Product Description

A woman without passion and a man without hope

A childhood trauma has left Lady Blanche Harrington incapable of all emotion, least of all love. Now circumstance demands she marry, and Blanche dreads choosing from her horde of fawning suitors. For one very eligible gentleman has not stepped forward . . .

A war hero and a recluse, Rex de Warenne has long admired Lady Blanche. Though fate and his own dark nature have robbed him of any hope for the kind of future such a lady deserves, Rex is determined to aid her -- and keep his feelings to himself. But when their growing friendship leads to a night of shocking passion, Blanche's newfound memories threaten their fragile love . . . and Blanche's very life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126520 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780373772445
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Joyce's seventh de Warenne novel is another first-rate Regency, featuring multidimensional protagonists and sweeping drama. Six months after the death of her father, Lady Blanche Harrington must seek a husband to help manage her vast fortunes. It's an unfortunate but necessary duty for the chilly Blanche, who's carefully controlled all emotions since the death of her mother two decades earlier. As Blanche travels to her late father's estate in Cornwall, she makes an ill-timed appearance at the home of a former suitor's brother, Sir Rex de Warenne, catching him in a compromising (but strangely enticing) position with the maid. The attraction between the self-loathing Rex and self-denying Blanche is vivid and believable, developing gradually under the watch of Rex's bitter former lover. When Blanche's repressed memories of her mother's death begin to resurface, a tumultuous chain of events threatens the couple's love and possibly Blanche's life. Entirely fluff-free, Joyce's tight plot and vivid cast combine for a romance that's just about perfect. (Aug.)
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From Booklist
Joyce continues her alluring deWarenne Dynasty series (A Lady at Last, 2006) with the story of Rex deWarenne, a virtual recluse at his estate in Cornwall after losing a leg in the Napoleonic Wars. After her father's death, Blanche knows she must get married, but she believes she is damaged. She has no strong feelings, and, while she appears peaceful and serene, she is dismayed by her indifference to the suitors lined up at her door. Her friend suggests a trip to Cornwall, suspecting that Blanche is denying her interest in the one man who needs to marry an heiress but hasn't shown up to ask for her hand: Rex deWarenne. Although his dark, brooding nature would alarm most ladies, he brings Blanche's feelings to life. But with an open heart comes long suppressed memories of a traumatic event. Blanche soon thinks she's going mad. Truly a stirring story with wonderfully etched characters, Joyce's latest is Regency romance at its best. Hatton, Maria

Review
"Romance veteran Joyce brings her keen sense of humor and storytelling prowess to bear on her witty, fully formed characters." -- Publishers Weekly on A Lady at Last

Customer Reviews

4.5 stars
A wonderful historical romance. This is my third Brenda Joyce / DeWarenne book, and so far my favorite, (I have also read Stolen Bride and A Lady at Last.) I really felt the love and admiration between Sir Rex and Blanch, and as they got to know each other I became so enthralled in this story I couldn't put the book down as I needed to know what happened next.

Some reviews have noted that this isnt a highly passionate story, but I believe that is because there wasn't a lot of the lusty, steamy bedroom scenes that so many of today's historical novels include. (However, there were a few steamy scenes.) This is more of a love story from the heart, not the more typical storyline of lust-that-turns-into-love.

I really have new respect for this author. After I read Stolen Bride, I wasn't sure I would ever read another Joyce book again. But I did recognize her great writing style, although I did not care for the plot of Stolen Bride. I think Joyce's talent really shines in this books. This is a believable, plausable action romance story between two very different people who are so perfect together.

"A perfect bride" was almost a perfect book
It's 5 pm and I just finished it. I was in love with the hero 3 pages after I met him! I really liked the heroine who was so graceful and behaved wonderfully throughout the novel. I was never once annoyed with her--which hardly ever happens when I read romances lately. I was so sucked into the story I read it one sitting. It had a somewhat unusual plot, but it was just so well-written with characters so life-like, it could have had any plot and I wouldn't have cared because WHEREVER the plot was taking these two characters...I wanted to be there. This is one of my favorite books of the de Warren dynasty. Of course, The Conqueror is #1, then the Prize, A Lady at last and the rest are a blur. If you want an absorbing, satsfying read where you're rooting, gasping and crying, get this one. I wouldn't steer you wrong! My only wish was that we could have seen Blanche return to the ton and prove all those people wrong about her. I'm sure we'll see more of them in the next books about the next generation of de Warrens. I can't wait for Ariella's story!

Beautiful story!
This is one of the loveliest romances I've read in a long time. For once, the hero and heroine actually fall in love with one another, rather than just fall in lust, declare love, and get hitched. This is a love story. So refreshing!

The heroine, Blanche, is marvelously drawn. She is sweet, generous, mature, and truly lovely. She doesn't stamp and pout like other heroines, she isn't mean and cruel to her hero to keep the tension going, she isn't silly, she isn't stupid. She's a fantastic character.

Sir Rex is also extraordinary, to me. He truly is the tortured hero, brooding and dark, but unlike other "tortured" heroes he does not sulk or do inexcusable things and then blame them on past traumas. He is honorable and respectful and intriguing, kind and thoughtful, and very, very passionate.

I think what I like so much about this book is that the main characters are ADULTS, who act in a mature manner. And they truly respect one another, as well, and treat one another with kindness and courtesy. There's one plot point in the book where Blanche does hurt Sir Rex, but she doesn't do it out of selfishness or cruelty.

There are some problems with the book: historical inaccuracies, and there's an Other Woman of sorts in the book, which seems weird and out of place in this novel, to me. Typos also clutter up the pages. There are a few words and phrases that get repeated a little too often (people "breathe," "startle," and "cry" a lot in this novel, while "wide-eyed," and so forth) but it doesn't hurt the book for me.

But I do love this novel. Rex and Blanche are so good together, love each other so much, and are so good to one another. The plot is actually very melodramatic, dealing with hidden sons, murdered mothers, scheming maids, insanity, and combined with the bleak Cornish backdrop, it's very Gothic. It's a testament to Brenda Joyce's writing that I love every melodramatic aspect of it, and it doesn't actually feel melodramatic at all.

Wonderful novel!