A Bride for Lord Brasleigh

This was a book full of fun twists and turns. Both Bella and Phillip were a delight as they battled to outmanoever one another. There was also a nice sense of humor that allowed one to enjoy the encounters between the two and laugh at their follies. All in all a wonderful book.

"A Bride For Lord Brasleigh" is the final chapter in the Rose for Three Rakes trilogy, and while the principal characters are a variation of the couples found in the other two books, the plot of this romance novel is different enough to make this book interesting and enjoyable.After years of having ignored his young ward, Bella Lowe, Phillip Marrow, Lord Brasleigh, has decided to end his troublesome guardianship by arranging a suitable marriage for her with a French emigre. Bella is of course is incensed. She's put up with Brasleigh's neglect and living in isolation on his estate, but she's not going to sit tamely while Brasleigh marries her off to a complete stranger just so he can be rid off her. Bella decides to run away -- she has no clear idea of where she can go or what she can do, she only knows that she has to put some safe distance between herself and Brasleigh in order to avoid this arranged marriage. She passes herself off as a war widow and is hired to act as a companion by a kindly old woman she meets while on the road. Bella thinks that her troubles are over for the time being at least, not realsing that Brasleigh is hot on her trail.In Brasleigh's eyes, Bella has been nothing but a thorn in his side. True, he has not actually had to deal with her, but letters from his butler, and the number of governesses that Bella has gone through, have given him some idea of what a hellion Bella actually is. And he is both angry and frustrated when he learns that she has run away. Fortuitously, Brasleigh discovers that Bella is at his friend's (Pudding) aunt's home. And when both men turn up at the estate, Brasleigh pretends not to realise who Bella actually is; for Brasleigh has a PLAN: he will pretend to attempt to seduce the innocent Bella, and so send her running home to his estate for safety, where she will marry the Frenchman gratefully. And they say women are totty headed!!The plan however works in ways that Brasleigh did not expect it to, for Bella proves to be a lot more alluring and intelligent and gracious than reports of her had led him to believe. Brasleigh finds her to be so irresistible, that he has a hard time remembering his plan. As for Bella, Brasleigh is proving to be an enigma. Just who is this overly irritating man that seems so sure of his charms and his effect on her? For while Brasleigh's arrogance frequently sets her back up, he also proves to be a kind, thoughtful and intelligent man. And Bella begins to fear that she is falling for the very man who has caused her so much unhappiness and pain. Complications however arise when the French emigre turns up to court Bella. For now Brasleigh must decide if he will continue with his plan to marry Bella off, or if he will confess to wanting her for himself.Plot-wise we know how things will turn out. What makes this novel interesting is the manner in which Debbie Raliegh has textured the principal characters in this novel. Brasleigh seems hateful at first, but he also shows tha