Saturday, January 3, 2009

First book of the new year

Since I had the day off of work on January 1, I simply had to read a book. The best way to start a new year, right? Susan Carroll's The Bride Finder was a lovely way to start.





The story is a mix of fantasy and romance. Anatole St. Leger is a St. Leger (obviously)--but that means he has inherited fantasical powers. As part of the family legend goes, he will only be happy in love if the Bride Finder chooses a mate for him. When Anatole finally admits he needs a wife, the Bride Finder's choice is the complete opposite of what he wants or thinks he needs. Of course, his bride, Madeline, proves to be exactly what he needs--but once he reveals his dark secrets, will she still stay with him?

While the story wasn't gothic, it certainly had some of that genre's elements. Yet Madeline brought a lighthearted feel to the story, which kept it from ever getting too dark. The love story was sweet and grew richer as they knew each other more. I really appreciated how Carroll showed their relationship develop and what the consequences of that were.

Carroll is a lush writer, with great description. I'll definitely be picking up her work again.

Rating: 8/10

1 comment:

Brie said...

I loved this book when I read it. I have been meaning to pick up the other two books in this trilogy but haven't yet. I need to get on that.