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The Bride Sale
 
 
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The Bride Sale [Kindle Edition]

Candice Hern (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews) |
Kindle Price: £3.99 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Product Description

Product Description

A Bartered Lady

Lord James Harkness is shocked to discover a "bride sale" taking place in his small English village -- and surprised by the depth of his feelings for the unfortunate gentlewoman being auctioned off by a disreputable husband. But is it honor and nobility that compel James to outbid the townfolk for the proud, beautiful lady -- or is it something more akin to . . . desire?

A Mysterious Lord

Verity Osborne is not sure whether good fortune or ill brought her to this dark, brooding man and his lonely manor house on the moors. Local talk brands James Harkness as evil -- but Verity senses a gentleness underneath. She dearly longs for her liberty, but his sensuous touch causes her to stay. However, James must first trust Verity with his secrets if they are ever to share love's rapturous freedom. And will the promised passion she sees flaming in his eyes warm Verity's heart . . . or burn her?

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 256 KB
  • Print Length: 388 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 038080901X
  • Publisher: HarperCollins e-books (13 Oct 2009)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B000VYX994
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #20,452 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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More About the Author

Candice Hern
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful
By Ladybubbles VINE™ VOICE
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A bartered lady and a mysterious lord...Lord James Harkness is shocked to discover a "bride sale" taking place in his small English Village - and a gentlewoman at that!

Her quite dignity and his honour compelled James to outbid the townsfolk and take her home with him.

Verity Osborne is not sure whether she has jumped out of the frying pan into the fire but she had little choice but to trust this stranger whom whispers in the village call evil!

An intriguingly original story - I could not put it down!

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Veracal
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Whilst I am a fan of historical romance, I really did not feel that this book comes anywhere near the standards set by other romantic authors. Georgette Heyer, Margaret Mayhew and Jane Aiken Hodge are among my favourite authors of this type of fiction, just to give you an indication of whether or not you are likely to agree with this review...

The concept of the plot is standard romantic stuff: feckless husband humiliatingly sells beautiful wife in a common marketplace to a mysterious, dangerous stranger. Beautiful wife spends book falling in love with said stranger.

What really lets this book down is the quality of the writing. The author is reasonably good at scripting the more intense moments of the novel, but this really doesn't make up for the mundanity of the bulk. The repetition alone was painful. How many "unreadable" looks did the hero and heroine cast at each other? If I cared enough, I'd count them. I feel sure that double figures would be reached before long.

In romantic fiction it's nice to care, to some degree, what happens to the two central characters. It keeps you reading. It's hard to care about the type of cardboard cut-outs that the central characters in this book turn out to be: one madonna, one misunderstood villain.

One other thing I want to mention is that there is absolutely no trace of humour in this book. The best authors of romance, in my view, either have their tongues firmly in their cheeks, or are sufficiently skilful writers to write straight romance. As far as I'm concerned, the author of this book doesn't tick either of these boxes.

I've given it two stars because, despite all this, the book is still readable. However, I'd only recommend it if you are a devourer of any and every type of romantic novel.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:  18 reviews
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Premise falls flat, a novel, but not a romance 14 Feb 2003
By J. Mullally - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This book is most definitely not romantic. The author gets so involved with her 'noble heroine' and the worthy peasants clches that she and the hero barely exchange words. There is no witty dialogue or reparteee, any of the 'getting to know you' one would hope for before they actually do the business.

When they finally do 'it' at about page 200, it is little better than a near rape as she 'comforts' him when he is having one of his flashbacks as to the awful things that happened to him in the war. Then he is furious that she is a virgin and didn't mention it (not that she ever got a chance!) and tells her to get out and he will never touch her again. We get gory descriptions of the blood all over her and what a 'bloody mess' she looks, as if she is some thing, not even a person.

Only when her ex shows up and wants her back does James bestir himself to admit to her he likes her (big deal) and needs her. (selfish brute who wants to forget the war)

He is not a bad man, but if the book was not so seriously skewed to her playing Lady Bountiful we might get to like him more. The whole Lord Heartless image really starts to be unconvincing after the first couple of pages, but he does seem that way as we never learn anything about his former love, or his son--he even says he had only ever loved two people in his life-his first wife and Verity. Parents? Son? The depth of character is just not there.

The entire book was predictable, and the only real star was her depiction of Cornwall, which reads like something straight out of the wonderful Poldark series.

A highly derivative romance, with no sizzle and some very distrubing undertones, and inconsistent characters I never get to feel I care enough about.

I ploughed to the end of nearly 400 pages just waiting for something to heat up, but it left me (and the lovers I shouldn't wonder) cold.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A dark hero and a bride sale???? 25 Oct 2002
By Tanya L. Schaub - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Interesting story line that I had not read much about before. The hero (James) has gone off to the war in Spain and when he comes home he obviously has posttraumatic stress syndrome, which of course no one including him understands. At the same time, the heroine (Verity) is being sold, by her husband at an auction in a little town square. One thing leads to another and James ends up buying Verity from her husband. It is interesting to see how things progress. Verity is not made into his mistress instead she is introduced as his cousin, though many know differently.

The story progresses as you find out what happened to his previous wife and see how Verity comes to care for the town and those around her. Including the bad tempered James.

I enjoyed this story and recommend it to others as not the normal romance.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
a very sweet book 18 April 2002
By Brenda Condit - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Ok I have to admit I was very curious about this book when I read the title. "The Bride Sale" could mean all sorts of things. I was very pleased to see that this was a very sweet story of a young woman, Verity, who has been put up for sale by her idiot husband,Gilbert. She stand proud and doesn't show any emotions even though she is scared to death. The hero of the story Lord James Harkness, or as he is better known, Lord Heartless, comes upon the auction by accident and can't believe his eyes. when he sees who may be the winner he imediately bids 200 pounds before he even really thinks it through. He has no idea what to do with her but he can't let her be hurt.

James is feared by the villagers. They have heard tales that he killed his wife and child and rather than let them know he is a coward he lets them think he is a murderer. Verity is very uneasy at first. She doesn't know what to expect from James. Verity soon realizes tht James is not evil but a gentle man who has suffered greatly over the deaths of his family and still sufers today after 6 years. She is known for her herbal healing and sets out to try and heal James's soul.

Jmaes and Verity are attracted to each other as friends and as lovers but so many obsticals stand in there way. When they finally do over come them you feel like cheering. This story was easy to read and very enjoyable. I plan on reading more from this author in the future.

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