Once Upon a Wedding Night

Author(s): Sophie Jordan
Publisher: Avon
Date : 2006

In ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT Sophie Jordan has created a regency romance that takes us beyond the rarified world of the ton in the story of two passionate people who have promised themselves never to love again.
Lady Meredith Brookshire finds herself a widow without ever truly having been a wife. She has an elderly aunt, a father suffering from dementia and a motley household of servants who depend on her. And they all may be destitute once the new earl, her husband's mysterious half brother, arrives. Her aunt convinces her that the only answer to their dilemma is for Meredith to pretend she's pregnant, an ironic situation given that her husband rejected her on their wedding night seven year ago without consummating the marriage. In nine months they plan to find a boy baby and their futures will be safe.
Nick Caulfield doesn't want to be an earl. He hated the father who turned his mother and Nick into the streets to fend for themselves. Nick has become rich as the owner of a gaming hell but he'll never forget that his mother died in poverty. When he arrives at the family estate, he's delighted to find that his brother's widow is expecting, thus relieving him of a title and responsibilities he doesn't want. But his sister-in-law is not what he expected and he's both drawn to her and protective of her and her unborn child.
Meredith had been prepared to dislike her husband's half brother who she expected to be as cold and cruel as the late earl. Instead she finds a kind, generous, incredibly attractive man who inadvertently gives her a glimpse of the pain inflicted on him by his father. She begins to feel guilty for deceiving him but she's in her lie too deep to back out.
When Nick demands that she find a husband before the end of the London season, he soon realizes that, although he doesn't trust her, he wants her in his own bed. Meredith is ready to enter into a loveless marriage, but first she longs to explore the passion she feels whenever she's with Nick.
ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT is a very satisfying story with richly developed characters and a well paced plot. Meredith and Nick both face real world practical problems which force them to make difficult decisions that challenge their sense of morality. Their attraction to each other is irresistible but the obstacles to their relationship go beyond pride and ego to deep seeded hurts that they both must be willing to face. The secondary characters are especially well drawn, enriching the story by providing interesting contrasts to the hero and heroine and occasionally a bit of humor. I think historical romance fans will be thoroughly delighted by Sophie Jordan's debut novel.

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