Review - The Wedding Wager by Jane Feather

The Blackwater Brides Trilogy continues.....

TITLE:    A Wedding Wager
AUTHOR:    Jane Feather
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 447 pages
PUBLISHED:   Pocket, 2011
SOURCE:   Received from Publisher for Review and Book Tour

FROM GOODREADS:  New York Times bestselling author Jane Feather again delights with her new book in this entrancing Georgian trilogy featuring three noble brothers who are offered a preposterous opportunity to restore their family’s mortgaged lands. An eccentric uncle promises a lavish inheritance, but only if each marries—thus redeeming—a fallen woman. And if even one brother fails to fulfill the old man’s decree, none will gain the windfall.

Lady Serena Grantley was born to the nobility, but fortune's whim placed her in control of her gamester stepfather, who uses her beauty to lure young men to his gambling tables. Serena even dismissed her first love, the Honorable Sebastian Sullivan, at her stepfather's command. But when he attempts to force her into a liaison with a dissolute earl, Serena resolves to do his bidding no more. Sebastian is the only man who ever captured her heart, and it is to him she turns. . . .


Torn between family loyalty and the woman he loves, Sebastian faces a devilish dilemma. His uncle is ailing, and time is running short. Desperate to find a solution, Sebastian conceives a dangerous plan—a wager that could bring him and Serena happiness at last . . . or separate them forever.

MY TAKE:    This second installment of the Blackwater Brides Trilogy is an enjoyable, stand alone read.  The premise of the series is that three noble, almost impoverished brothers are directed to find and marry three "unacceptable" women.  They are told to find fallen women who have taken the wrong path and try to redeem them and bring them into society.  This directive is from their dying uncle who promises to bequeath each of them a small fortune if they can accomplish their task. 

The first book, Rushed to the Altar is the story of the oldest brother Jasper.  He does his part finding his beloved Clarissa.  The catch is that ALL three of them must accomplish this before the old man dies.  This part of the story begins with Sebastian reminiscing about his lost love Serena. Things start turning upside down for him when he runs into her in person after three long years apart.  Some things have changed while others are still the same.
  
I enjoyed this story, quickly finishing it in an afternoon while I was hiding inside under the air conditioner.  Even though it is part of a series, there was plenty of background information provided to become fully immersed in the story.  While the main plot of the story/series is the three brothers in a race against time to find "suitable" women to marry, there are several other subplots occurring as well.  It makes for a fun read as you try to figure out exactly what some of the characters are really up to.

The characters were likable and easy to get to know.  It was refreshing that they were also all different.  Jane Feather doesn't create cookie-cutter characters.  She writes stories about individuals who all have their own agendas and concerns.  Besides Sebastian and Serena, I got a kick out of young Abigail.  She was another girl with a mind of her own.

Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it: 

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon and The Book Depository

 

 

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.