Genre:

In this new masterpiece of historical romance from the acclaimed Sherry Thomas, a headstrong beauty is rescued by the notorious rake she has always despised...

Helena Fitzhugh understands perfectly well that she would be ruined should her secret love affair be discovered. So when a rendezvous goes wrong and she is about to be caught in the act, it is with the greatest reluctance that she accepts help from David Hillsborough, Viscount Hastings, and elopes with him to save her reputation.

Helena has despised David since they were children—the notorious rake has tormented her all her life. David, on the other hand, has always loved Helena, but his pride will never let him admit the secrets of his heart.

A carriage accident the day after their elopement, however, robs Helena of her memory— the slate is wiped clean. At last David dares to reveal his love, and she finds him both fascinating and desirable. But what will happen when her memory returns and she realizes she has fallen for a man she has sworn never to trust?

Review

The best is saved for last…

Viscount David Hastings has always loved Helena Fitzhugh from afar. Up close he’s despicable, rude, and crude. She absolutely hates him. Her love has always belonged to another, until the day she’s in a carriage accident. From that moment on everything changes, but waiting for her memories to return is like waiting for a bomb to explode. Can Hastings secure her love before the worst happens, before she remembers the man he once was?

So… my review of Ravishing the Heiress in July was a 5 star. I really thought that was the best it could get. I was wrong. It got better. Tempting the Bride blows the 2nd book of the Fitzhugh series out of the water. How can I say that definitively? Because this book brought me to tears, and I don’t typically cry while reading a book.

The emotional turmoil of the hero Hastings and his devoted love made the pages fly. I was enchanted by the way this man carried a torch for one woman, and effectively made her hate him with every action. My mom always used to tell me that if a boy bit you then he liked you. Well, Hastings bit Helena one too many times. Now he’s relegated to the back recesses of her mind as the worst man alive. He’s a family friend and uses that as his excuse for constantly trying to save her from her own folly. How Helena could think Hastings was selfish in the least bit is beyond me.  My favorite part is when he finally confesses his love for her:

“Do you remember what I told you about melting into a puddle at my first sight of you?”

She smiled just perceptibly. “Yes.”

“My sentiments were not reciprocated. You took a look at me and went back to your books...I, on the other hand, fell madly in love. And when I realized that I was invisible to you, I resorted to gaining your attention by any means possible.”

Helena at first was the heroine you loved to hate, and I was anxious to see how this would play out. Her accident is stroke of luck, profound luck. She’s an entirely different person then what I experienced in the previous books and I loved the new Helena. She was open, fresh, and more apt to share parts of her amazing personality because she didn’t despise Hastings any longer.

The pacing of the story was perfect, the dialogue crisp, and honestly Hastings and Helena know how to throw an insult. There is plenty of conflict and growth from the characters, no sagging middle… writers long to write this type of book. I did fear that Thomas would have to rush Helena’s memory recovery, but everything was plotted in such a way that I felt neither rushed nor let down at any point.

There are a few bits with the other Fitzhugh’s and their spouses, which made the trilogy, as a whole, wrap up nicely. I also enjoyed the book within the book, and already have The Bride of Larkspear in my sights.

Bottom line: this is the best Historical of 2012. If you read one Historical this entire year, even if you eschewed Historical in favor of another genre, you have to read Tempting the Bride.

Reviewed by Landra

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