At the Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker

Uninspiring Regency romance

3 Stars

Gabriel Devine, Duke of Wolverest doesn’t want or need a wife – so he decides that his younger brother should marry, thus securing the appropriate heir. He decides the best way to do this is to invite several young ladies to a house party that culminates in a ball where his brother will choose his new bride.

Madelyn Haywood is independent, spirited and manages to create a scandal wherever she goes. She has no idea why she has been chosen to attend the Bride Hunt Ball. However it’s not the younger brother that captures her attention but Gabriel himself. Despite knowing that it’s wrong – the pair can’t seem to stay away from each other.

As I started reading this book I honestly couldn’t understand the average reviews it received – it was a fairly interesting, if simple plot and the characters seemed both engaging and not stereotypical. Unfortunately, about half way through the book I started to wonder whether anything was actually going to happen and when the story would actually pick up and get going. By the end I was so bored and disinterested in the story and found myself rolling my eyes during the “romantic conclusion” which is never a good sign. There were also a good handful of Americanisms, which is irritating in a book supposedly set in Regency England.

The book never really got going which was a shame because I liked the writing style and it really had potential. It took me a while but I easily finished the book without skipping any parts and overall it wasn’t a terrible romantic story just a bit basic and uninspiring. 3 stars.