To Wed a Stranger

I consider Layton one of the best Regency writers around and I'll buy anything with her name on it. She is very accomplished; reading anything she writes is always a pleasure, and this book is no exception. However, I do have a few quibbles with this book. Even though I've read the predecessor books in this series, it would have been more effective if she had shown Annabelle in all her glory and up to her devious tricks, instead of just telling the reader about them. Yes, this was very effectively done in the previous novels, but I believe each book needs to stand on its own and not assume the reader is familiar with prior work.Also, while I thought that the psychological and relationship development of the protagonists was excellent, I would still have preferred to see a little more of the plot and action at which Layton excels.These are minor complaints; this book is still well worth your time and money.

Many authors have written of a marriage of convenience. Edith Layton takes this familiar ground and peoples it with characters that develop slowly into new friends. Lady Annabelle, wed to a suitable gentleman, finds a rock of strength who stands beside her after a devasting illness. Miles finds that Annabelle possesses an inner strength that all have overlooked in admiring her beauty. Both work to reinvent their marriage in light of these changed expectations. Layton richly draws these characters who learn about each other and richness in what started as a marriage of convenince.

At the urging of her father, Annabelle Wylde marries a stranger, Miles Croft. Miles wants to clear the bad reputation his mother brought to his family when she got remarried to a scoundrel. Miles believes Annabelle will also assist his sister Camille with her debut. For Annabelle, it is the freedom that marriage provides her amidst the Ton that leads her to agree. That night they have sex, but Annabelle does not enjoy it and Miles feels guilty that he disappointed her.Annabelle becomes ill as they journey on their honeymoon. Near death, she recovers, but her looks and consequently her confidence are shattered. Miles is nice to his wife as he tries to help her recover, but uses her health to avoid touching her. Annabelle recovers enough to go to London with her husband in order for his sister to debut. As Annabelle faces the Ton that once considered her a beautiful diamond, Miles knows he loves her for her courage and her encouragement of his sibling. However, before the duo can express how they feel, his stepfather, thought deceased, returns to try to blackmail his mother.TO WED A STRANGER is an entertaining Regency romance due to the metamorphosis of the lead characters from strangers into a loving couple. The secondary cast is a wonderful group with the exception of his cringing mother and his odious stepfather. Though an unnecessary intrigue caused by the stepfather subsequently takes away from the tale, readers will appreciate Edith Layton's beautiful romance.Harriet Klausner

I didn't think it could be done ,really this was one character we all truly loved to hate and I for one was NOT looking forward to having any sympathy for her...And I knew I would.. because Ms.Layton draws the reader into these things.So I bought the book and let it set for a few days pondering. I didn't want to like it.But I love Ms. Laytons style of writing so I convinced myself that was why I was going to read it,not about Annabelle!!I won't really describe the tale told cuz I hate it when some one spoils the story for me ,I will say to all the fans of this great author that this is well worth reading and just as endearing as her other storys have been.

I've been dying to read Lady Annabelle Wylde's story ever since I read "The Chance." Somehow, even though Lady Annabelle was an incredibly spoilt flirt in that story and very obviously the character we were all supposed to dislike and despise, she still managed to capture all my attention and my sympathy. So that I was quite ecstatic to realise that "To Wed A Stranger" featured Lady Annabelle as a heroine. Was it worth the wait? I, definitely thought so.After having literally thrown herself at three different men over the past few London Seasons only to have them marry elsewhere, Lady Annabelle Wylde has become the focal point of some rather unpleasant gossip. So that when her father arranges a marriage for her with Miles Croft, Viscount Pelham, she reluctantly agrees to the union. Having given up on the notion that she'll ever marry for love, what else can she do save agree to an arranged marriage?Miles Croft needs a socially prominent and accepted wife to help him repair his family's reputation which his scoundrel of a stepfather had destroyed quite thoroughly before he died. And after having noticed how Lady Annabelle carried herself and dealt with the ton in spite of all the unkind gossip, he's sure that she is the one who can help him do this. Of course there is the added bonus that Lady Annabelle also happens to be incredibly beautiful as well. And Miles is sure that this arrangement will work very well. Until everything goes terribly wrong during their wedding journey, when Lady Annabelle falls dangerously ill and looses most of her spectacular looks. Now, Miles is irrevocably tied to stranger he barely knows and has little in common with. Can he still look to Lady Annabelle to help him with his family now that she has lost her looks? And can this marriage really work given that he's not in love with his wife and is no longer attracted to her?Ever since she was old enough to attend social functions, Lady Annabelle has used her beauty to prop herself up and to get what she wants. But now that she's no longer to spectacular Lady Annabelle, she's had to readjust her idea of who and what she is, and how Miles fits into everything. And the one thing she's come to realise is that there is a lot more to her than just her beauty. But can she get Miles to see this? For Lady Annabelle is beginning to realise that she may be falling in love with her kind and patient husband. But what of his feelings for her? Has Lady Annabelle lost her heart again to someone who doesn't return her feelings? If you're looking for something that has nothing to do with the usual -- heroine at risk of her life subplot, or the spies and murderers that lurk in the bushes and drawing rooms subplot, or even the rakish hero pursuing/seducing innocent feisty heroine subplot -- then "To Wed A Stranger" would definitely do. It's a romance novel all about the relationship and love that develops and blossoms between two strangers who just happen to be married to each other. It's a