The Bargain Bride
Barbara MetzgerHistorical romance
Available from Berkley Publishing
ISBN: 978-0451228451
November 2009
| An arranged marriage thirteen years ago was a disaster. Penny Goldwaite had no intentions of marrying Viscount Westfield. West felt the same way. He didn’t want to honor an arrangement his and Penny’s fathers had forged so many years ago. However, now his father and the heir apparent were dead and Westfield had worked for years trying to build his coffers so that he could repay the money that changed hands. That way, he could back out of the arrangement and save face. Of course, that was before he actually saw the grown-up version of his betrothed.
Gaspar Goldwaite, Penny’s father, had three step-daughters he wanted to “unload” on the ton. He insisted they honor their commitment and marry. That would give his other girls a platform for entering society. Goldwaite had money, but he had no clout. He wanted Westfield’s position as part of his family. There was another dissenter in the family. West’s brother Nick needed more and more money for himself and would stop at nothing to get it. This book by Barbara Metzger is an in-depth look at life in the regency era. This book was very dramatic with quite a bit of suspense. It was also a close look at two people falling in love and finding common grounds. The two main characters were well developed and captured my attention. It was easy to imagine being in the story with these two people. The overbearing parents was so blatant that it was almost comical to watch how the couple came together to counteract their interference. The Bargain Bride is a great example of Ms. Metzger’s writing style. Her background knowledge of the time, places and people enhanced her development of this story. I enjoyed reading this book and know that others will also enjoy it. The conclusion of the book was not at all what I would have expected. There were surprises until the last page. It’s definitely a great read.
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Reviewer: Brenda Talley |
