Review: Half a recommendation
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 1, 2013
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Kidnapping His Bride by Karen Erickson is a traditional romance novel with just a little bit of drama thrown in for fun. It’s short and sweet but certain elements of the story don’t ring true for me resulting in a half-hearted recommendation.Rafe and Cat’s families set up an arranged marriage for the two when they were only children. While this may sound off in today’s era, both are products of traditional Italian families and money was even exchanged. Rafe was always attracted to Cat, but wanted to wait for her to grow up. Cat had a bit of a crush on the handsome, older Rafe but her parent’s marriage made her weary of commitment. Rafe sets out to win Cat over and show her that they would be good together.Cat is only 23 years yet she acts so much younger. At the beginning of the story, she has little to no backbone when dealing with her older sister and mother. I was so frustrated by the way that she allowed her sister to talk to her that it made it difficult to be sympathetic to Cat’s problems. When she finally stood up to Rafe and asked him to wait one more year before marrying, I had hoped that Cat had gained a backbone but yet she still allowed her sister to berate her incessantly.Rafe has the potential to be a great romance hero. He is rich, handsome and very romantic. He whisks Cat off to New York to wine and dine her and show her that they were meant to be together. I loved how Rafe gave Cat the courage and confidence to stand up to her family. I even understood and accepted that despite being engaged since they were children, Rafe was not faithful and slept around. However, once he agreed to wait one more year for Cat, I would have expected him to be faithful for at least that one year.  This caused me to lose respect for him.Ms. Erickson threw in a nice little twist that I didn’t see coming which I always appreciate. But the details involved in this particular twist are where I got a little lost. While I am certainly willing to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy a book, the reader was just expected to accept too much.Despite these problems, Kidnapping His Bride is still a well-written story.  The dialogue flows naturally and Ms. Erickson writes with so much description that I can easily picture myself right there in New York. I am a fan of Ms. Erickson’s work, especially the Worth It series. I just think Kidnapping His Bride just misses the mark.