Sandy M’s review of The Bride by Carolyn Davidson
Historical Romance published by HQN Books 1 Feb 08
I just could not get into this book. The characters are very stiff and dry. The dialogue is the same. The storyline is fine, but with such dryness it never really picks up and you never get emotionally involved in the characters’ lives.
Isabella is sent to a convent until she turns sixteen, at which time she will marry the older man her father has chosen for her. Right off the bat we have to two men who care nothing for women and think of them only as possessions to be owned and dominated and punished when necessary. Isabella has the gall to beg her father not to give her to such an old and mean man, but all she gets is a swift and hard backhand. Her life at the convent is at least safe for her. She learns hard work and enjoys the solitude. She receives word her father has died and that gives her a reprieve for another two years before Juan Garcia will come for his bride.
During this time Rafael has heard Isabella’s story through word of mouth and when he deems it time he marries, he goes in search of the beautiful woman at the Sisters of Charity. He makes the trek to seek her out and make her his bride before her betrothed claims her. Rafael has heard of Juan Garcia and knows the kind of man he is and will not allow Isabella to wed such a mean-spirited man. Isabella goes with Rafael willingly, until she learns his plan to make her his wife. She wants the option of choosing who she marries, who she has children with, who she’ll spend her life with. Rafael has taken that away from her, even though he is the lesser of two evils when it comes to Garcia.
From this point on Isabella does her best to refuse Rafael, to escape from him, to continue to want to live her own life — even in the face of Rafael’s kindness and assurances he will never harm her, she will be mistress of their home, she can help those in need around them. She’d rather be a sister in the convent. The dialogue throughout this book never changes. It’s stilted to the max, no matter who is speaking. You’d think after a while that Isabella would either scream at Rafael or even later use a different tone when she comes to care for him. Doesn’t happen.
Since it’s a romance, we know Rafael and Isabella will fall in love and that happens quite nicely actually. We know we also haven’t seen the last of Garcia, but the way it’s written for his plan to kidnap Isabella to make her his is just not believable at all. And once she’s taken, not once does she worry about her unborn child and what might happen to it during the time she’s tossed around on a horse and tugged all over the place, let alone if she dies.
Nor does Rafael mention the child once they are together again. Which irritated me because the best part of this book is Rafael. Okay, he’s high-handed in the way he gets Isabella and he’s the usual chauvinist of the era, but he never lies to her, he truly does care for her and would never hurt her. At least Isabella opens herself to his love eventually. Took a little too long for me.
Grade: C-
Summary:
She thought her fate was sealed…
Isabella Montgomery’s future looked bleak. Before her father died, he betrothed her to Juan Garcia, an old ranchero infamous for cruelty. Now, shut away in a convent, she dreaded the day he would come to claim her. Until a dark horse revealed her true destiny…
Rafael McKenzie needed a bride before he came into his inheritance. The moment he laid eyes on Isabella, he knew she was the one. Breaking into the convent and capturing her was easy enough, but stealing her heart was another story.…
Read an excerpt here.
