Historical Romance Book Club discussion

Discussion thread for the first BOTM for October 2024. Please remember to use the spoiler tags when necessary! (Please see 'some html is o k' for instructions.)

Join us in reading this HR that is set in the Twentieth Century. Happy reading!


Trouble at the Wedding

Synopsis:

Annabel is about to marry the perfect man…

The last thing Miss Annabel Wheaton desires is true love. She learned the hard way that love makes a woman foolish and only leads to heartache. That’s why she agreed to marry an earl who needs her money. He’s got a pedigree and a country estate, and he won’t ever break her heart. There’s only one problem…

Christian isn’t about to let her marry that pompous prig…

Christian Du Quesne, Duke of Scarborough, thinks this stubborn heiress is about to make the biggest mistake of her life, and he’s determined to stop her. Tempting beautiful women is Christian’s forte, after all. When her family offers him a nice sum of money to stop the wedding, he’s happy to accept. Falling in love with Annabel wasn’t supposed to be part of the bargain…

Anyone planning to read this one? I'm on the fence.

Mariana wrote: "Anyone planning to read this one? I'm on the fence."

I'm definitely going to read it :) I've read the first two books. #1 Wedding of the Season was okay, but I really liked #2 Scandal of the Year. I had planned to read this one too. Just hadn't got around to it yet, so this month is my chance!

I loved Scandal of the Year, so I'm hoping to find time to read this book.

Good to know. I haven't read any of the books in this series. Laura Lee Guhrke is hit or miss for me, but I will probably read this after The Blue Castle.

Mariana, she tends to be a hit or miss for me too

Same. I've definitely enjoyed some of her books a lot more than others.

I've started this one last night and so far so good. I've read the prologue and now part way through Chapter 1. (view spoiler)[I was a bit annoyed when the start of chapter 1 went back to before the prologue. I don't usually like that kind of book structure. But now I'm hooked into Chapter 1 so no problems! LOL. I like Christian so far, and the scene in the gambling den showed us just how horrible Annabel's fiancé is. Ugh! What a creep. (hide spoiler)] I'm looking forward to how this is going to play out :)

Part way through Chapter 8 now, 44%. I'm liking it so far and still hooked in. (view spoiler)[The scene where both of them got drunk on moonshine was an interesting one. The UST is building between them. I can't wait to see what's actually going to happen at the wedding. I've got no idea how the writer is going to handle that one. 'Trouble at the Wedding' is the book's title, so I'm expecting some sort of shenanigans. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 3-4 (view spoiler)[. I enjoyed Christian and Annabelle’s first meeting. The unwritten ‘rules’ of English marriages came as a surprise to her. I’m sure that many of the American heiresses who married into the British aristocracy actually had no real idea what they were getting into. I like that Christian was being real with her, and telling her something of the reality she could expect. He did have ulterior motives of course though LOL. (hide spoiler)]

So far I still like both main characters. (view spoiler)[Christian seems to have some integrity, even though he's a gambler and a rake. He's choosing not to take advantage of Annabelle. Annabelle herself is likeable too. A mixture of clever/canny/takes no BS, yet very naive in some ways. The revelations about her background show how her trust in men has been damaged. (hide spoiler)]

I finished today. I liked the read, and gave 3.5 to 4 stars. Although it was about the tried and true trope of American heiress meets titled Englishman, I feel the author tackled it in quite a fresh manner. The characters were interesting, and not just cardboard cutouts. I liked the way the plot unfolded, and there were some memorable scenes. Well worth the read.

I thought the different setting was nice. A ship! (view spoiler)[A Turkish bath!:) (hide spoiler)] It might just be me, but I always think that children can be proper characters in the story as well, so I thought the author could have made more of Miss Wheaton's little sister.

Jan wrote: "I finished today. I liked the read, and gave 3.5 to 4 stars. Although it was about the tried and true trope of American heiress meets titled Englishman, I feel the author tackled it in quite a fres..."

Agreed, Jan. It was an enjoyable read. The characters were interesting, and I especially liked the theme of (view spoiler)["Don't let them change you." (hide spoiler)]

Olivia wrote: "Agreed, Jan. It was an enjoyable read. The characters were interesting, and I especially liked the theme of (view spoiler)"

I agree with your spoiler. I liked that too. Interesting thought about little Dinah. I agree they could have made more out of her character. I liked the ship setting too. I thought it worked well.

I finished today. This was a hit Laura Lee Guhrke for me. I agree with all of Jan and Olivia's spoilers. The last bit frustrated me a bit. (view spoiler)[Although Christian did seem to have integrity early on, he decided to go against it and didn't even realize he was in love. I was upset with how smart Annabel became foolish in love. I also wanted an epilogue. It ended rather abruptly. (hide spoiler)]

Mariana wrote: "I finished today. This was a hit Laura Lee Guhrke for me. I agree with all of Jan and Olivia's spoilers. The last bit frustrated me a bit. [spoilers removed]"

I agree about the ending (view spoiler)[ It did finish a bit abruptly, and I would have liked an epilogue too. (hide spoiler)]

I agree with what everyone has said - it did finish a bit abruptly and could have done with an epilogue. It was the first one of this author I had read, and I really enjoyed the writing style, it was easy to read and the story was very interesting. I loved the ship setting too.