When Lily secretly takes her cousin’s place in an arranged marriage, little does she realise the desire, or the dangers, that await her.The Marquess of Westford only offered to marry disgraced Elizabeth Cosgrove to save her family’s honour. He has no idea that an innocent girl has taken her place.When the passion he arouses in Lily only confirms his belief that she’s a wanton, how can she ever … how can she ever convince him of her virtue?
The Substitute Bride is a classic Regency Romance by forbidden romance author Noël Cades.
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am not sure if this is a common trope in historical fiction, but I found it to be uniquely refreshing and so entertaining that, once again, I could not put it down until I finished it—just as with the other books by Nöel Cades.
This is the story about a proud marquess (Gervaise) who gallantly offers to save the reputation of a young woman, Betsy, that his cousin ruined. Unbeknownst to him, Betsy switches places with her own cousin, Libby, in the hopes that the rogue will marry her.
There are reviews that offer a more detailed synopsis, but I want to express my complete enjoyment of this wonderful book. I loved Gervaise and Libby. Their characters were very well written and their actions were completely authentic. Even the secondary characters, both good and bad, were realistic.
The plot was outstanding and kept me figuratively holding my breath for the secrets to be revealed. There was no disappointment in the outcome of the twists, turns, and deceptions. The ending was perfect!
I cannot recommend this book enough. It is a well written book full of romance and intrigue, wonderful dialogue and characters. I cannot wait for Nöel Cades to write another historical fiction novel.
Fabulous, page-turning steamy romance!
“The Substitute Bride” is a wonderful Gothic novel.
It starts with an intriguing premise. Lily’s cousin, Betsy, is jilted by a rogue, so her parents decide to marry Betsy off to a different man to save the family’s reputation. Betsy naively still hopes to marry the rogue so begs Lily to marry the stranger in her place.
This is much more than a story of an arranged marriage and what happens between Lily and the gorgeous Marquis of Westford after the wedding! A recently widowed neighbour is plotting to get Lily’s marriage dissolved so she can claim an inheritance and Lily’s new home holds a deadly secret. Precisely plotted twists and turns and intriguing characters meant that I stayed up far too late reading; the tantalising mystery sub-plot as well as the romantic tension meant that I had to know how it ended.
I was very excited to discover that this author has written other standalone Regency romances and many contemporary romances. I can’t wait to find a cosy chair by the fire and start reading the next book!
Deception follows two cousins who switch places to marry a Marquess. Once again Gervase must clean up his nephew’s indiscretions. A young lady is ruined and Gervase will sacrifice his happiness to marry her. Lily will be destitute when Betsy marries. Betsy longs for the young man who compromised her and fled to the continent. She plans to flee to Scotland to wait for his return. So they change places. Guilt is Lily’s constant companion, but love and desire for her husband gives her hope for his forgiveness. Unexpectedly Betsy arrives in despair. Not long after, the uncaring nephew shows up. There is evil close by and Lily’s life is in danger. This is one of those books I didn’t what to end. Note to the author: More Regency Forbidden Romance please.
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Love and deceptions. Review of Substitute Bride.
Betsy Cosgrove begs her orphaned and penniless Lily to take her place in an arranged marriage to an unknown man. Betsy Cosgrove is betrothed to this unknown man because she was caught in a comprising position with a rake named Tom Farrington and needs to rectify her place in society by marrying The Marquess of Westford However, Betsy does not want to marry him because she still hopes to marry her seducer. Lilly agrees to the deception and learns on her wedding day the Marquess is far from the ugly, old man her cousin said he was. Gervace Revelston Dainard is only marrying Betsy to save her reputation after his cousin seduced her. He has no idea that he is marrying the wrong bride. I really liked this book. It was a decent read and kept my interest. The mystery of “The enemy within” was intriguing and was not predictable. I loved the character of Lily Cosgrove. She is my hero! She kicked ass! Lol. I loved that she wasn’t a shrinking violet like her cousin. The story is dreamlike. It reads like a fairytale. The only thing missing is Once Upon A Time. Lol. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and will not be my last. I will look for more of her books in the future. I received a complimentary advanced review copy of this book and I am leaving this review voluntary.