Lord Garson’s dilemma.Hugh Rutherford, Lord Garson, loved and lost when his fiancée returned to the husband she’d believed drowned. In the three years since, Garson has come to loathe his notoriety as London’s most famous rejected suitor. It’s high time to find a bride, a level-headed, well-bred lady who will accept a loveless marriage and cause no trouble. Luckily he has just the candidate in … just the candidate in mind.
A marriage of convenience…
When Lady Jane Norris receives an unexpected proposal from her childhood friend Lord Garson, marriage to the handsome baron rescues her from a grim future. At twenty-eight, Jane is on the shelf and under no illusions about her attractions. With her father’s death, she’s lost her home and faces life as an impecunious spinster. While she’s aware Garson will never love again, they have friendship and goodwill to build upon. What can possibly go wrong?
…becomes very inconvenient indeed
From the first, things don’t go to plan, not least because Garson soon finds himself in thrall to his surprisingly intriguing bride. A union grounded in duty veers toward obsession. And when the Dashing Widows take Jane in hand and transform her into the toast of London, Garson isn’t the only man to notice his wife’s beauty and charm. He’s known Jane all her life, but suddenly she’s a dazzling stranger. This isn’t the uncomplicated, pragmatic match he signed up for. When Jane defies the final taboo and asks for his love, her impossible demand threatens to blast this convenient marriage to oblivion.
Once the dust settles, will Lord Garson still be the man who can only love once?
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Lord Garson’s Bride is number seven in the Dashing Widows series by Anna Campbell. This series originally was of three young widows just out of mourning who decide to have some fun… fortunately for those of us who have loved this series, Anna Campbell decided to continue on with three more widows and a jilted suitor from one of the previous books.
Hugh Rutherford, Lord Garson is the suitor in book six Catching Captain Nash. He was engaged to Morwenna Nash but bowed out gracefully when her husband returned from the dead. He truly loved Morwenna and has gained an extreme amount of notoriety as the jilted fiancée.
Lady Jane Norris is a childhood friend of Hugh’s. For ten years she took care of her father, now at the age of 28 and 6 months after her father has passed away she’s feeling sorry for herself. So when Hugh comes for a visit and proposes a marriage of friendship with no love involved, she thinks it’s enough….
I really liked Hugh and Jane. Their marriage started out on friendship and Hugh was honest with Jane from the start about his love for Morwenna. So my heart broke for her when she realized she loved Hugh! I’m so glad that she was strong enough to realize she wanted more and wasn’t willing to settle. Poor Hugh it took him awhile to realize that Jane was his perfect match and he was no longer in love with Morwenna. But eventually these two did work it all out and I for one am extremely happy they did! This series has definitely been a pleasure to read and I’m rather sad to leave this lovely group of people that have given me so many hours of enjoyment! I highly recommend this series!
From the moment I picked up Anna Campbell’s novel, I was entranced. It is a feast for all the senses. The cover is picture book perfect showing a bride in an exquisite white gown, fit for a princess. The plot is worthy of Jane Austen, so is the witty, fast flowing prose that sparkles: indeed, imagine a modern day Jane seated at her writing desk in a pair of white silk pyjamas, her curls tied back in a ribbon, a Jo Malone candle burning alongside. Every ingredient you’d hope to find in a Regency Romance is there: a virginal spinster, almost the wrong side of thirty (called Jane) who sees herself as plain; Hugh, Lord Garson, a dashing rake of a suitor, who needs a marriage of convenience to mend his broken heart from a disastrous love affair. Ms. Campbell has it all: the easy control of a very experienced writer over the plot; the detailed knowledge of Regency England as she sprinkles her work with various words I was curious to look up. With a very light touch, often laced with humour, she cleverly describes the cutthroat world of the glamorous Ton, as backbiting as any celebrity circle today. There’s a deliciously catty older sister, jealous of her younger sister making a better marriage than herself. And a wonderful scene where Susan drags Jane off to her elderly dressmaker, intent on making her sister plain again.
There is passion galore in the novel. I was put in mind of an enticingly decadent Pavlova, topped with lashes of cream and sprinkled with strawberries. Again, hats off to Ms Campbell for writing extended bedchamber scenes between Hugh and Jane with such sensitivity. Every word is measured and there is not a single false note in several pages: an achievement in itself. It’s like listening to a bow being drawn over a cello, so exquisite you end up holding your breath. As if you’re an invisible bystander in a world reserved for just two. All of Ms Campbell’s characters are made from flesh and blood and capture our interest until that very last page when you are hoping Cupid has reserved a happy ending for our worthy hero and heroine.
Feeling committed by his love for a woman who was never his, Lord Garson was blind to the opportunity that Fate was offering him. Lady Jane Norris was resigned to sadness and loneliness for company, but her self-pity was not going to take her anywhere and Lord Garson was offering her a way out of her misfortune. But would it be enough for her? First book that I read by Anna Campbell and had to say that I was caught in the story. Liked the strong emotions, the passion and Jane’s struggle with her feelings and her options. Enjoyed the vivid descriptions and narrations, the author’s writing style and the drama. A brave woman that was risking too much for love. Sometimes felt the desire to shake Lord Garson but, I have not read any other book in the series and didn’t know more about his public humiliation so, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Needless to say, I’m going for more!
I loved this book (I wanted to give it a 4.5), but I wanted to throttle Hugh Rutherford, Baron Garson. He proposes to and marries Lady Jane Norris even though he’s still in love with Morwenna (from the previous book). Jane fights her attraction to Hugh, hoping for the best, but he doesn’t return the love that she feels for him. After only weeks she gives in to her despair and separate from him. I really enjoyed this book and I plan to go back to the previous books in this series. Hope they are as good as this one! I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
Lord Garson’s humiliation took place in the most public of places, and yet he cannot blame his prospective bride for ditching him when her previously thought dead husband arrives in the middle of their betrothal ball. In a society that feeds on gossip, Hugh Rutherford has had his fill of being the most notorious bachelor in town and makes a calculated decision to ask Lady Jane Norris for her hand. Whilst he is a kind man at heart, his proposal is nevertheless insulting to her, but as he points out to Jane, what other options does she have? With the ghost of his former love interest between them, Jane struggles to find her way in their marriage, constantly aware that despite her husband’s obvious interest in her, she doesn’t have his heart. In a sense, Jane was rejected by Hugh even as they stood at the altar saying their marriage vows. In his quest for an heir Hugh wins Jane’s consent to be intimate but in so doing also engages her heart until Jane loves Hugh every bit as much as he had loved Morwenna. With both Hugh and Jane nursing broken hearts, she gives him an ultimatum, one that hurts her as much as him. This novel is painful and one feels for the heroine, identifying with her feelings of not being good enough. The hero did frustrate me in that despite being a really nice man, his clumsy handling of Jane’s feelings was hurtful. Nevertheless, the book does come to a happy conclusion. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
I could have just boxed his ears! So stubborn, deciding he was still in love and would always love Morwenna, even though she reconciled with her assumed dead husband. Then there is Jane, who accepts Hugh’s offer of marriage (he needs an heir and decides on a marriage of convenience) knowing that Hugh is still in love with his ex-fiance. Jane thinks she can live without love from her husband. Overall, I liked the story, but there were times when I wanted to box Jane’s ears also. I think the ending was too rushed. I wanted Hugh to really work for Jane’s forgiveness.
I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.
Can they make a marriage of convenience work? Lord Garson’s Bride is book #7 in the Dashing Widow Series by Anna Campbell. This is my first book by the author. I must say that I am impressed with the overall quality and absolutely beautiful cover artwork of this book.
Hugh Rutherford, Lord Garson has been pining for 3 years over his lost love. She returned to her husband whom was thought to be dead. He gallantly stepped aside.
Lady Jane Norris, the dutiful second daughter who took care of her ailing father and his estate. As a result she never had a season and is considered “on the shelf” at the age of only 28.
A story about learning to deal with one’s changing feelings, understanding of self and coming to terms with the past. As often happens, the characters do not react the way we would want them to, which caused a lot of frustration for me. I found myself wanting to slap Hugh upside the back of the head Gibbs style! (NCIS fans get my meaning! 🙂 I couldn’t quite wrap my head around his undying love for someone who never even loved him back. Lady Jane eventually speaks her piece and then retreats, forcing a separation. As she went from dutiful daughter, to morning her father then to being a wife, I suppose a bit of time taken to find oneself was in order.
The stubbornness of both H/h aside, I enjoyed this book. Whenever an author can make feel multiple emotions, it’s a win in my book! The rapport between Lord Garson and his friends, especially Silas, has admittedly piqued my interest enough to entice me into wanting to read the previous stories in this series.
I received a complimentary copy from the author to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
I love all the Dashing Widow novels such a great series
Lord Garson needs a wife. The woman he loves returned to the husband everyone thought was dead. Now he turns to Jane, a woman he’s known for years. By offering her marriage he makes a bargain, for an heir he will give her a better life as his wife, only without love. I thought this was a very good read with total focus on the relationship of one couple who have a lot of passion and respect for each other. A rough road to an HEA.
This is the second book I have read in Anna Campbell’s Dashing Widows series. I found it to be just as engaging as the first one I read which was Catching Captain Nash. I will say that this one does not have the darkness that Captain Nash had. That one focused on a returned from the dead husband who had been captured by pirates and finally escaped after five years, who happened to return on the eve of his wife’s engagement announcement to another man. The other man was Lord Garson.
Lord Garson’s Bride, while not possessing the “darkness” that Catching Captain Nash had, does dwell on a man, Hugh Rutherford, Lord Garson, who cannot get over the heartbreak he suffered when his former fiance returned to her husband. Hugh is at a point in his life when he feels he needs to make a marriage of convenience so he can beget an heir. His choice is a childhood friend, Lady Jane Norris, who needs to leave her family home upon the death of her father. Hugh makes it quite clear to Jane that he will never renounce the love he still has for his former fiance but he will always provide for Jane and any children they may have. What choice does she have?
Jane is a really likable character. Hugh is something else. As stated in the novel, he’s a dunderhead. He’s married a lovely woman who is welcomed and embraced by his friends and society. Though she never intended to, Jane does fall in love with her husband and tells him so. But Hugh cannot give up his feelings for his first love. I found it very interesting the actions Jane takes to resolve the deadlock between them.
Two of my favorite passages from the book are: “What a lot of misplaced love the world contained …it was like a game of chess if one ignored the broken hearts littering the playground” and “For the first time she set her love free and it flew to find its match in Hugh’s love for her.”
While I did proverbially want to kick Hugh in the seat of his pants when reading Lord Garson’s Bride, he did end up redeeming himself at the end of the story. That’s what counts, isn’t it?
Well done Ms. Campbell. A Good 3 1/2 – 4 Star Read!
I am a fan of Anna Campbell’s books, but this one was not my favorite. I had a problem with the hero that blindly refuses to open his mind and heart to love again. It was too melodramatic for me. In some parts I thought I loved it and other parts I hated it.
We met Hugh Rutherford, Lord Garson, in the last book as Morwenna Nash’s betrothed where he was left behind when her supposedly dead husband suddenly reappeared at their engagement party. It’s been three years and Garson is still suffering from a broken heart but realizes he needs to settle down and start a family to provide a legacy. He convinces childhood friend Jane Norris to agree to a marriage of convenience following the death of her father and the loss of her home.
This is a lovely mashup of Cinderella and a marriage of convenience. There wasn’t a lot of time wasted on the decision to marry so the emphasis was always on the developing relationship between Garson and Jane. I loved the beginning of their marriage where their friendship was at the forefront. There was an easiness between the two of them that helped forge a foundation for a deeper relationship. Garson was a wonderful character and Jane was bright and interesting but they were doomed as long as he stayed committed to his internal pledge of Morwenna being his forever lost love. The conflicts that arose were inevitable and I felt their behaviors were true to character.
I really enjoyed this story as it is humorous, sensual, romantic, heart wrenching and well written. The dialogue is pithy and I loved both characters. I was hoping for a happy ending for the gallant Garson after his disaster with Morwenna and he couldn’t have been given a better story.