A lady of London breeding, Emma Van Court never expected to be left widowed - and penniless - in the Scottish village of Faires. But when a fortune is promised if she remarries, the pretty schoolteacher finds Faires' motley assortment of eligible men scrambling for her attentions - from the local cowherd to an obnoxious baron!
One sweet kiss would seal their love...
James Marbury, Earl of Denham, was urbane, sophisticated...and utterly at odds among the muddy roads and thatched roofs of Faires. He had come after hearing of his cousin Stuart's passing - and was exasperated to find his maddening, tempestuous love for the widowed Emma was as strong as ever. With bachelors coming out of the woodwork to woo her, James sees only one solution: offer himself to her as a temporary husband...even if secretly he longs to make his "I do's" last a lifetime.
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Kiss the Bride is the story of Emma Van Court, a young lady who elopes with Stuart Chesterton, with whom she has had a long time infatuation. Despite both families being against the match Emma and Stuart marry and head for Scotland where the pair live as an impoverished curate and his wife in the small village of Faires, Shetland. When Stuart dies, his cousin, James Marbury, Earl of Denham, who was the most vocal against the marriage, comes to Scotland to fetch Stuart's body home, not realising that Emma would still be there. The pair have to face up to their feelings for one another while dealing with many interesting problems in the village.
This book was a very enjoyable read and although not a great book like some of Ms Cabot's others, it is still a good book and well written.
The conflict between the characters is believable as is their inability to voice their true feelings for each other when they become aware of them. As well as the interesting twists to the story there are various amusing and colourful secondary characters that add to, and bring life to the story.
However, unlike Ms Cabot's other books I found that this one tended to be much slower paced and the love scenes not up to their usual high standard which detracted from the book somewhat.
Another point which irritated me greatly was that throughout the story they refer to Shetland as being in the Hebrides. It is only a minor point but it is one which had me cringing whenever it was mentioned.
Despite this I would still recommend this novel as it is a very good story with likeable characters and a different plot than the usual regency romance. I would also highly recommend other books by this same author especially Educating Caroline and She Went All The Way which are both very enjoyable reads.
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344 pages
