Review: Cute historical romance with arranged/forced marriage trope
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 20, 2013
**Review Copy Provided by Author**I'll admit, i'm a sucker for the arranged marriage trope...and even better, the forced marriage in order to settle a debt - so I got the double joy in Tempting Bella. Its interesting that I was reading this book and reading a thread on the Amazon forums about age differences in between characters in romance novels. And while there isn't a significant age difference (7 years), it did make me think. Especially since at the beginning Bella was only 13 (yes, you read me right)...but thankfully the author did a nice job forward in time to when Bella was a bit older and more mature (although at times, I do say that tongue in cheek).I liked the idea of finding love with a couple that had actually been married for several years, although they had never officially been together. And how an individuals perceptions of one influences their behavior and beliefs (yes, that is the psychology geek in me speaking). While this is #2 in a series, it could easily be read as a stand-alone, but I am interested enough in going back and reading the first book, as well as later ones in the series. Overall, I gave Tempting Bella 3.5 stars and would recommend it to people who like historical romances with arranged marriages.