An Impossible Attraction

I don't usually have Brenda Joyce on a "must read" watch list. I will from now on. I mean, I do read her. And enjoy her books. But none of them has hit me like An Impossible Attraction. It had me in tears, three different times. The book is so well written, it feels like their pain is yours. It is a lovely story. With characters that are full and well rounded. I absolutely LOVED this book. I cannot say enough. It will break your heart. It will make you laugh. It is what a romance novel is all about, romance! Excellent job. One of my favorite books in a long time.

I do not understand the bad reviews of this book. I really enjoyed it. It had many twists and turns to keep my interest. I highly recommend this book. Especially to Brenda Joyce fans.

Alexandra Bolton became a seamstress to bring in needed money for her family. However, in 1845 her wastrel widower father informs her he needs funds to pay debts so she will marry either wealthy middle aged Squire Denney or some other affluent member of the Ton. She reluctantly agrees to sacrifice her desires because of a death bed pledge she made to her mom to care for her two younger sisters. Bolton and his three daughters attend a ball at the home of Sir Rex de Warenne and Lady Blanche. Alexandra realizes her arrival is a blunder as her friends treat her like hired help since she has been doing their sewing. When her father becomes too drunk, she tries to take him home. On the way out, Alexandra meets thirtyish wealthy Stephen, the Duke of Clarewood. They are attracted to one another until he has her. Her father tosses her to the street as a fallen woman and her Stephen rejects her believing she was trying to trap him. This is a superb early Victorian romance starring a courageous woman and the man she loves who is in denial. The story line of a good woman "falling" to the street in rejection is not new (see Cheryl Holt's Spinster Curse saga), but incredibly refreshed by Brenda Joyce with her strong casting and not just the lead couple. Fans will admire Alexandra's moral fortitude while knowing she will survive her ordeal but wonder if she will be with Stephen or a new beau Owen. Brenda Joyce is at her best, which says something about this novel, as her historicals are always excellent. Harriet Klausner

Historical romance fans are in for a great treat with Brenda Joyce's magnificent Victorian, AN IMPOSSIBLE ATTRACTION, the next wonderful novel in her de Warenne Dynasty series for HQN in March 2010. In 1845 Victorian England, Alexandra Bolton is told by her father, the baron of Edgemont, that he can't afford to keep her and expects her to accept the middle aged and well-to-do Squire Denney's suit. With trepidation, Alexandra agrees once again to sacrifice her happiness for that of her family--since she has been supporting her two younger sisters and drunken gambler father by taking in sewing ever since her mother died years ago. However, Alexandra can't pay off her father's huge gambling debts or provide her sisters with dowries on her sewing income. Squire Denney invites Alexandra and her family to a ball at Harrington Hall, the home of Sir Rex de Warenne and Lady Blanche. When they arrive Alexandra realizes they've made a terrible mistake in attending. Her former friends shun them because they are now the nobility she works for! When her father imbibes too much and Alexandra tries to leave with him unnoticed Stephen Mowbray, the dashing Duke of Clarewood and richest peer of the realm, comes to her rescue. Although the devastatingly handsome duke has increased the Clarewood fortune many times over and is well known for his philanthropy, he is also a cold-hearted womanizer, who has gone through many mistresses. At thirty-two Stephen is in no hurry to marry--he remains haunted by his unhappy childhood. Stephen calmly decides he wants Alexandra for his next mistress and that they will both benefit from the liaison. However, Alexandra is determined to deny Stephen, and when his charms prove too powerful to resist, she winds up exposed as a fallen woman, and thrown out of her own home, onto the very street. Believing that Alexandra meant to trap him into marriage, Stephen furiously turns his back on her... In the absolutely amazing AN IMPOSSIBLE ATTRACTION Brenda Joyce reaffirms why she has remained one of the great historical romance authors for over two decades. This incredible double love story has all the hallmarks of a classic historical romance, characters so finely drawn they come to life on the page, details so rich you're whisked away to a bye gone era, and a romance so touching it will bring a tear to the reader's eye and a sigh when they turn the final page! Brava Ms. Joyce!