Review: A sweet historical romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 29, 2014
This was my first book by Jane Beckenham, but it won't be the last as I very much enjoyed this novel.There is nothing more fun to read about than two people forced together by circumstance or in this instance, blackmail. They want so much to not want each other that you just want to chuckle a bit.Tess, has lived with her abusive uncle since the death of her parents and now he wants to pawn her off on another abusive man. She has had to put up with her uncle because he has squandered away her inheritance, but she will not marry an abusive man. So she decides to run away, but she really has no plan of what she is going to do. She decides to be a highwayman and hold up a carriage and use that money to go away.So when another highwayman screws up her plans she is found out by her uncle and brought back home. At one of the balls that she is attending she sees the highwayman who ruined her plans. She devises another plan, to blackmail the highwayman into marrying her or she will let the ton know who he really is, a rogue highwayman. As she thinks he is there to still from the rich people of the ton.Aiden, Earl of Charnley is living day to day seeking revenge for his sister Mary and can't see past this agenda. When Tess says she is going to tell everyone if doesn't marry her he can't help but be a bit fascinated by this very spunky lady. He hasn't forgot their brief meeting when he found her posing as a highwayman. He also has seen her uncle hanging around the one man he seeks, so he thinks that maybe marrying her might lead him to Nash.Slowly Tess brings life back to the Charnley estate, but can he trust her. He has been burned by love before and he just doesn't want to let that wall around his heart down. He is so wrapped up in avenging his sister because he feels that he has failed her that he can't see what he has around him.I really liked both of the main characters in this story. Tess, is spunky and very brave. She might not think things all the way through but at least she was willing to try to do what ever she must to get away from her uncle.  Aiden, is a sexy brooding man who could be very kind one minute and yelling the next, but yet you could feel a bit sorry for him. His determination to seek out the man who hurt his sister shows that he is a man of honor and I like that.The Highwayman's Bride is a sweet quick read with a bit of hotness mixed in and I would recommend it for anyone who likes historical romances.