A mistake made six years earlier, has now caused Serena Donovan to take on the identity of her dead twin sister in order to return to London and save her family.  Serena, who was ruined in her first Season, discovers that her mother has been scheming behind her back in order to return the families honor.  To save her family, Serena must marry a man she does not love and live a lie or else lose everything and watch her family pay the price for her mistakes.  Forced to choose between obligation and love, Serena faces the toughest decisions of life, in a world full of untrustworthy people.

Jonathan Dane, Earl of Stratford, made his biggest mistake when he turned to gambling, drinking and taking up the life of a rake.  These actions and other immature responses caused him to lose the one woman he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since.  Now, six years later, Jonathan meets Meg, Serena’s sister, only to find Serena is Meg.  Given a second chance, Jonathan refuses to lose her and focuses on winning her trust and forgiveness.  His efforts to claim Serena will expose her lies and secrets, destroying here yet again.  Unfortunately for Jonathan, he will have to prove himself trustworthy to Serena in order to stand a chance at winning her love.  Has he truly changed enough to prove his devotion to Serena?

Confessions of an Improper Bride is a novel full of emotional tugging and page turning drama.  It hooked me and kept me focused from beginning to end.  I was intrigued by Serena’s devotion to her family after being ruined by a man she loved and weaseled by a mother who saw fit to tell everyone lies from the moment she was ruined.  Though some of the characters were unlikable in this story, how they behaved wasn't abnormal for the time period.  In a world focused on title and stature, the story is believable even if it can be enraging as well. Both characters have people meddling in their lives and keeping them from each other.  Every girl who’s ever had her heart broken will understand Serena.  At the same time, I could understand Jonathan as well.  I didn’t want Serena to be unhappy and give up everything to save her family from peril.  I kept thinking, “There has to be another way!”  I found myself cheering Jonathan on, even though he had his work cut out for him.  The electricity between the two was obvious, making the mistakes of their youth painful to watch ruin their future.  I wanted them to find their way back to each other and make their happy ending work.

The novel comes with plenty of story to back up the main characters plot line.  There are some strong personalities within the secondary characters that give this story the feel of multiple plot lines in a way.  While the characters are well developed I felt parts of the story mirrored others a little too closely. The twin aspect was great to the story, but I would have loved to see a few more differences between the two sisters and their relationships.  I appreciated how the secondary stories backed up the main plot and helped carry it through.  It made the book flow smoothly and freely.  Ms. Haymore does a wonderful job keeping the characters realistic and the reader wondering if they will end up together in the end.  Overall, this one has love, anger, malice, betrayal, friendship and family issues that keep the reader hooked until it’s all said and done.  Aside from a few quirks with the ending and Serena’s doubts this was a good book.  I would recommend it.

~ Tiffany