Samantha is young and beautiful. . .and terrified of her erstwhile suitor(anyone who has read Balogh's "Dark Angel" will recognize both Samantha and the man she once believed she loved. Fleeing the handsome "suitor" she runs straight into the arms of wealthy but hardly imposing Lord Hartley Carew--a man who though physically handicapped has a whole heart.
I thought the handsome villain and the physically handicapped hero made a nice juxtaposition. There is no miracle cure for the hero's handicaps, but that made his winning the love of his beautiful bride more sweet. The beast remains the "beast" though he always had a heart of gold, and the naive young heroine grows to learn that it is the heart and not physical beauty that matters.

(This book is part of the series of Balogh novels beginning with "Dark Angel" and going to "The Famous Heroine")

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LORD CAREW'S BRIDE is the classic BEAUTY & THE BEAST story. The beast, Hartley Wade [Lord Carew], remains the "beast" though he always has a heart of gold. The naive young heroine, Jennifer, is confused by physical attraction to the villain which grew into hate as opposed to friendship with our hero that grows into love. There is something special about a romance when people start out as friends and gradually grow into loving each other. Samantha and Lord Carew are very much like real people; when they make the wrong decision, you understand exactly what drives them to do so. It also avoids the usual cliches -- bestowing lots of surprises and twists on the reader instead.

Since LORD CAREW'S BRIDE is the sequel to the DARK ANGEL, fans of "Dark Angel" will be upset to know that the notorious Lionel Kersey. who had been banished from England, makes a return appearance in this book and he's even more despicable.

Mary Balogh has a preface in this book where she says that she has no intention of reforming the villian, Lionel, whom readers love to hate.

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