A mad heiress and a false fiancé…The younger son of an earl, Dominic Renbourne is offered an irresistible bribe by his arrogant, identical twin brother, Kyle, who is heir to the earldom. All he must do is take Kyle’s place at Warfield Manor, where he is to politely court Lady Meriel Grahame, the orphaned and vastly wealthy heiress Kyle is pledged to marry. The deception need only take a few … need only take a few weeks and no one will be the wiser because the fey Lady Meriel lives in a world of her own. The last thing Dominic expects when he arrives is to be entranced by a silent sylph whose ethereal beauty is as stunning as her passionate love for Warfield’s flowers and fields and creatures.
Until now, Meriel has kept her distance from normal society, spending her days at one with nature and safe from the nightmare that nearly destroyed her as a child. She is content to live alone, until the handsome intruder begins to inspire dreams of the world beyond her sanctuary. He understands her as no one else ever has–and because she lives outside society’s rules, she sees no need to restrain her desire for the man who is surely her destined mate.
Though Dominic’s sense of duty helps him control his longing for his brother’s future bride, Meriel’s untamed spirit proves more powerful than he can resist. In her garden paradise, passion binds them body and soul despite the agonizing consequences.
Can Meriel forgive Dominic’s deceit once she learns he is not Kyle, and can Kyle forgive the betrayal of the brother who had once been closer than his own shadow? Then past and present collide in a dangerous cataclysm that may bring destruction–or lasting love and a hope for beginnings.
The Bride Trilogy
Book 1: The Wild Child
Book 2: The China Bride
Book 3: The Bartered Bride
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The Wild Child is book #1 of Mary Jo Putney’s Bride trilogy. Mariel and Dominic’s story is deliciously compelling and richly drawn. I hated to put it down. I’m looking forward to book #2, The China Bride, which features Dominic’s twin brother as the hero.
Book 1 of the The Bride Trilogy. The story begins when the heroine is found by her uncles in India after marauders kills her parents and everyone around her. Lady Meriel then retreats into a world where everyone believes her to be mute and mad. Years later, back in England- she continues her charade in that same world.
Twin brothers Kyle and Dominic are like night and day. Kyle, the elder, straight-laced and heir (Lord Maxwell). Dominic, Renbourne, second son, whimsical and without a care. For Lady Meriel, she has one uncle that wants to keep her secure and has established an arranged marriage between her and Lord Maxwell…however it is only contingent on that fact that she must accept him as her husband. In order to do this, he must court her at Warfield, her family home but is unable to do so and solicits the help of Dominic.
Domini is appalled at his brother’s suggestion that he go in his place and pretend that he is Lord Maxwell until his brother’s returned. Knowing they have had an estranged relationship, he agrees. Upon arriving to Warfield, Dominic seeks out to court Meriel but she becomes more and more elusive. Eventually the relationship between the two develops and shows the depth of MJP’s skill as an author without having put too much dialogue into the fray.
Through plots, twists and turns, they fall in love. Meriel breaks through the nightmares that have haunted her and Dominic mends the broken relationship between he and his brother. In the end, the story was well written and I was quite surprised by the villain in the end…thinking it was her Indian protector. What a wonderful story and I truly enjoyed how the heroine was developed throughout the story.
This is a sad story of a young woman who is mentally damaged from childhood. So broken that she has shut herself off from society with only basic mute communication with the select few household members. Like a tiny beautiful butterfly that is unable to spread it’s wings and fly, she has been labeled “mad”. It is only through a quirk of fate that her hero and source of redemption not only heals her life, but his own is also healed. Together they heal one another making it possible to have a happy life. This is a moderately slow paced story, because one needs to understand the trials they both face in their lives, and it wouldn’t be possible to be told otherwise. A very pleasant read. Thank you Mary Jo!
A very romantic story. I love how the development of the characters, the relationship, and the storyline all culminated into a very intense yet lovely ending.
I enjoyed this very different plot line. Good detail to solving all the little things that were a part of the mystery.
The book is a different type of booK.
With a different type of story never read before!
Enjoyed it !
I look forward to reading the nest read the next book.
There was something wrong in the middle. It was a vastly different tale from the norm which I appreciated. However, you don’t really like Merial all that much. She’s cute, but weak. Then she changes, and becomes a classic Putney heroine. The shift doesn’t feel natural. It’s truly like she’s two different people. And the end didn’t need to be all wrapped up tight. Loose ends would have made it more interesting. And there were a lot of throw backs that made me roll my eyes.
I like whatever this author writes.
style of author created an addition to my list
Normally I really enjoy this author but this book was not enjoyable. I stopped reading it partway through.
Sweet tale
As usual, Mary Jo Putney delivers an awesome romance. This time twins Kyle and Dominic, twenty-eight year old single men, are going to trade places so that Dominic can woo Kyle’s supposedly mad betrothed. Kyle is the Wresham heir since he was born ten minutes earlier, and this has been a point of contention to the brothers. Initially Dominic refuses to make the switch, but Kyle offers an estate as payment, and Dominic loves the land. Aeriel, the intended bride, saw her parents slaughtered in India when she was only five years old. Now twenty three, she has not spoken in eighteen years, prefers to run barefoot and sleep in her treehouse, so she is thought to be insane.
I love the way this lady writes!
Her stories are interesting, the words flow off the page and she keeps one guessing about the outcome and ending. Her characters are complex and each has their own unique personality.
In this particular story I was never sure what Meriel would do next and this made it a truly interesting tale which I also found very entertaining.
This is a definite ‘recommended’ from me!
Fun read and easy to read. The characters make you keep reading.
It was just plain silly!
I really liked the main characters in this book! Not your typical romance. Great read.
Very interesting book with a twists and turns all the way to the end. The end seemed rushed and was a disappointment with many unanswered questions.
Entertaining story and great characters. The story kept me guessing until the end with all the twists in the plot.
Great story. Weaving history into fiction. Loved it.