The Bride Takes a Groom audiobook

This is a hard book to review. Lisa Berne shows excellent writing skills, but somehow the story just didn't fully engage my emotions. The premise was good; a nice twist on the marriage of convenience trope. My biggest complaint was the minimal amount of Hugo's point of view. I really liked him at the beginning, but the book failed to show the development of his feelings toward the heroine. As a result, Hugo seemed vague and indecisive. I felt sympathy for Katherine, but she went a long time with no real direction. That was a intentional part of the story, but it caused the book to not flow well. Their "I love you" reveal at the end of the book seemed anti-climatic. All of this may seem like I didn't like the book. Not true. I actually enjoyed the book, but I feel that is could have been much stronger.

This is a book that will make you and cry. Two people, one broken in body the other broken in spirit. It starts out with action and ends with love and action. Well worth the read. This is my first time to read anything by Lisa Berne, I'll be looking forward to reading more of her work.

Lisa Berne has a unique style that didn't grate like some stream of bizarre conscience books can. I liked the relationship. Hugo was a man's man but not arrogant or autocratic in any way which I enjoyed. His family is just darling all the way around. I enjoyed this one and while I want to read the next one I don't think I'll go back and read the first two.

I'm surprised to see this book got so many low ratings! I actually really liked it. It's definitely my favorite of all of the Penhallow books. As with all of Lisa Berne's books, the writing is really great. I thought that the plot moved along at a nice pace in this one. Also, I liked that the characters had some realistic flaws. My favorite historical romances are those in which the characters behave in a somewhat realistic manner (after all, people usually don't say and do exactly the right thing at exactly the right time in real life). I felt that this was the case here. Katherine's behavior wasn't perfect for a large portion of the book, but I wouldn't have expected anything else based on her upbringing. I could definitely see how much progress she made from the beginning to the end of the book, though. My only small complaint about this book is that Hugo's character wasn't as well fleshed out as Katherine's character.

Apparently I skipped one but it doesn't really matter. This is the story of Katherine Brooke, who has spent her childhood bribing her maid to bring her books and chocolate, and has worn a metal corset that makes her back bleed. Katherine grows up in a cold and emotionally-abusive household. When she reconnects with her childhood friend and neighbor, handsome Hugo Penhallow, she sees a way out. Hugo returns from military service in the Americas to find that his family fortunes have vanished. Katherine's home life is terrible, but she is very wealthy, so the two make a pact to marry, she for an escape and he for money to save his family's future. But it doesn't remain the simple transaction that they imagined... Katherine's slowness to come around to Hugo is believable and it is a joy to watch her learn to accept herself once she's part of the warm Penhallow clan. I love this series.

What an enjoyable historical romance with a refreshing twist - our hero, Hugo is marrying the wealthy heiress Katherine for her money! The couple are very upfront about his, and Katherine is especially happy to get out of her intolerable life with her selfish vain parents. Hugo and Katherine grew up together until her parents became wealthy and moved to build a show off house. Having fond memories of Katherine, Hugo hopes this will be a good solid marriage in addition to providing him finances to care for his large family. They run into several problems mostly due to Katherine's damaged psyche from years of mental abuse. I enjoyed seeing Katherine grow into a confident compassionate person unafraid to be herself. The writing reminded me of Grace Burrows.

For real... I bought this at the Dollar tree and I loved it!You HAVE to give it a chance -- you're going to hate the main character at the start.These two are childhood friends so they have a long past -- through the book they rediscover innocent feelings (but there is some steamy scenes) and it grows into a sweet self development for the female lead.Also, you need to read the note from the author at the back of the book about the bird... such great inspiration!

Lovely surprise, with a rather quirky couple. He has a rich family life, but knows he must marry for money. He starts by seeing the disgustingly rich heroine. She knows her family is not accepted and can't abide further humiliation. She's so prickly and I liked the very cautious H carefully respect. Their story goes beyond 2 people. I loved her deeply hidden sweetness and so did the H.

A Delightful Cast of CharactersAnother good story about Love, wrapped in all its angst and hope. But, it's truly the characters that drive this story; so many of them, but they are introduced a few at a time so the reader is not overwhelmed, but has a chance to get to know each. I really enjoyed the book.