The Bargain Bride

by Barbara Metzger

Praised by Publishers Weekly for writing “Regency romance at its finest and funniest,” RITA Award-winning author Barbara Metzger presents an engaging novel of love, marriage, and seduction…
 
It was a match made not in heaven, but in pound notes—an arranged engagement between a girl of thirteen and a lord’s prodigal son. Since then, thirteen years have passed, and as her betrothed has been sowing his wild oats, Penny has grown up, grown impatient, and grown resentful. In fact, she’s vowed never to marry the man who blighted her life and destroyed her dreams.
 
Viscount Westfield is prepared—happily—to return the money that Penny’s father paid to secure the betrothal. It would appear that everyone is in agreement. But one look at Penny and Westfield knows he can never, ever let her go…

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Regency, Historical, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Marriage Of Convenience

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 3, 2009

About the author

Barbara Metzger is the author of over three dozen books and a dozen novellas. She has also been an editor, a proof-reader, a greeting card verse-writer, and an artist. When not painting, writing romances or reading them, she volunteers at the local library, gardens and goes beach-combing and yard-saling.

Her novels, mostly set in Regency-era England, have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America RITA, the National Reader's Choice Award, and the Madcap award for humor in romance writing. In addition, Barbara has won two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times Magazine.

Source: http://www.barbarametzger.com/about_b...

Reviews

[_inbetween_ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bleurgh. Remembering that Metzger was a more old-fashioned Heyer copyist, and that her books might be a bit boring and empty but potentially contain some love and affection, I came looking for romance - and found the usual tedious fuck fest. It was harder than studying fiscal economics formulas to finish this thing, even trying to skim endless inner monologues about nothing.

With a gay valet and a fainting dog around, it makes no sense not to use them, but she has nothing to do for them except be a brief tee-hee mention. She wastes 300 unbearably boring pages on utter nothingness, dragging out a non-quarrel through four chapters, straining to find a single reason why the beautiful rich young people should have a problem - there she has to use Heyer again, unable to think of a plot herself, but Grand Sophy rotates in her grave at the sight of this girl retrieving gaming debts. It's gobsmacking but true that she can neither show why her characters should love each other, nor show why they might think the opposite.

Just like William Burroughs said that his Naked Lunch would repell youngsters rather than make them have (more) sex, these novels have turned me into an asexual.

[Carrie Olguin · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

If women really behave towards men the way the heroine does in this book (because I never would), then as a gender, we owe men everywhere our heartfelt apologizes. And if women behave like this heroine, then no wonder men haven't a clue about women.

The H/h have been betrothed for 13 years with very little contact.

The hero finally shows up, not to marry her, but to have her cry off. She does so, punching him in the jaw as part of her answer.

Then her father arrives and blackmails the couple into marriage. They both know they have no choice. She asks the hero 1. that he be faithful and 2. to wait until they know each other better before consummating the marriage. The hero agrees to both requests.

A few day later, the heroine asks the hero to just get the consummation over with. Of course he agrees. When she realizes she likes what he is doing, she basically throws him out. Next night, they try again. She really, really likes what he is doing but can't believe she can make such unlady-like noises, so she throws him out of her bedroom again, then congratulates herself on the way her revenge is going.

So the hero tries everything he can think of to woo his wife and win her over. She suspects everything he does, and without any evidence or even a tid-bit of gossip, decides her husband is having sex with barmaids and widows and any woman who smiles in his direction. So while she's making herself crazy with jealousy, she's also craving him in her bed and angry with HIM that she is still a virgin.

I got as far as her shredding the curtains around his bed with his straight razor in a jealous frenzy before I had enough of her delusions and insecurities.

[Cheesecake · Rating 1 out of 5]

So disappointing.

I wanted to see him truly regret avoiding her and caring nothing for her for over a decade, but that doesn't happen.
And worse, the author robs the h of her strength of character almost immediately after the best part; where she punches him when they finally meet again. Next thing you know, she's apologizing and having tbs over his handsome womanizing self, and he's being smarmy with his man-about-town charm.
And even MORE worse, it borders on corny every time you hope for some honest emotions.
And worse again, sigh, she keeps harping on the years he ignored her existence philandering away in London with no discretion. But instead of it creating some angst and grovel, he makes her feel like a nagging shrew! There's a term for that now... DARVO!

He falls for her, but I don't know why other than he has the hots for her. Same from her end. I disliked every single character.

They spend a 3rd of the story apart and in the meantime one of his ex paramours and a villainous stepbrother show up being snide and lying. The trollop gets her comeuppance, but not from him. He just stands there like a doofus. There's no grovel or regret for being intimate with such a trollop. In fact he gets his panties in a twist over ... well I don't know what really. It was just stupid and so was the final confrontation with the villain. The ending was cornier than a can of creamed corn.

Meh

Safety was for sh*t.
He's spent the last 4 years shagging opera singers and widows with no thought of the h. She has never even been kissed and she's 26 years old! (He's 32). They were betrothed when she was 13 and it's been 13 years.
He gives a brief off the cuff apology for not coming to see her sooner, quickly followed by a bunch of mealy mouthed excuses as to why he didn't. He seems unable to understand her anger and puts it down to maidenly fears.
Honestly, where's a skillet when you need one!?

[Melody May (What I'm Reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todays pick is The Bargain Bride. I read this about three times when I was starting my collection of romance novels again. Let me share the history.

When I started to reading romance novels again, I always got embarrass at some of the covers. I got over that fast, since some of the covers are accompanied by some pretty good stories. Well, The Bargain Bride has a modest cover, so of course I bought it.

I love how the story starts out with a marriage agreement made when Persephone Goldwaite was 13 years old. Thirteen years later she still hasn't married Kendall Westmoreland, Viscount Westfield and she's fed up and has decided not to marry him. Come on 13 years is a long time to wait for a guy even if he has a titled. However, her father says no and they have to marry each; after all its in writing. Gotta love a forced marriage. Well, Persephone has a lot of insecurities due to the fact that she has been place firmly on the self for so long; when West finally marries her, she figures he couldn't get out of the marriage contract. However, he slowly falls in love with her.

Ok, if that was all to the story it would be pretty boring, but its not. In the story you have scummy step-brother who just wants Persephone's money, a wastrel brother-in-law, a conniving step-mother and bitter ex-mistress. You gotta love a bitter ex-mistress. I liked the story after all I read it three times. However, this my opinion of the book. So, if you want to check out The Bargain Bride it's a pretty good book.

[Mina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This feels so like old school Balogh/Laurens/airy 80s category regencies that I was genuinely baffled to learn it was first published in 2009. I thought this type of light blend of humour and character/story tropes was a thing of the past - this is so minimal on plot and detail and angst. But it's a clipping, fun read whose characters are likeable even though they're sometimes obnoxious and ultimately less than three dimensional. I liked it so much I bought it in hard copy, though now I don't quite remember why. Probably worth a re-read. 19 Aug/12

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kendall Westmoreland was promised to Penny Goldwaite when she was thirteen and he not much older. The engagement was beneficial to both sides: his impoverished aristocratic family got access to the Goldwaite banking fortune, and the Goldwaites got a title and access to the ton. That was thirteen years ago, however, and since then West's father and elder brother have died, leaving him Viscount Westfield, and he has striven to make up the debt he owes the Goldwaites in order to cry off the engagement. It is no use--at least West is forced to declare himself for Penny and actually marry her. He isn't thrilled to marry a stranger he remembers as a gawky child, but finds that Penny is now a gorgeous, strong-minded woman who's devoted herself to good works. Penny, on the other hand, was once in hero-worshiping love with West, but thirteen years of neglect on his part destroyed her gilded image of him. Now he has to prove that she can trust him not to abandon her again.

I really liked this! Both characters are well-drawn, and their mixed feelings about their arranged match and forced intimacy are totally understandable and make for an engaging story. (I also appreciated the presence of several non-straight characters.) The plots not driven by Penny and West's personal conflicts are resolved unbelievably easily, but that was fine with me--I'm in this for the relationships, not the specifics of how a card shark is defeated or a ball becomes a success.

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a HUGE Barbara Metzger fan, and I truly do enjoy the silly romps that she writes. That said, this book is not up to her usual standards. I am about 2/3 of the way through, and it's a struggle to finish. The hero and heroine don't seem to have much in common other than a physical attraction. The hero's reasons for marrying the poor bargain bride are not very compelling, but the two do indeed get married (which is not suggested in the description on the back of the book). A good portion of the book is spent married, and it looks like they reach an accord of sorts only after they consummate the marriage. Before that, the heroine's obstinacy in the face of the hero's efforts to make up for his previous neglect is frustrating. I understand her being upset with him, but she is just plain irrational and irritating in many of her demands.

I'm hesitant now to pick up any new Metzger books. I'll probably just start reading her back catalog instead.

[Edwina " I LoveBooks" "Deb" · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my first time reading Ms. Metzger's book so I didn't know what to expect. However, I was very dissapointed with the herion of the story Penny she was always angry, mean spirited, revengful and she acted like a 5 year old having a temper tantrum. She was betroth at 13 by her father, who just wanted her to married into a titled family. So 13 years later the hero West has come for her in hopes she will cry off the marriage, but the two of them are forced to marry, because of the contract between their two fathers. West's father is dead but Penny's father will not let them brake the betrothal contract. So she takes it all out on West instead of her father. Poor West tries to make the best of the marriage which make him come of henpecked and weak, but Penny wants love; but her character is written where she is just not loveable and for me this just didn't make sense. She really got on my nerves!!!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I didn't hate this as much as other people who have reviewed it, that's for sure. Maybe because the other Barbara Metzger books I have read were worse. And hey, I needed a book with a character named Penny, so here we are.

Penny has been engaged for 13 long years without any contact with her future husband. You see, that's what happened back then with arranged marriages. It's dumb, but there you have it. For some reason they both feel like they are stuck in this arrangement because of a dowry, but the viscount saves and saves to pay it back and be released from his father's promise. His offer is denied, they are forced into a quick marriage, and there are lots of misunderstanding and arguments and insta-love. This book is silly but she's definitely written worse. I also didn't want to punch anything while reading it.

If you want to really be annoyed by Barbara Metzger, read her House of Cards trilogy instead. 3 stars.

[kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

A 26 year old heroine who is a childish, spiteful, shrew. Boo hoo Persephone. You had to marry a handsome, responsible, honorable titled war hero who is bending over backwards to make you happy and your marriage work. Cut the guy a little slack sweetie. Your no bargain.

Add to that the never ending packing up moving boxes and dropping food off at the poor and you have a DNF at 38%. Kicking myself I didn't quit sooner.

[Lyndol Burns Parrish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for a boring day

Great little book to read to pass the time on a boring day. I will say that this one while entertaining is not up to this authors usual standards. It's like she didn't put as much of her heart and humor into it. It does have her normal humorous scenes but nowhere near as many or as funny. Not a novel to swoon over but will entertain you on a rainy day.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up at the bookstore because it had gotten a nice review or two and it sounded interesting. Well, I can now scratch Barbara Metzger from my list. What a disappointment. The premise was fine and interesting, but the characters--OMG! The hero and heroine did a lot of talking AT each other, instead of communicating, the heroine's favorite ploy seemed to be stalking off in a huff and the minor characters were eccentric to a very annoying degree. I just couldn't bring myself to read past page 50. Sigh.

[Rob Imes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is THE BARGAIN BRIDE by Barbara Cartland, published by Jove Books in Dec. 1989. This was book #76 in a CAMFIELD NOVEL OF LOVE series that Cartland was churning out on a near-monthly basis. This was the first Cartland novel that I've ever read. The thin page count, only 162 pages, plus Cartland's simple writing style (where most paragraphs are only a sentence long) made it an easy and pleasurable read.

It's a Regency romance involving a young innocent woman named Aleda who must sell the family home to pay her brother's debts. The only one willing to buy the rundown place is a wealthy stranger who says he will buy it if she agrees to be his wife. The deal is made but Aleda fears that the man only wanted to marry her because of her title. In the end, the various mysteries surrounding his actions are resolved satisfactorily.

The highlight of the novel for me was near the end when Aleda is kidnapped, and suddenly the novel feels like a thrilling Victorian-era adventure, where our hero ("an expert in disguise"), accompanied by his servant Chang, must invade an opium den to rescue her. If the whole novel was like this, it would have been a wonderfully old-fashioned (and politically incorrect) classic yarn. But if so, it would have been less of a love story. For what it is, a thin romance novel, it holds one's interest throughout and makes one enjoy one's stay in its pages, even for so short a time as it takes to read them. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Barbara Cartland.

[Opal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy Metzger's humor, sudden twists and turns and how she ties all the crazy happenings together in the end.
But this book is just tedious. I couldn't even get to the part where they finally got married after 13 years of engagement. Persephone (why is she called Penny?) punches the hero on the nose because he has kept her hanging for 13 years. This happens in the first chapter. There is nothing interesting in this book after that. The issue with being engaged so long is mentioned ad nauseum.

After the forced marriage, the couple fall in love as expected and then it seems the author suddenly realized that nothing had happened yet. So suddenly the characters burst forth into a frenzy of madness. The strange French valet (what on earth is a French valet doing in a household like this is never explained) does mysterious things like walking into a party as a peer, there is a kind-of-step brother who is a card sharp, blackmailer, kidnapper etc., there is a disgruntled employee, a half-blind horse, a fainting dog, good for nothing brother-in-law, a crazy ex-mistress, one-legged soldier, blind gaffer etc. thrown in higeldly pigeldy with no rhyme or reason.

I wish I had stayed away from this bargain for the next 13 years.

[Jennifer Eckel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy a novel by Barbara Metzger. The author never takes her heroes and heroines too seriously. There is always an element of sillines in stuffy Dukes, or rich heiresses. The current novel is no exception. Betrothed by their parents for 13 years the hero and heroine decide not to marry, and then say I do. After the hero receives a black eye courtesy of the heroine. There is an evil stepbrother who mars the path of true love, but happiness does eventually reign. Interesting characters in the form of a grandfather with failing eyesight, his 'personal man-servant' an overdressed stepmother and her two horrible daughters in need of husbands. Very traditional regency but Metzger's humor makes it a keeper.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the premise but otherwise it was meh. I didn’t finish it but based on the other reviews I missed nothing worthwhile. The hero plans to not marry the heroine but now that he realizes she has boobs and blonde hair he is HERE FOR IT. Why is he suddenly determined to woo her? Unclear. Why does the entire household have to move to London immediately? Unclear. Why can’t servants pack as she directs? No reason. Why is she going to sponsor her hateful stepsisters after her dad and stepmom are garbage to her? Not clear. To drag out the book I guess. I stopped reading after the marriage was consummated because I saw that there was 40% left and what romantic tension was left? Whether or not they say “I love you”. Don’t care.

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read a few of Metzgers books, which were clean. Almost halfway into this one there was a love scene that was a bit too descriptive for me. That and the other innuendos and figuring there would only be more kept me from finishing. I did like Penny and West though, just not enough to finish.

Content: per www.likesbooks.com this would be considered "warm."

[Roo · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 45%(& that took 3 weeks!) I liked how it started, the MCs plus the grandpa & his friend were fun. But there was no reason for the H&h to have any relationship with her father, who “forced” the marriage or her mean stepmother once the wedding was over. I’d have been happy with it if had ended at the wedding.
Frankly, it was just way too long and boring to hold my interest.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out promising enough, but it went on for way too long and eventually just got wacky. Like if books could get senile.

[Esther · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a clean romance. I did not finish the book because there were scenes that were way too descriptive.

[Frances · Rating 1 out of 5]

The bargain.......

Glad I got it from my library because this book sucked. Started off as a funny regency and ended up just plain trash.

[Liat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out entertaining but did not make it through.

[More Books Than Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at page 100, skimmed a bit, read ending. Not bad, simply not good.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I much preferred it when Penny was fiesty and let her feelings be known to her father and Westfield....but ugh. as soon as Penny and West sleep together she becomes all jealous and clingy when he has to go far and away to take care of their horses when a fire happens at the stable.... what happened to being independent and not caring what he thought?!

The usual and typical scenes to a story like this. Like what else can you expect? No surprises there or anywhere. Everything is just a matter of when things are going to happen (the wedding, falling in love, getting rid of the bad guy, etc). Honestly, Penny turned out to be a very insecure and bitter person. And West.... the usual strapping and heartbreaking Lord turns it all around and falls in love with his arranged married wife. Surprise, surprise.

Boring story with very predictable storyline, not much redeeming quality, and handful of sex scenes.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gentle comedy that rocks along happily down the street to tell the reader about a woman who was betrothed for 13 years before her fiancee' came to reclaim her. Only, he didn't come to claim her, he came to pay her papa back her dowery, so Viscount Westfield did not have to marry her.

Penny, in the meantime, has been gathering anger, while her intended has been sowing wild oats. She is so angry with West that she has decided never to marry him -- no matter what. Her father, a greedy banker, however, has other ideas about dissolving the agreement. He comes bearing a special license for an immediate marriage. After blackmailing his daughter and threatening his future son-in-law, the marriage takes place.

As with all of Barbara Metzger's books, humor is in abundance. This is a fun bit of fluff to read anytime life is getting too grim.

[Howard Brazee]

A regency romance with a rich man's daughter and a man who bought his way out of the war when he became lord and had to run his lands. They were engaged 13 years and he didn't see her until he was solvent. Then they married and fell in love. Fun part was the line at the start of each chapter describing a different arranged marriage.

[Flo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, funny, lol, a rolliking, wonderful regency romance. This is the 2nd time I have read it. The heroine, Penny, is a smart young woman, the man,:Lord Westmore, chosen for her 13 years before is a rake, but handsome and finds her delightful. It's lovely to follow them to the alter and then to bed. Loved the Lord and the book.

[K.h.bb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well they say there is a first for everything, and it is the first time that I couldn't read more than a few chapter of a book by Barbara Metzger, so I dnf it and regretably couldn't give it more than a star

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[Miriamgreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well done but stop the nagging and adore the adoration
a reread