Sophie Jordan, Once Upon a Wedding Night

Once Upon a Wedding Night

Sophie Jordan

Avon, Aug 2006, $5.99

ISBN: 0061122203

In 1835 healthy Lord Edward Brookshire suddenly dies at thirty-five years old leaving his widow Meredith legally with nothing. His solicitors inform Meredith and her Aunt Eleanor that there is no living heir so she will own everything. That changes when the solicitors doing the legal requirement find that Edward's half-brother Nicholas Caulfield lives and is coming to claim his title and the Oak Run estate.

Meredith assumes that Nicholas sharing the same blood as Edward would prove uncharitable towards her increasingly unstable dad, her aunt, the few remaining loyal servants and herself. She and Eleanor decide to fake a pregnancy leading to an infant boy to claim as the heir which is ironic since Meredith remains a virgin after seven years of marriage to an absentee spouse. When Nick arrives, he immediately distrusts everyone especially the widow as he has returned home where he and his mother were once tossed out. As the enemy combatants skirmish they fall in love, but who will swallow their pride and take a chance with the truth that beats inside each heart?

This delightful debut is a fine historical romance starring a desperate heroine and a not so likable male lead. Interestingly it is Nick whose arrogance and nastiness provides a freshness to an otherwise somewhat by the book tale as he has a reason to hate the villagers and distrust the widow. As he begins to admire Meredith for caring about others and soon falls in love with her, she feels like a traitor as she shares his deepest feelings especially when she observes a different side to him when it comes to the downtrodden and helpless. Sub-genre fans will look forward to more works by Sophie Jordan, who provides a strong opening act.

Harriet Klausner