Stephanie Laurens, The Ideal Bride

The Ideal Bride

Stephanie Lauren

Avon, Mar 2004, $22.95, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0060505737

By 1825 everyone in the know believes that the future in Parliament is bright for rising luminary Lord Michael Anstruther-Wetherby. His sister's marriage to the influential Cynster clan only enhances his superstar status in politics and in the ballroom. Aristocratic mothers know Michael is quite a catch and his arrogant confident manner makes all the unmarried and a quite few with spouses desire him.

Michael understands that politics at the top tier in England requires the perfect wife to serve as an ornament. His sister's marriage to the Devil compels him to find a compliant pretty spouse who knows how to host galas, but passion and love are not perquisites for the position. His paragon is Elizabeth Mollston, but Michael finds his heart and other bodily parts rebel instead seeking his chosen one's Aunt Caroline, a diplomat's widow. Caroline knows first hand the odious life of a politician's candy wife and wants love for her niece. She persuades Michael that an experienced woman would further his career more than a virgin would. Michael agrees as he wants Caro at his side in Parliament and more so in the boudoir, but she rejects the notion that happiness and politics are compatible bedfellows.

The latest Cynster tale uses the extended family of an in-law to continue the series. Though Michael is not a pureblood, he behaves in the same haughty compassionate manner as all Cynster males that DNA testing should be required. The concept of convenient relational marriages is cleverly drawn within the fiery romance between the delightful lead couple. Fans of the Cynster series will enjoy this entry as THE IDEAL BRIDE is a chip off the old block.

Harriet Klausner