The Last Bride: 7

Claire Peltier keeps having dreams of a man she doesn't know but who elicits emotions in her that make all other relationships she's ever had pale in comparison. As a result, Claire calls off her wedding because she feels it isn't fair to marry one man when her dreams are filled with another. Claire is haunted by these dreams and feels that it is important to solve the mystery of the man who keeps appearing in her dreams. Claire thinks that she may be reincarnated and the mystery man is from her past life. Also, Claire is occasionally visited by a ghost who never speaks a word. One evening, the ghost visits Claire but this time she dares to touch the ghost. The touch elicits a vision of a man kneeling in the center of a circle of inlaid stones on a flagstone floor. He raises his head and Claire sees that he is the man who haunts her dreams. The vision disappears but the ghost is still there. A magazine lifts itself from a rack and the pages are flipped and stop at a page containing a picture of a circle of inlaid stones on a flagstaff floor that looks exactly like the one in her vision. Above the picture is a caption: The Ancient Labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral, France. The man who haunts her dreams is Aiden Delacroix. Aiden needs a wife so he can have an heir to the Delacroix Castle, but no woman in his time will accommodate his need because they believe the ghost of his former mistress haunts him and brings misfortune to everyone associated with him. Claire takes a plane to France and visits the Chartres Cathedral with the hope of finding out who the mystery man of her dreams is. When visiting the cathedral, the ghost appears and leads Claire through the labyrinth. When Claire takes the last step into the center of the labyrinth she is unknowingly transported back in time to the year 1202 and finds herself standing in front of her mystery man as he is kneeling in the center of the labyrinth just as she had seen him in her vision. She reaches out to touch him and discovers that he is a real man, not the ethereal form she had always seen in her visions. Throughout the story, Claire and Aiden try to determine why fate has brought them together from two different times and what is in store for them. Sandra Landry has weaved a set of charming and exciting details into a suspenseful and mysterious tale that kept me guessing (and entertained) from the beginning of the book and right up to the last page. Claire is a strong willed and independent young woman who knows what she wants and never settles for less. Aiden is a perfect hero. He is strong, an excellent swordsman, and has to rescue Claire on several occasions as she risks everything to determine the mystery of their fates. Aiden always treats Claire with the utmost of respect and is determined to get Claire to marry him. The sexual tension between the two keeps escalating until they can no longer resist and eventually yield to their

In modern day New Orleans, Claire Peltier has just tossed aside a perfectly good fiancé - a man who loved her, treated her very well, but whom she just couldn't feel the passion that she knew deep in her soul belonged to the man who haunted her dreams. Along with being haunted by dreams, Claire was also visited rather regularly by a ghost. Only now the ghost seemed to be giving Claire clues that would send her on a journey to unlock the visions from her dreams. Traveling to France, Claire followed her instincts and her ghost, and found herself transported back to the Middle Ages where she came face to face with the man of her dreams. Aiden Delacroix was a lonely tortured man. His sense of loss over the death of his mistress and wife that were attributed to the hauntings of a vengeful ghost had left its mark. With no wife or heir, and no woman even considering marriage to him; his fight to pass on his families' legacy would be for naught, as he would surely lose his lands to his enemy. As a last resort, Aidan went on a pilgrimage to a sacred shrine where there appeared before him a woman so beautiful Aiden impulsively proposed marriage. While Claire recognized Aiden as the man of her dreams, his very touch brought a vision of such heartache that she refused his offer. Then again, she wasn't quite cognizant that she'd been transported back in time, and thought him a bit crazy. When it did finally dawn on her that she wasn't in her modern time, she agreed to let him help her. Soon after she would realize that she'd been brought back not only to answer questions regarding her own mysterious longings, but to right a wrong and regain a love that was meant to be. *** This was a full-bodied, fully satisfying tale of time travel, reincarnation, and a heady romance all rolled into one totally mesmerizing read that will capture you from the very first pages. Claire and Aiden were extremely well-drawn. Aiden was wonderful, even though he sensed that Claire was different -- his acceptance, kindness and gentle ways were the stuff dreams are made of - in essence a perfect hero! In this second chance at a love that was meant to be that transcended all time, Landry pulled out all the stops and presented her readers with a perfectly wonderful read. Highly recommended! --- Marilyn, for [...] ---

Normally, I get irritated with romances containing ghosts and/or reincarnation, but that wasn't the case with The Last Bride. It's got ghosts. It's got reincarnation. And the time-travel ties them together. But it works. The ghosts & reincarnation are PART OF THE STORY. And it doesn't go off on long boring tangents about something that happened to some dead people who nobody cares about because they were thoroughly unlikeable. Er. Speaking of tangents. Anyway. Claire calls off her engagement because of the man who haunts her dreams, and then follows a ghost's clues to a labyrinth in France, where she ends up in the past, and meets Aiden, the man from her dreams, who's gone on a pilgrimage to the labyrinth to ask for guidance in dealing with his own ghost. The good: Claire's reaction to the time travel was great--very realistic. All the paranormal elements are integral to the plot. Aiden is a great tortured hero--everyone, including Aiden, believes that his wife had been killed by the ghost of his mistress, who'd killed herself rather than live without him, yet his concern for his people makes him want to find a wife to give him an heir, even though he doesn't feel he deserves it. The bad: A couple of threads were left dangling at the end, that should have been wrapped up. The verdict: A paranormal, time-travel romance that's entertaining and believable.

Claire Peltier and Aiden Delacroix's story is one for the ages. Ms. Landry has created a brilliant mix of romance, mystery, and intrigue. It kept me turning the pages and wouldn't allow me to put it down. A MUST for any romance reader who loves vivid descriptions, star-crossed heroes and heroines, and a timeless romance.

Perhaps it is not strictly logical to reject a solid marriage proposal in favor of a dream, but Claire Peltier feels strongly that this is what she must do. Haunted by a vision that she follows across the sea, she follows a mystic path into the past where she meets Aiden Delacroix, a widowed nobleman whom she has only met in dreams until now. Claire could be the answer to his prayers. He needs a wife and an heir to secure his estate, and he finds her easy to care for; however, Claire can not have children. Between that and her impossible tale, there are ample reasons for Adien not to love Claire. Love does not always do the sensible thing, however. **** Once again, Ms. Landry has created a cast replete with vibrant characters. Not only the hero and heroine, but the supporting cast members will intrigue you as well. Some things remain unexplained, but that does not detract from the overall plot. **** Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.