| Title | : | The Earl's Mistaken Bride (The Parson's Daughters, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0373828977 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780373828975 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2011 |
The Earl's Mistaken Bride (The Parson's Daughters, #1) Reviews
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For me, the blurb was very misleading. I thought the heroine would be quite a bit feistier and winning. The hero was a flat out and out jerk, arrogant, proud and with few redeeming characteristics. Frankly, I thought he was cruel to the heroine.
This is a Christian romance which I did not know going in. The two concepts of submitting to God's will and forgiveness were very strong in the book. Both issues apply in spades to the hero.
Plot: The hero decides he must marry to make his dying mother happy so he selects a daughter, one of five, from the family friend parson. Due a mistake that is explored at length later, he ends up married to the plainer but better sister. He feels duped although he identified which daughter by name to the father. The H did not take his disappointment well. No gentleman here. He verbally abuses and humiliates the heroine on more than one occasion.
It was a nice story, but there was little romance there for me. The H's epiphany from arrogant jackass to accepting and loving hero was far too quick and unbelievable. I know that forgiveness is an essential element to being a good Christian, but forgiveness is also predicated on true repentance as well.
The heroine is a little bland, but she does stand up for herself and her principles which is nice to read. I still don't understand why she fell in love with him. For a hero to be arrogant, even slightly cruel, there has to be a payoff somewhere.
No sexual scenes so this is a clean romance for those that are leery of sexual situations. P to PG rating.
The hero on the cover is handsome though!! -
4.5
Not for the reader who can't stand hard to like heroes. He was certainly a difficult romantic lead though given decent reason to be so. But I like romance stories where a highly flawed character is transformed by love. (Being that would be my story, I was rather difficult to like, softened by love, essentially.) Some would rather have a perfect guy to bookswoon over--this is not that book, it's more a study in how to love in difficult times. I do think his change at the end was a little quick and could have been shown more, but that's likely the fault of the strict word count of this line. The female character was quite admirable in how she dealt with the situation that would make a lesser woman unravel. Also for those that wish there were more imperfect characters, she's not pretty and doesn't magically become so with a makeover, which I like. A play on the Leah/Rachel Bible story. I enjoyed it. -
I really enjoyed this story. Constance and Marcus had great chemistry and there is a lot of great tension filled moments, which I love. The storyline was fun, at the beginning I was just waiting for Marcus’ reaction when he found out he married the wrong girl! I also liked that Constance never let him off the hook. In private she might have had feelings for him, but I loved that she wasn’t a simpering miss. She was strong and definitely put him in his place. Their relationship grows naturally and it was fun to watch them finally get a HEA.
About 30% in another couple is introduced and we start hearing their POV. I have mixed feelings about that. I actually really liked Miriam and Tom and enjoyed their romance as well. In fact, I would love a book about them! But, I also thought it was kind of distracting from Constance and Marcus.
I feel a little guilty saying this, but I kind of wish the Christian element was toned down a bit. I don’t know how to write this without sounding rude, but at times it felt out of place and overdone. It’s a Christian novel, so I guess it’s to be expected, and it wasn’t as bad or preachy as some Christian novels I’ve read.
Content: Very clean, in fact I would have liked a little more kissing! :D -
Kalau boleh saya menyebutkan novel ini semacam hisrom kristiani. Bukan saja karena Constance, heroinenya adalah anak seorang pendeta. Tetapi karena di dalamnya ada beberapa penggalan ajaran kristiani yang tersurat dan tersirat. Misalnya, Marcus yang membuat kesepakatan dengan Tuhan bahwa dia akan menikahi anak pendeta yang bukan seorang keturunan bangsawan, hanya karena ibunya memintanya mencari isti Kristiani. Sebagai gantinya, Marcus meminta agar ibunya yang sakit tidak meninggal lebih cepat. Constance terkejut mendengar "kesepakatan" yang dibuat suaminya itu, dan mengingatkan bahwa dia tidak bisa membuatnya seperti itu. Jauh lebih baik berserah pada Tuhan.
Constance dengan keterbatasan wajahnya, berusaha membuat suaminya mematuhi janji pernikahan mereka. Sebaliknya Marcus dengan harga dirinya sebagai Earl yang tinggi, menganggap cinta adalah hal yang akan menjatuhkan martabatnya. Bagi Constanse janji pernikahan, dimana dua orang menjadi satu tubuh, setia dalam susah dan senang harus benar-benar dilaksanakan. Literally. Tapi bagaimana caranya, jika Marcus untuk masuk ke kamarnya saja enggan? Yang lucu waktu Constance menutup kekecewaanya di malam pengantin dengan membaca mazmur dan amsal...hehe.
Selain Marcus dan Constance, pelayan mereka Tom dan Miriam memiliki kasus serupa..Tom dengan keangkuhannya, dan Miriam dengan keterbatasan dan cintanya yang besar. Kisah kedua pasangan ini saling melengkapi.
Entah karena mengangkat tema kristiani, adegan romantisnya paling banter hanya ciuman doang. Itupun kalo ga dalah hanya ada 3 kali. Habisnya pada saat mau menghalalkan ada aja gangguan yang dialami Constance dan Marcus.
Update : Ternyata Love Inspired HQ ini memang bertemakan cerita tentang tokoh wanita yang menhadapi tantangan pada era historical, dengan iman, pengharapan dan fokus pada keluarga. Hehe... baru tahu -
An excellent LIH!! So often I find these little books overly romantic but I think this one has some wonderful attributes. Constance was a breath of fresh air to read about and the two story-lines was a added bonus!! The trickle of humor through-out this book was my favorite.
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And I thought Mr. Darcy was a proud man! :o)
Great story and I loved how Constance didn't put up with his pride. A fun, and clean regency read.
Moral Note: Some talk of consummating the marriage between the married couple, nothing vulgar or graphic. Clean romance, clean language. -
First off, I hated their names. I know it's petty, but i take great stock in character's names. Constance and Marcus with Spenford as their title...i shudder.
I picked this book because I love marriages of convenience stories. It's such a shame that what looked so promising, was such a disappointment.
Now to the review. It was too inconsistent. I never felt that Marcus loved Constance. I mean he desired her yes, but not love. Until the last two chapters where he's shouting his love from the rooftops. We went from negative 100 to 1,000 in a blink. There was no build up on Marcus's side.
Constance went back and forth on what kind of love she had for him. Like really? And her insecurities where never utilized to their fullest. For someone who is plain, this is a big issue, and I felt it never really came out in Contance. She was very... blah to me. There was no angst.
Honestly, i cared more about Tom and Miriam. Except I'm still baffled as to why suddenly Tom is now talking to Miriam when for the past YEARS he's been ignoring and gruff? Did i miss something?
All in all, the plot was never really enticing, the conclusion rushed and never really resolved. Everything came to a head and concluded in two chapters. I've liked to see some outside conflict, rather than hiding feelings. Gosh, I'd take miscommunication angst (which I tend to detest) over this boring taste-less romance.
Oh and i never want to read a book about a preacher's daughter ever again. There was too many Christian references, and leaving it up to God, ect for my tastes. -
Well respected and confident Marcus, Earl of Spenford of England is in search of a Christian bride to honor his mother's wishes.Rev. and Mrs. Somerton have 5 daughters, one of whom caught the eye of Marcus on a previous encounter. During the wedding ceremony when Marcus lifts his young bride's veil a startling discovery is made.Through the feelings of inadequacy Constance maintains her dignity as best as she is able.Highly aware of how others view him, Marcus feels he must be on his best behavior at all times, even at the expense of others.Will duty keep them together or drive them apart?Can Constance and Marcus bury their differences?His heart is guarded but can she crush his reserve?
I enjoyed every minute spent peering into the lives and hearts of these interesting, well developed and personable characters. Quite difficult to put down from the beginning, this book will hold you captive and leave you satisfied in the end! Plot, dialogue, description and scenery all worked well in this romantic novel. I found the overall message inspiring and will recommend this well written book to others. I hope to read more Love Inspired books in the future by this author! -
It's okay. The hard part and why I didn't like this book was the premise that he was angling for a different sister. Granted, he was callous in his initial decision and pompous and arrogant. Nothing really mitigated those things for me. Aside from it, it was a nice brain eraser.
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Very good! I'll definitely be looking for more books by this author!
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Biasa ajah, gak meninggalkan kesan sama sekali. Dan beneran gak ada scene hotnyaaaa....
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I previously read Married by Mistake by Abby Gaines. So when I wanted to read something light I chose The Earl’s Mistaken Bride . I found the title interesting. However, the mystery of the title is solved in the first few pages.
Plot:
Marcus made a bargain with God. He would marry a good Christian bride, thus making his mother happy. In return, God will make his mother better, who lies on her deathbed.
To fulfil his end of the bargain, Marcus visits Reverend Somerton. On his way there, he stumbles upon a great beauty who introduces herself as Constance Somerton, Reverend’s daughter. He later asks Reverend for Constance’s hand in marriage. Reverend grants his wish and the wedding takes place soon. However, after the wedding Marcus realises he married the wrong sister. The great beauty he saw earlier had been Constance’s sister Amanda. He feels betrayed for being wedded to the ‘ugly duckling’ .
Constance had no idea of her sister’s trickery. She is married to the man whom she has been in love with, since she was in her teens . But she is very much aware of his hatred and contempt for her. Totally disheartened due to the events, she chooses to give the marriage her best efforts to make it work.
And like every romance novel, the hero realises his mistakes and they live happy after.
Now, here’s what I felt:
I honestly admired Constance’s spirit. And I hated Marcus. I actually found him a cold brick. It seems justifiable when he treated Constance badly when he felt she tricked him. But that was not the end.
He went on to behave in a manner that completely outlined the fact that he was embarrassed at the fact that his wife is plain. Constance might be plain-looking but she did possess a brain. He avoided taking her out so that she would never malign his family’s name by making a fool of herself.
Not only that, he disrespected her views and belittled her feelings. He kept his prestige above everything. He never appreciated her in public, rather he chose to distance himself. Constance on the other hand called Marcus on his bullshit and challenged him for his love bluntly. When she saw something in his character that she did not appreciate, she had the guts to call him on it. When she realised that she might have treated Marcus too harshly for his flaws, she tried to make amends. Marcus hardly shows any repentance. Him, I found a coward.
I found her honest in her feelings and views; Marcus was vain and selfish.
Later, it is Marcus himself who drives his wife away. Though it is portrayed that he came to his senses, I honestly felt it was selfishness on his part. It seemed that he finally realised Constance was his only avenue to happiness. His character does not allow you to do anything else apart from sympathising, and that does not happen much either. His grand gestures made his lady’s heart melt but I found them too little too late.
There is another short story moving alongside Marcus’s. This happens between Marcus’s butler and Constance’s maid. Both of them share similar cycles of love and misery like their employers. This leads to a camaraderie that helps in development of the story. And it is a sweet story in itself.
Overall, though the addition of the short story was good, I felt Marcus’s character did not redeem itself in sufficient capacity. This left the story somewhat incomplete with its happy ending.
Gemstreet Reviews -
**Actually 3.5-rating**
I thought the summary was pretty straightforward, but, hmm, it also made it appear like the female MC, Constance, was a bit more acerbic in nature and that was why Marcus Brookstone was soured at being married to her, but Nah...it was because she was what I term "comely", or, eh ugly by Regency Era standards. So she could be middling pretty to sub-par okay-looking, though probably mousy in looks or drab in coloring.
All right so we first meet Marcus who is rather off-putting at the on-set because he is adamant to call on Parson Somerton and ask for the hand of ONE of his 5 daughters. I think the Parson found it kind of laughable because he is a clergyman off the estate of Marcus's family...well, The Dowager, so yeah, Marcus feels entitled to PICK one of the Parson's arrays of daughters, except...2 are only of marriageable age and there are three who aren't there yet. Marcus does mention that he likes the "looks" of his daughter, Constance. And of the 5 daughters ->there is one, Serena, who is currently not at home but is a governess at Mr. Granville's home. Next would be Constance and then there are three more younger daughters but all ranging down from 18&under.
It is actually Amanda Somerton that Marcus had stumbled into on the street who LIES because she is on a particular street being caught in the throes with a young man who she shouldn't be around at this point and time. There might be an unwanted sexual advance being done toward her, so Marcus comes to her rescue...and Amanda lies through her teeth and says her name is "Constance" when they are alone. This "Constance" is beautiful, and speaks eloquently and has airs about her that are wifely pleasing to Marcus, so he makes a pledge to Parson Somerton that it would be in his best interest to his employer, The Dowager, to accommodate him with one of his daughters as his wife and Constance would be a nice addition to his life. Except Marcus recalls the looks of Amanda, not of the real Constance.
At first, Constance does think it strange that Marcus Brookstone has offered for her hand but eh, she knows they have met countless times before and she has some unrequited feelings for him after witnessing his kindness a time or two when they were younger. Marcus never recalls these moments so it is a moot point to make and keep using. So, yeah, when the wedding day arrives, and Marcus and The Real Constance face one another at the altar...it's Amanda who slithers away from the nuptials to leave Constance a small note of apology for what she did...and to which Marcus will hold Constance accountable for...this supposed "mix-up" of sisters. And Constance is telling Marcus he cannot marry a 15-16yr old girl no matter how beautiful and "wifely" she appears. So, it's a big ole mess. Constance seems to be more than willing to move on, but Marcus is the one who will not let it go...he made a mistake and Marcus Brookstone never makes mistakes.
What I disliked was how hardcore Marcus was about how sub-par Constance was in looks and how she just didn't "have airs" like other society women. And he continued to play this sad fiddle about being duped and failing to get the right wife...and well, he wasn't coming to Parson Somerton for the right reason anyway. The Dowager, Marcus's mother, has a failing heart and she is very sickly at the time of his want of a wife...and he thinks if he gets a good Christian wife this will get him GOOD WITH GOD and GOD will answer all his prayers about healing his sickly mother and making her better. And sadly, for a brief time, The Dowager not only gets a daughter-in-law in Constance she can be proud to call her family, but a lovely companion at times and also someone who genuinely cares about her health. Constance actually found a much better heart doctor for her mother-in-law who put her on some experimental drugs called, digitalis, which not only helped her breath easier but slowed her irregular heartbeats. It gave her a few extra months of life.
Marcus's mother eventually passes and who does he hold responsible? GOD and... of course, Constance. This guy was really a confusing package to unfold and I never really grew to like him, at all. Constance was the only one who appealed to me. Not only did she put up with Marcus's infuriating bullshit, but she withstood A LOT of flack from his blatant ignorance and prejudice. Especially for a man who tried to find a peace of some kind with God, though not a fully practicing or believing Christian of any faith. And his constant putting down of Constance was what turned me off completely; the fact he never felt genuine in warming up to her or feeling like he looked at her differently.
The HEA at the end was near comical because...when Marcus finally got Constance to leave him, to go live at the country estate away from him and society...she had only been gone 8hrs before he had a hissy fit and "missed" her??? This was so bananas-crazy-pants...but I'm gonna tell you that Abby Gaines did something smart here...she was doing a secondary romance between a new lady's maid Constance got upon arrival to Marcus's home...named Miriam...and Marcus's own valet was Harper...Tom Harper whom he had grown up with during his childhood and was now in servitude to him.
I want to tell you that the minor romance between Tom Harper and Miriam was something wonderful out of Downton Abbey. That lovely dual perspective of the Upstairs and the Downstairs living in some kind of harmony. But the specialness with Tom & Miriam was that they were also from the same type of family and knew one another from childhood...
Tom's father was a working-class man but Tom never wanted to go into a life of suffering work like his father so he chose serving in a household. Miriam was a lower maid who was suddenly raised to the role of Lady's maid once Constance arrived. Tom frowned down upon Miriam and found her work inadequate...and Miriam thought they once might have had a love between them but suddenly once Tom became a valet for Marcus...and Marcus became heir apparent to his family...she felt shunned and shafted. She also thought Tom felt her lower than him...as if they were not equaled anymore. But shockingly it was just the opposite and Tom kept a darker secret not just from Miriam but from Marcus, himself.
When Marcus's father was alive...he didn't like his service staff to be taught, even when they were younguns..so, when Tom wanted to learn how to be a valet...he never got the proper schooling or proper education. Tom was ashamed of not being able to read or write as he was 29yrs old...the same age as Marcus. Tom thought of himself as lower than Miriam and never wanted her to know he was stupid and illiterate. Wow...such a lovelier and more appealing love story than Marcus and Constance.
Tom and Miriam often would put their heads together to find ways or means to "fix" what was wrong with Marcus and Constance, but it often was lost behind their own budding romance. I wished for that to be forefront...mainly because Marcus was and still is a douchecanoe of the tallest order. Eesh!! -
Marcus Brookstone, the Earl of Spenford, needs a wife. His mother's health is failing quickly, and he has made a bargain with God. He will marry one of the reverend's daughters if God will spare his mother's life.
And so he goes to Reverend Adrian Somerton, the father of 5 daughters, to ask for one of his daughters in marriage. Marcus couldn't remember the names of all the daughters, but he did remember recently meeting a young, beautiful, very spirited Somerton who told him her name was Constance. So Marcus tells the reverend that he wants to marry Constance.
Constance is not beautiful like her other sisters. She is surprised when she learns that the Earl has requested to marry her -- she doesn't know that her younger sister Amanda gave the Earl the wrong name when he had asked her name recently. Amanda didn't want to get in trouble and so she told the Earl her name was Constance. After the wedding, when the Earl lifts the veil to see his bride, he is shocked to see Constance instead of Amanda.
Their marriage was off to a pretty rocky start! The Earl was a model of propriety - known for always behaving perfectly in public. Constance, on the other hand, felt like she should speak the truth or nothing at all! The one thing that held them together was Marcus' mother, who loved them both and saw them both more deeply than they saw themselves!
I liked how Marcus and Constance both change throughout the story... at one point she is complaining about his pride and says: "Who was Constance to accuse him of excessive pride, when her own pride was smarting?" I liked how she recognized that she needed to change, too and tried to be more gentle, and how he came to appreciate her for who she was and to see her true beauty! -
The Good:
This was such a fun story! Marcus and Constance were both incredibly interesting characters. I think I liked Marcus more, though. I always love heroes that are stern and angry and Mr. Darcy like.
The extra romance between Miriam and Tom was nice too. It definitely wasn't necessary but I enjoyed reading it.
The Bad:
I do think Marcus's reason for needing a wife was very weak. It didn't make was sense. Had he needed a wife for blackmail or something, that would have been better.
Content:
Language: None
Religion: Sometimes a bit preachy, but good message.
Romance: Clean
Violence: None -
Good book. I liked Constance and her attitude toward life. She was also intent on showing Marcus that love was real and desirable. Marcus had been a happy second son, until his brother died and Marcus became the heir. His father was not satisfied with Marcus' attitudes and disposition, and sought to change him. This made Marcus cold and arrogant. Once he married Constance, she had no problem telling him when he was being a pill. There was a lot of intense emotion at the end of the book, but it had a very satisfying ending. I will be watching for the next one in the series.
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I found this story line so utterly refreshing. I actually love the idea of the heroine to not be a great beauty, for it feels more like real life, and creates a character I can really relate to. I love the finding beauty from who a person really is, for truly that is what makes one beautiful is the content of the heart. Being who you really are is what matters most over everything, and it was written very well in this story The plot was paced well with characters who learned and grew at a believable pace, with a very satisfying ending. :)
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A little silly at times, but still fun a escapist regency romance with mistaken identity and arranged marriage.
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Not sure why I read this one. It wasn't aggressively bad, the characters just never made any sense to me. And it was a little too Christian for my Christian self.
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Marcus memerlukan istri utk mengurus ibunya yg sedang sakit keras, maka dari itu dia melamar Constance, salah seorang anak gadis dari pendeta Parson tanpa mengenal sama sekali rupa dan sifat gadis itu.
Jadi alangkah terkejutnya Marcus saat setelah pernikahan mendapati wajah istrinya kurang menarik. Dia lbh terkejut lagi istrinya bisa mengimbangi tuduhannya. Constance menjalankan tugasnya sbg menantu yg merawat mertuanya. Dan seiring dgn berjalannya waktu, Marcus mulai ada rasa dgn istrinya, yg tidak malu-malu utk berkonfrontasi dgn dirinya yg kaku dan keras kepala. Constance menunjukkan dirinya peduli dgn kesehatan ibu mertuanya, jadi dia memaksa Marcus utk mencoba dokter baru, Dokter Young, yg memberikan mukjizat penyembuhan pada ibu Marcus.
Sayangnya, saat mereka nyaris menyempurnakan pernikahan mereka, mendadak ibu Marcus dipanggil Yang Maha Kuasa. Marcus mulai mempertanyakan kemurahan hati Tuhan. Marcus kembali getir dan mengusir istrinya ke desa. Apakah Constance patuh pada suaminya? Apakah kebahagiaan mereka bisa direguk bersama kembali?
Ini pertama kali saya baca clean historical romance yg Christianity pula. Saya kurang nyaman dan tidak menyukai yg menggunakan kata-kata dari Alkitab utk "membenarkan" tindakan tokohnya. Mungkin krn saya terbiasa membaca HR yg anakronistis, saya jadi merasakan bbrp ambigu dr novel ini. Spt tokoh Constance, walaupun dia nyaris tidak melakukan kesalahan fatal, malah spt figur sempurna scr psikis, saya merasa agak heran dgn "pemberontakan"nya terhadap pendapat Marcus di awal-awal kisah. Tetapi kemudian cepat sekali menyerah setelah ibu Marcus meninggal. Perjuangan cinta Constance rada nanggung menurut saya.
Marcus juga bukanlah figur hero sempurna secara psikis. Dia enggan dan angkuh mengakui perasaannya pada Constance. Rada dangkal juga nih pikiran Marcus yg menganggap cinta itu adalah kelemahan dan harus dienyahkan.
Ada second lead romance di novel ini, antara Harper dan Miriam, antar sesama pembantu majikan mereka masing-masing (malah jadi mirip cerita Sam Pek Eng Tay). Mereka sudah saling suka sejak lama, tetapi keangkuhan Harper utk mengakui kekurangannya dan tidak mau mengakui keunggulan Miriam menjadi batu sandungan hubungan mereka.
Intinya dari novel ini, singkirkan keangkuhan utk mendapatkan kebahagiaan. Keangkuhan hanya membawa kegetiran bagi pihak yg menyandangnya. -
Marcus thought he knew which of the parson's daughter he was marrying but when he lifts her veil, he is in for a surprise. Amanda may not be as pretty as her sister but she does love the Earl. Can he get past thinking he has be duped and give Amanda a chance or will they just tolerate each other. A marriage with such misgivings can only go down hill.
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It's got a great concept. Well written but needs more excitement with the plot. The story has a relatively slow pacing and few, if none, memorable events. All in all, still enjoyed the story.
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A good Regency romance
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Loved how Marcus maned up and went after his wife. Very sweet. Loved this book!!
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Terlalu banyak hal yg ga masuk akal. Agak dilebih-lebihkan dalam beberapa hal. Si main hero lebay bener.
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I don't like marcus charachter. He is so arogant. I want that heroin girl leave him and married again with other guy, lol. Nice story, but not my tea.
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she forgave him too quickly for my taste tho
