Review: Interesting Premise, Awful Execution
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2014
I couldn't even finish "His Perfect Bride" it was so awful but I usually give authors a couple of chances and have sometimes been surprised at how a terrible book can be followed by a good one.  That did not happen in this case.  The premise of the book, that the hero manages to marry a duke's daughter, by manipulating the duke, in order to gain social acceptance, was interesting.  The story itself, however, was terrible.  Beyond the issue of domestic abuse (the duke abuses his wife and daughter) which was not really well managed, all the devices the author uses to create the "big misunderstanding" trying to hide the heroine in plain sight from her husband were ridiculous.  Changing the color of her hair multiple times a day?  Pretending to be a maid at the same time she is an aristocrat in the same house, again switching multiple times a day? Padding her clothes?  This all becomes a means to let the principles have sex without them actually dealing with each other.  It is completely inconceivable that the heroine is sexually afraid and repressed with her husband but is a wildcat with him when she is pretending to be a maid and thinks he believes it.  Its supposed to be romantic and mysterious and it actually is just stupid.  The number of times this couple just need to ask a question and give an answer is crazy and they both end up looking like idiots.  The heroine's mother is another piece of work who is supposed to elicit our sympathy but it is pretty clear at the beginning of the book that she has spent years scaring her daughter and chasing off any man interested in her.  The reason is to keep the daughter close to her to protect her and take the beatings her husband would otherwise inflict on her alone.  A real mother.  Do not waste your time.