
For three months.
This stretched credibility.
Terzan's staff know where he is. Why does nobody tell his wife he's undergoing repeated operations? Why does Angie apparently receive no letters or information? Why does nobody tell Terzan that his wife is pregnant?
I could accept some misunderstanding for the sake of the plot, but three months of complete silence made the situation feel contrived.
More importantly, I wanted Angie to leave.
She's pregnant and believes her husband is divorcing her to return to Priscilla. I would have respected her far more if she'd gone home to build a life for herself and her child.
I suppose the author couldn't do this because she would have discoverd Cilla was at home and not with Terzan, as she had assumed.
But she could still have believed Terzan was undergoing surgery partly for Priscilla if necessary. There were ways to preserve the misunderstanding without requiring Angie to remain passively on his island waiting for him to discard her.
Instead, she simply stays there in luxury being cared for by his servants, depriving us of a better ending where he had to fear he'd lost her and chase her to England, finally spurn Cilla in sight of Angie, and save pregnant Angie from the impoverished drudgery of her existence in England. Now that would have been fab.
Instead, after three months, Terzan suddenly returns to the island. The surgeries have worked. He can see again.
Then one extremely brief conversation clears up almost everything.
They discover the divorce/operation misunderstanding almost immediately, confess their love, embrace, he discovers she's pregnant, and everyone is happy.
And that's essentially the ending.
After everything Angie endured, this was nowhere near enough for me.
There is little meaningful remorse from Terzan and no detailed explanation of why he behaved as he did. He doesn't unpack those months of cruelty, his apparent obsession with Priscilla, his treatment of Angie during their marriage or what was actually happening emotionally beneath all that coldness.
Nor do we get enough from Angie about what those three months of separation meant to her, or her horror at learning that he was undergoing frightening surgery alone while she believed he was arranging a divorce.
The ending needed room to breathe.
More than anything, this was our one opportunity to finally see Terzan's softness.
For almost the entire book we receive his harshness. I was willing to endure that because I expected the payoff to be discovering how deeply he had actually loved and needed Angie beneath it.
Instead, we receive barely a crumb.
And because we'd been given so little affection from him previously, even that crumb initially felt wonderful. After an entire novel of emotional starvation, the slightest tenderness naturally seems abundant.
But once I thought about it, it wasn't enough.
High angst works best for me when it is balanced by glimpses of secret devotion during the story and a cathartic ending where the hero finally lays himself bare, acknowledges the damage he caused and gives the heroine the emotional security she has earned.
Second Best Bride gives me the anguish but not enough of the reward.
I'm still giving it 4 stars because for most of the book I genuinely enjoyed the exact sort of painful romance I like: a self-sacrificing heroine hopelessly in love with a cold, dominant man who repeatedly gives her passion and then emotionally rejects her.
I could even reread it for that angst.
I just wouldn't reread it for the ending.
Had Terzan's hidden feelings been seeded more clearly, Priscilla's return been used to force his emotional awakening, and the final reconciliation included genuine remorse, explanation and devotion, this could have been considerably stronger for me. Instead, the romance feels emotionally incomplete: plenty of punishment, but not nearly enough healing.
April 8, 2014
This was an exciting book from a great author. I read a little about this book and had to get it. Angie is a great character that takes what Terzan Helios gives her. Only because her sister was to marry him and left him when he became blind. She is always there to get her sister out of trouble. Seems she doesn't know what her sister is really like.
Terzan wants to use Angie but there is something about her that makes him feel better. He is a man that is used to getting his way and that is what makes him a great alpha. I love to read books about alpha males and the women they fall in love with.
I never wanted this book to end. I just couldn't get enough of this book and the characters. I don't want to give much away and ruin it for anyone.
Terzan wants to use Angie but there is something about her that makes him feel better. He is a man that is used to getting his way and that is what makes him a great alpha. I love to read books about alpha males and the women they fall in love with.
I never wanted this book to end. I just couldn't get enough of this book and the characters. I don't want to give much away and ruin it for anyone.
March 4, 2015
not a bad one, but hero was so cruel and mean I rated it one star at first. on second thoughts, this is worth a 3 star. I just wish Terzan had been nicer because Angelina gave her best for him. she supported him all the way. I especially felt hurt for her when he told her she was plain but der were other compensations about her. Angelina was really gorgeous but had no idea of her worth. she and cilla were infact quite the same in appearance, just cilla was bubbly and a social animal. so I dunno how she came to the conclusion dat cilla was pretty and she ugly.
March 29, 2022
Second-Best Bride was about Angelica (often changed to Angelina so not sure which was correct) “Angie” Rose, eldest daughter of a vicar, and Terzan Helios, a Greek tycoon.
Angie was used to helping her father with his work, doing the household chores, and helping parishioners around the village as they needed it. Her younger sister, Priscilla “Cilla”, was a very flighty young lady who had no care for who she hurt or that she caused others many indignities. When Cilla approached Angie with a “need” for assistance to break off her engagement to Terzan, she told Angie though the man was handsome, he was cold and cruel. Cilla begged Angie to go to his Greek island and inform him in person that she could no longer marry him. Cilla manipulated both her father and Angie to get her way.
Upon arriving on the island, Angie learned, much to her dismay, that Terzan had suffered an accident that ended with him being blind...and that Cilla had known about it but had failed to inform her. When Terzan realized that Angie had shown up in place of his fiancee, he took full advantage of it and used Angie in many ways in order to punish her and Cilla for the betrayal.
After some grueling work that Angie had to endure, along with the harshness of his words and other treatment, Terzan said the only other way he would be mollified was if Angie married him. Having fallen in love with the brute without his knowledge, she reluctantly agreed. After her marriage, things did not improve. Especially when her sister showed up and made things more difficult between the couple.
The way Terzan treated Angie was appalling from the moment they first met, constantly berating her, not only in private but also in front of her sister and others...and letting her sister do the same without rebuke. The things Angie had to endure at the hands of these two were so overwhelming I wanted to destroy them for her sake. Cilla was also constantly undermining their relationship. She was such a horrible person!
Angie, though, was a bit of a pushover. She was so soft-hearted and loving that she forgave way too easily when slighted, or spoken to in a harsh manner as these two did constantly. She rarely stood up for herself and, the few times she did, she backed down at the first sign of confrontation. She was easy to manipulate...and manipulate her people did.
While the storyline was decent, the angst, drama, and so many negative emotions overpowered anything good and decent. There was absolutely no humor to ease the tension that was prevalent from beginning to the very end.
This book was such a heartwrenching story that I just could not give it more than one star. This was not a love story so much as it was a lesson in how to NOT treat other people, even if you’ve had a bad experience or two.
Angie was used to helping her father with his work, doing the household chores, and helping parishioners around the village as they needed it. Her younger sister, Priscilla “Cilla”, was a very flighty young lady who had no care for who she hurt or that she caused others many indignities. When Cilla approached Angie with a “need” for assistance to break off her engagement to Terzan, she told Angie though the man was handsome, he was cold and cruel. Cilla begged Angie to go to his Greek island and inform him in person that she could no longer marry him. Cilla manipulated both her father and Angie to get her way.
Upon arriving on the island, Angie learned, much to her dismay, that Terzan had suffered an accident that ended with him being blind...and that Cilla had known about it but had failed to inform her. When Terzan realized that Angie had shown up in place of his fiancee, he took full advantage of it and used Angie in many ways in order to punish her and Cilla for the betrayal.
After some grueling work that Angie had to endure, along with the harshness of his words and other treatment, Terzan said the only other way he would be mollified was if Angie married him. Having fallen in love with the brute without his knowledge, she reluctantly agreed. After her marriage, things did not improve. Especially when her sister showed up and made things more difficult between the couple.
The way Terzan treated Angie was appalling from the moment they first met, constantly berating her, not only in private but also in front of her sister and others...and letting her sister do the same without rebuke. The things Angie had to endure at the hands of these two were so overwhelming I wanted to destroy them for her sake. Cilla was also constantly undermining their relationship. She was such a horrible person!
Angie, though, was a bit of a pushover. She was so soft-hearted and loving that she forgave way too easily when slighted, or spoken to in a harsh manner as these two did constantly. She rarely stood up for herself and, the few times she did, she backed down at the first sign of confrontation. She was easy to manipulate...and manipulate her people did.
While the storyline was decent, the angst, drama, and so many negative emotions overpowered anything good and decent. There was absolutely no humor to ease the tension that was prevalent from beginning to the very end.
This book was such a heartwrenching story that I just could not give it more than one star. This was not a love story so much as it was a lesson in how to NOT treat other people, even if you’ve had a bad experience or two.
June 20, 2024
For some reason, I really like this kind of story and a heroine that may very well be a "goody two shoes", but she's honest.
Sometimes Angie may seem insecure and sort of a pushover, for she's probably too sensitive to others. She's hurt innumerable times whenever the hero lashes at her, but for the most part she recognizes it's due to his condition and frustration and just goes on loving him without trying to change him. She obeys and seem to go to great lengths to not disturb him yet, at the same time, she doesn't try to change herself to please him either.
Terzan is the hero who quickly recognizes Angie can be pretty useful in several ways, including being the recipient of his frustration and cynicism towards women in general.
Of course if there weren't any misunderstandings, there would be no story, but some details don't make much sense to me:
- why would Angie disclose her pregnancy to her sister Cilla and not her husband, when she had already recognized Cilla was but a gold-digger and had be warned she wanted her husband to herself?
- why would Terzan confide in Cilla and not her wife about submitting himself to another surgery?...
- why would Terzan assume she was only obliging him for the money when in reality she found his affliction repulsive, even though he knew from the start she was the sensitive type and had taken advantage of that to trick her into actually marrying him? Even though she confessed her love for him on their first night together? Even though they made love every single night since getting married! (Doesn't she ever menstruate or something?)
After all this angst and mistrust throughout the entire book, things seem to resolve really quick after Terzan’s return - too quickly.
"I love you really much".
Great. Now that I've finally seen your face, it’s easy not to doubt your feelings anymore?...
3.5*, rounded to 4* because it’s still very well written and enjoyable, IMO.
Sometimes Angie may seem insecure and sort of a pushover, for she's probably too sensitive to others. She's hurt innumerable times whenever the hero lashes at her, but for the most part she recognizes it's due to his condition and frustration and just goes on loving him without trying to change him. She obeys and seem to go to great lengths to not disturb him yet, at the same time, she doesn't try to change herself to please him either.
Terzan is the hero who quickly recognizes Angie can be pretty useful in several ways, including being the recipient of his frustration and cynicism towards women in general.
Of course if there weren't any misunderstandings, there would be no story, but some details don't make much sense to me:
- why would Angie disclose her pregnancy to her sister Cilla and not her husband, when she had already recognized Cilla was but a gold-digger and had be warned she wanted her husband to herself?
- why would Terzan confide in Cilla and not her wife about submitting himself to another surgery?...
- why would Terzan assume she was only obliging him for the money when in reality she found his affliction repulsive, even though he knew from the start she was the sensitive type and had taken advantage of that to trick her into actually marrying him? Even though she confessed her love for him on their first night together? Even though they made love every single night since getting married! (Doesn't she ever menstruate or something?)
After all this angst and mistrust throughout the entire book, things seem to resolve really quick after Terzan’s return - too quickly.
"I love you really much".
Great. Now that I've finally seen your face, it’s easy not to doubt your feelings anymore?...
3.5*, rounded to 4* because it’s still very well written and enjoyable, IMO.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2017
Rome is another among my "That author--yeah I'll read" list of Old Schools. She has one of those amazing kinda purplish prose meets winsome lyricism plus 'wow, exposition' amongst details about interiors and foreign lands things going. King of Kielder is a classic of its type. But she's also another author with a few iterations along similar themes. Another where a few miss the mark and yes, this title didn't quite hit.
Rome can be a bit wince-inducing to my sensibilities in the gender dynamics and the heroes overwhelming the heroines with masculine persuasion. Here tho, she was drippy and misunderstood everything and he had silent type ~repressed emotions~ appeal. I kept wanting her to snap out of it (as he obviously kept wanting to snap a reaction out of her other than oh-woe). Their mix was tiresome.
Writing my quick review I forgot the hero was blind. This one clearly didn't stick with me. But now that I remember, it does stick with me we got contrived separation, mooning about, and maliciously laid disinformation to cause said. Meh. But the reunion--and his finally showing that repressed emotion--was nice. So there's that.
At least the heroine grew a backbone about her awful sister. But what of her poor father who we never heard about again after she up and left & got surprised married? lol ah well.
Rome can be a bit wince-inducing to my sensibilities in the gender dynamics and the heroes overwhelming the heroines with masculine persuasion. Here tho, she was drippy and misunderstood everything and he had silent type ~repressed emotions~ appeal. I kept wanting her to snap out of it (as he obviously kept wanting to snap a reaction out of her other than oh-woe). Their mix was tiresome.
Writing my quick review I forgot the hero was blind. This one clearly didn't stick with me. But now that I remember, it does stick with me we got contrived separation, mooning about, and maliciously laid disinformation to cause said. Meh. But the reunion--and his finally showing that repressed emotion--was nice. So there's that.
At least the heroine grew a backbone about her awful sister. But what of her poor father who we never heard about again after she up and left & got surprised married? lol ah well.
April 1, 2024
"Second-Best Bride" is the story of Angie and Terzan.
So plain Jane heroine is forced by her bratty, money hungry sister to travel to Greece. The reason, to personally inform her fiance that she has found another man.
What she discovers is a blind, angry, rude man who then blackmails the heroine into being his wife.
God the heroine is just too nice. She is treated shabbily by her sister, and at most times the hero. When the sister re-enters the picture she gives up on her husband? GIRL KICK THAT HO OUT!
Anyways things work out and book ends in fade to black but quite frustrating.
SWE
2.5/5
So plain Jane heroine is forced by her bratty, money hungry sister to travel to Greece. The reason, to personally inform her fiance that she has found another man.
What she discovers is a blind, angry, rude man who then blackmails the heroine into being his wife.
God the heroine is just too nice. She is treated shabbily by her sister, and at most times the hero. When the sister re-enters the picture she gives up on her husband? GIRL KICK THAT HO OUT!
Anyways things work out and book ends in fade to black but quite frustrating.
SWE
2.5/5
February 25, 2018
It was okay as a pass-time read. The heroine had to take care of the man her sister broke her engagement to and fled. She was shocked because of the many things she encountered when she went to tell he her sister no longer wanted to marry him and had to stay under blackmail and pity for him to take care of him and marry him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2021
A good story but no one outside of a melodrama talks like that. Also H is manipulative selfish and so cynical. Several times he accuses her of marrying him for money yet she has gotten nothing from him until nasty sister attacks her for wearing an old dress to her wedding.
October 21, 2017
We have doormat and alpha tycoon. He is blind. She is Mother Teresa. We have victory for kind plain Jane over vivacious glamourpuss. What's not to love? PS- also hubby buys clothes without asking. I know. Only in fairy tales.
June 22, 2015
This book is ok, a quick read. It has very flowery prose and I really couldn't get a feel for the era it was set it as the dialogue was very old fashioned. Enjoyable enough to read. The plot didn't quite match up at the end.
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November 25, 2016No lo calificaré porque, diría que me causó enojo leerlo, pero al a vez fue una lectura entretenida y rápida. Qué odiosa hermana y qué protagonista tan patán, si no es el más patán que he leído está muy cerca.
December 17, 2024
Read as a teenager and loved it. Rereading it now it is Over the top, as this author tends to be. Very melodramatic and the h is completely put upon but so lovely and kind that everyone eventually succumbs to her charm or goes away mad.
December 28, 2014
3 or 4 stars - didn't like how badly he treated her and then says he loves her, and she says she loves him; he did nothing the made me feel he was worthy of her love.
August 9, 2012
re-read this today on scribd.com; it's amazing how my tastes have changed over 25 years!
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