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    At the Bride Hunt Ball
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    At the Bride Hunt Ball
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    At the Bride Hunt Ball
    Ebook346 pages5 hours

    At the Bride Hunt Ball

    By Olivia Parker

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    To Snare a Bride . . .

    To Gabriel Devine, Duke of Wolverest, the bonds of marriage are nothing more than shackles. But if he's to remain a lifelong bachelor, that leaves only his younger brother to carry on the family name. Inviting the ton's most eligible ladies to an elegant ball, Gabriel is certain any one of them would be all too eager to become the next duchess and provide an heir—leaving Gabriel to continue his ecstatic pursuit of pleasure.

    To Catch a Rogue . . .

    Her social-climbing stepmother would give anything to have Madelyn Haywood betrothed to a future duke. But Madelyn believes the brothers Devine to be nothing more than heartless rogues—especially Gabriel, whose rakish reputation precedes him. He is nothing more than a slave to passion, and she will not be conquered by his caresses­—and yet his wicked ways tempt her so . . .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJul 1, 2008
    ISBN9780061732607
    Unavailable
    At the Bride Hunt Ball
    Author

    Olivia Parker

    At eight years old, Olivia Parker wrote her first romance with a fat red marker. It made one's eyes hurt to read it, but it did have a tortured hero. Since then, she's dedicated her efforts to improving her craft (now using pencils) and divides her time among her love of writing, reading, and relaxing with her family. She currently resides in northern Ohio with her husband, three children, a border collie, and a cockatiel, who eats a worrisome amount of popcorn.

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    Reviews for At the Bride Hunt Ball

    4/5

    152 ratings12 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Awkward, insecure heroine who believes herself to be unattractive charms the rakish hero without knowing it. Mean stepmother, angst, the usual formula. But I do so like that formula!

    • 3/5
      Maybe 3.5 stars. This is my first from this author and I think she has potential, I found this one kind of simplistic though, and I wanted the heroine to be a bit smarter. There were several humorous descriptions that made me chuckle though and I liked the hero's flirtations. It was worth reading.
    • 5/5
      This book was great. Loved the Hero/heroine.
    • 4/5
      solid Regency Romance with plenty of banter.
    • 2/5
      So many of my GR friend loved this book, but I'm disappointed to say that I found it very slight and shallow. The main premise is inspired by a stupid TV show called The Bachelor, but here the duke is setting up a competition to find a bride for his younger brother. The duke himself has sworn never to marry, having been scarred by his father's cruelty to his loving mother.

      I suppose that a clever author could have crafted a funny book from this idea, but once the ladies arrive at the duke's castle for the face-off, the contest becomes a secondary story. Instead, we have the duke finding himself unaccountably attracted to our heroine, Madelyn. There follows a whole lot of smouldering repressed passion, and he constantly finds himself barely able to restrain himself in her presence. And this just goes on and on. And on.

      Madelyn was sweet and insecure and saddled with a cruel, ambitious stepmother, but I never felt that we knew much about her. Eventually, she starts smouldering too, and the couple has several steamy encounters before finally succumbing to temptation. Then, there's a Misunderstanding (not even really a Big Misunderstanding), an HEA scene, and an epilogue with babies.

      Just not much there there.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable story, especially for a debut author...once you get past the cover. Once again, I'm grateful you don't really see it much when reading an ebook. ;-) I liked both the main and secondary characters; especially poor, misguided Charlotte, who spent much of the novel in a blur (because of course, no guy makes passes at a girl who wears glasses--thank goodness she wised up at the end, though it made for some amusing scenes and comments in the meantime). It was a fun read, and I'll be checking the library's Overdrive for the second and third in the series soon.
    • 4/5
      Not a bad Regency, but not very memorable either. Handsome and brooding Duke of Wolverest doesn't want to marry, so he names his younger rakish brother heir to the dukedom - and holds a ball to find a bride for him out of a select few young women lucky enough to pass muster. Sort of a Regency "The Bachelor". Madelyn, a klutzy beauty is an unwilling participant. The last thing the Duke thought would happen was that he'd fall in love with her. I enjoyed their first meeting and ensuing crazy non-courtship. Fun book with some sizzling moments between the two, but their misunderstanding toward the ending was predictable and trying, but as in all romances - it all ends well eventually.
    • 4/5
      At the Bride Hunt Ball is Olivia Parker's debut novel, and the first of a series. When I first looked at the cover, I figured it was from the 80s or 90s...imagine my surprise to see it is only a couple of years old! Cheesy romance covers never die, my friends.The story is a good one. Gabriel, a Duke and determined bachelor, decides to hold a massive house party full of eligible women (handpicked by him, of course) so that his younger brother can choose a bride and continue the family line for him. There are all kinds of events for the women to show off their skills (from tea parties to archery) and even interviews with Gabriel! Madelyn Haywood is one of the ladies, pushed to succeed by her crazy social-climbing stepmother. She thinks the whole thing is ridiculous and that Gabriel's brother is a fop - and of course, she is completely correct on both counts. The entire ordeal is absolutely hilarious. Catfight like its 1899, people.Too bad she can't quite convince herself that Gabriel is completely ridiculous too. Cue fireworks and super hot chemistry.Seriously, I couldn't get enough of the interactions between Madelyn and Gabriel...but I couldn't get enough scenes with everyone else either! Most of the side characters are so caught up into the whole bride hunt ball scheme that you can't help but laugh at how ridiculous they are. Then, some, like Gabriel's brother and Madelyn's step-mother you just want to slap.The plot is hilarious (admittedly I might've found it even funnier than the author intended) and the characters are great. I loved the chemistry between the MCs and the way they interacted with everyone else as well. Definitely a historical romance worth picking up!So - don't let the horrendously cheestastic and old fashioned cover put you off. If you're a fan of historical romance, get a copy of this and enjoy the story! I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series (which is already released). The plot looks equally ridiculous so I know I'll have a good time.
    • 4/5
      A bit predictable at times but a very good read. Loved the heroine.
    • 5/5
      A debut novel by Olivia Parker inspired by pop-culture's "The Bachelor". She included interesting characters and humerous situations. A very good read.
    • 4/5
      So this is how "The Bachelor" would be in Regency-England (which can't be complete without the ever-present chaperones, of course). A clumsy yet endearing heroine and a commitment phobic hero go head to head. No surprising twists here but a cute read nonetheless.
    • 4/5
      In many ways, this is a standard romance as the heroine gets caught up in a house party where she is a potential bride for a duke's younger brother. Of course, she catches the attention of the duke instead, he catches hers, and things go from there. All the same, new author Olivia Parker provides a witty and sparkling read that is a cut above the average.Madelyn is an engaging heroine, far more sensible than many even if she suffers from that fate that has beset more than one heroine who isn't a model of society - clumsiness. Gabriel is also a good hero and their story is a lovely read.I thoroughly ejoyed this book and recommend it, for all that I don't have a lot of detailed comments to offer. If you want a nice Regency-set historical with a pleasant cast of characters and a solid plot, don't be put off by the title and give this one a look.At the Bride Hunt BallOlivia Parker8/10