Lord Carew's Bride

This is a wonderful short historical romance by Mary Balogh, part of the series that begins with "Dark Angel" and continues with "The Famous Heroine" and "The Christmas Bride". Beautiful Samantha Newman was a naive 18 year old in her first London season when she fell in love with the fabulously handsome and equally devious Lionel, Viscount Kersey, who at the time was her cousin's fiance. When she realized that Lionel had been cruelly toying with her affections, she was devastated. Six years later, her life is still blighted by the relationship and she has never married or allowed herself to fall in love again. While visiting her cousin's country estate, she goes for a walk and strays onto the neighboring estate of the Marquess of Carew. There she meets a gentleman in shabby clothing who she mistakes for a landscaper and strikes up a friendship with him, not realizing that "Hartley Wade" is actually the reclusive Marquess of Carew. Hartley is an average-looking guy who was partially crippled by a childhood accident--but his heart is pure gold. He is charmed by Samantha's sweet nature and dazzled by her beauty, so when she returns to London, he follows her there. In London, Samantha is appalled to learn that Lionel (now the Earl of Rushford) has returned to town after a six year exile on the continent. Even more gorgeous (and snake-like) than ever, Lionel begins once again to stalk Samantha. Can Samantha resist him this time and recognize the worth of the relatively plain Lord Carew?? In summary, this is a lovely little tale about friendship turning into love and discovering the inner beauty in a person. Samantha's final scene with Lionel is a beauty in itself. Highly recommended!

Samantha is visiting with her cousin when she wanders off for a walk and meets the wealthy and crippled Marquess of Carew. He is dressed in gardener's clothes and she mistakes him for one. The marquess is charmed that this beautiful young woman wants to talk to a mere gardener, and so he does not enlighten her to his true station. The two develop a deep connection: they become true friends. Additionally, the marquess falls in love with her and, when Samantha returns to London, he is quite miserable without her. While in London Samantha meets up with the only man she has ever loved, the villianous Lionel Kersey. She has not seen him in 6 years and is terrified of her attraction to him. When her friend - the marquess she believes is a gardener - follows her to London, she is relieved to see him. She desperately wants a distraction from her attraction to Lionel. What will happen? You have to read to find out! This is a wonderful regency romance and I recommend it highly.

This is something special -- a romance about people who start out as friends and gradually grow into loving each other. Samantha and Lord Carew are very much like real people; when they make the wrong decision, you understand exactly what drives them to do so.It also avoids the usual cliches -- bestowing lots of surprises and twists on the reader instead.Fans of "Dark Angel" will be glad (?) to know that the notorious Lionel Kersey makes a return appearance in this book. And he's even more despicable in this book. I gave this book Desert Island Keeper status at All About Romance.

Samantha is young and beautiful. . .and terrified of her erstwhile suitor(anyone who has read Balogh's "Dark Angel" will recognize both Samantha and the man she once believed she loved. Fleeing the handsome "suitor" she runs straight into the arms of wealthy but hardly imposing Lord Hartley Carew--a man who though physically handicapped has a whole heart.I thought the handsome villain and the physically handicapped hero made a nice juxtaposition. There is no miracle cure for the hero's handicaps, but that made his winning the love of his beautiful bride more sweet. The beast remains the "beast" though he always had a heart of gold, and the naive young heroine grows to learn that it is the heart and not physical beauty that matters.(This book is part of the series of Balogh novels beginning with "Dark Angel" and going to "The Famous Heroine")