Daphne‘s review of The Bride Hunt Ball, debut novel by Avon author, Olivia Parker.
To Snare a Bride . . .
To Gabriel Devine, Duke of Wolverest, the bonds of marriage are nothing more than shackles. But if he’s to remain a lifelong bachelor, that leaves only his younger brother to carry on the family name. Inviting the ton’s most eligible ladies to an elegant ball, Gabriel is certain any one of them would be all too eager to become the next duchess and provide an heir—leaving Gabriel to continue his ecstatic pursuit of pleasure.
To Catch a Rogue . . .
Her social-climbing stepmother would give anything to have Madelyn Haywood betrothed to a future duke. But Madelyn believes the brothers Devine to be nothing more than heartless rogues—especially Gabriel, whose rakish reputation precedes him. He is nothing more than a slave to passion, and she will not be conquered by his caresses—and yet his wicked ways tempt her so . . .
I enjoyed this book for several reasons: 1) The storyline was pretty unique, sort of like a historical version of ABC’s The Bachelor. 2) The intro to the book isn’t long and dragging – Chapter One starts off with the hero and heroine already meeting. 3) There was enough side story with secondary characters to allow for possible future books in a series. 4) No big rollercoaster of drama and mixed emotions. 5) I love Gabriel.
What’s cool about the storyline is that the main hero, Gabriel, is not the “bachelor” in this hunt. It’s his younger brother, Lord Tristan. Had Gabriel been the main prize all the women were competing for, I think the story would’ve been more dull and predictable. Madelyn is the only woman who initially isn’t vying for Lord Tristan’s attention. Her main purpose for staying in the contest is to protect her friend Charlotte from potential heartbreak should she face elimination. Because Madelyn is not focused on the game, she often snoops around the castle or breaks away from the group, which in turn gives her many chance encounters with the Duke.
The chemistry between Madelyn and Gabriel is adorable. Madelyn is pretty naive and clumsy, so her first encounters with the Duke are coupled with embarrassing moments. She doesn’t realize Gabriel is the Duke, so she addresses him as Mr. Devine (causing a gasp! from the ton), and she falls into a pond in front of everyone. The others believe Madelyn is hopeless, while Gabriel finds her refreshing and delightful. Instead of fainting at her mishaps, Madelyn just “rolls with the punches.” I really liked that about her.
With each encounter, their passion grows, and the build up to their lovemaking is well worth it. Even when Gabriel just whispers in Madelyn’s ear, or when he gives her a light caress to her arm, I feel like it has the same effect as other hot steamy love scenes.
There’s only a few negatives I can think of for this book. The first is that I can imagine several readers thinking Madelyn is annoying. Probably because she’s always mischievous and getting into sticky situations. I personally didn’t think she was annoying. I did however find it odd that she tried so hard to keep Charlotte away from the Devine men, but ended up falling in love with one herself. And even after she realized she was falling for Gabriel, she still scolded Charlotte for wanting Gabriel’s brother. Second, I started to think it was a little silly that at every scene Madelyn wandered off, oh what do you know, she runs into the Duke. Highly unlikely in real life I think, especially if you’re in a castle. But there is actually a good explanation for that, you’ll have to read to find out.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves historicals. Gabriel’s reactions are adorable, from beginning to the very end. It’s a light, fast read that really just made me feel happy and giddy.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5
Check out more from Daphne at Daphne’s Adventures.
This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
