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Rating: 
Summary: hero's remoteness a bit off-putting, but still a good read
Review: "His Unexpected Bride" by Jo Ann Ferguson is a rather well written novel that makes full use of the marriage of inconvenience plot. Lord Cameron Hawksmoor drunkenly stumbles into Miss Tess Masterson's bedroom, mistaking it for his own. But before he can rectify his error, Tess's father turns up. Apparently Cameron has married Tess (by proxy) with her father's blessing. Both Tess and Cameron are appalled: Tess, because her father has married her off so summarily without giving any thought as to her wishes and feelings; and Cameron because he's so drunk, he cannot remember having even obtained a special license in order to marry Tess. However married the two irrevocably are unless there is some legal way out of this bumblebroth. Unhappy, both Cameron and Tess leave for London in order to get some legal advice about their predicament. The trouble however is that while Tess feels quite resentful towards Cameron for the part he played in this mess, and while Cameron cannot help but feel that there is something terribly wrong about the manner in which he came to be married, both Tess and Cameron are powerfully attracted towards each other. The question then is if both Tess and Cameron should give up their hopes of putting and end to their marriage and give into their feelings for each other or not?The novel unfolds a little slowly for the first half of the book. Jo Ann Ferguson spent a lot of time circling around the frustrations that both Cameron and Tess feel about the state they find themselves in -- being married and yet not wanting to remain so because of the manner in which their marriage was contracted; stir in the powerful attraction that they feel for each other and the fact that neither party really trusts the other completely, and you have a royal mess in the making! On Tess's side of grievances lies also the unpalatable truth that she doesn't know what to make of Cameron's tendency to blow hot and cold towards her, of his ability to suppress all his emotions, to say one thing but mean the other, and his tendency to blame her and throw tantrums whenever things go wrong. (I mentally cheered when she finally tells him to grow up and face things like an adult.) However, halfway through the novel, there is a major plot development (and I'm not saying what so as not to spoil things for everyone). From this point on, the novel unwinds at a faster and at a more interesting pace, as Cameron finally begins to take a hard look at who is trying to harm and manipulate his family. All in all, I'd say that "His Unexpected Bride" is a pretty good read. I did think that Cameron's and Tess's obsession with putting a quiet end to their marriage was unrealistic. This was early 19th century England afterall: no such thing (save an annulment) existed. Also, I wished that Jo Ann Ferguson had developed Cameron's character more -- what had turned him into such a control freak? And why he felt the need to suppress all his emotions? As it is we're left with a frequently grumpy and short tempered grouse, albeit an intelligent one. I also thought that introducing Cameron's good hearted ex-mistress into the mix was unnecessary, as she served no real purpose except to advise Tess to stick out her unconventional marriage and to trust in Cameron. She only added to the mess of there being (at times) too many characters for such a plot. A good read however in spite of my caveats.
Rating: 
Summary: The language of the period
Review: The plot has promise--a man who wakes up beside his host's daughter and is told he married her in a drunken stupor with a proxy standing in for the bride--but the 'twases, 'tises, and a mayhap every other page certainly ruined the flow of the narrative. Those expressions are Georgian and even if they were not, it is not necessary to use them to write a good Regency. The main characters have promise but they are sort of dragged from page to page, vascillating about their attraction to each other as they try to undo the marriage. That some of the other characters do not ring true to the period is a common problem with American writers trying to "do" Regency England. There was nothing democratic about it--rank was everything. Also,Cameron's brother would never bring his doxy to his brother's house to meet the bride nor would Cameron have a picture of his mistress in his house. Some behaviors were beyond the pale and to pretend otherwise wastes a good plot opportunity. Definitely not of the caliber of "Lord Radcliffe's Season" but I'm trying to finish it anyway.
Rating:
Summary: A good start but not the best follow through
Review: While the novel starts out well it sorta fizzles. The hero seems to be a bit to remote for the story. It was also easy to determine who the bad guy was (I had it figured out way to early) and when that happens it sorta looses it's hold on you. But if you are just looking for a quick enjoyable read it is not a bad book.
Rating:
Summary: A good start but not the best follow through
Review: While the novel starts out well it sorta fizzles. The hero seems to be a bit to remote for the story. It was also easy to determine who the bad guy was (I had it figured out way to early) and when that happens it sorta looses it's hold on you. But if you are just looking for a quick enjoyable read it is not a bad book.
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