Wed Him Before You Bed Himby Sabrina Jeffriesreviewed by Cheryl SneedJuly 2009, 384 pages, Publisher: Pocket, ISBN: 1416560823 Back Cover Blurb: At eighteen, Charlotte Page made a life-altering mistake. She wronged a man in an impulsive act that she came to deeply regret, though it led her to her present life as Mrs. Charlotte Harris, owner of Mrs. Harris's School for Young Ladies. Unbeknownst to her, that man is now her anonymous benefactor, the mysterious "Cousin Michael." His masquerade began as preparation for a devastating revenge, but became a labor of love. Now Charlotte desperately needs his help. Can he save her from disaster as his real self without revealing the ugly secret behind his charade? Or will the mistakes of both their pasts tear them apart forever?
Wed Him Before You Bed Him is the final book in Jeffries' "School for Heiresses" series and tells the romance between Charlotte Harris, the school's owner and headmistress, and "Cousin Michael" who has been her financial and emotional support during the 15 years she's run the school. Cousin Michael's identity is clear in the first chapter of the novel and in the review which follows. If you've followed the series and want to be surprised, then stop reading now and go get the book, I think you'll be pleased with it. All others: read on!
It turns out that Cousin Michael is Charlotte's long-lost love, David Masters, Viscount Kirkwood. When he was just 19 and she 17, their fathers decided that the former childhood friends should marry. Each is quite taken with the way the other has grown-up and Jeffries spends five chapters detailing their sweet romance and the series of mistakes and misapprehensions which ended their relationship in a way that left David and his family publicly humiliated. He vowed revenge and sees his opening years later when Charlotte opens a school. He becomes her anonymous benefactor with the goal of one day pulling the rug out from beneath her, causing her and the school's ruination. But a funny thing happened on the way to David's revenge - he and Charlotte become friends through the years of their correspondence and David's need for payback dissipates.
Eighteen years have past since the almost-engagement. Both have had unhappy marriages and have been widowed in the meantime when David decides to reenter Charlotte's life as himself, to see if they can find another chance at happiness. But David's secrets, outside threats to the school and danger from an unexpected source threaten to end the romance before it can begin.
I enjoyed the story of Charlotte and David's long ago romance. It was a bittersweet section, for you knew it would end badly. But, while there was a major misunderstanding, it didn't bother me as much as the Big Mis normally would, for their youth and immaturity were more to blame than willful blindness.
In fact, while the reunited Charlotte and David have some major heat to their story, I almost preferred the flashback romance, for there are quite a few little problems with the "current" storyline. The whole Cousin Michael masquerade, problems with the school, bothersome neighbors and a murder investigation, all got a bit much, and making all those pieces fit together became occasionally a bit torturous. David only compounds this when he reveals little dribs and dabs of the truth to Charlotte, dragging out his explanations. This is in sharp contrast to the way they very quickly cleared up the problems which lead to their youthful estrangement, both taking their share of the blame for what happened. I found this very refreshing and wished they could do as well in the present circumstances.
I have not read all the books in the series, but didn't have any problem following the action in Wed Him before You Bed Him. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had, but as it is, it is still an enjoyable, quick read, and a nice telling of the second-chance-at-love plot, always a favorite.
Reviewed by Cheryl Sneed, January 4, 2010
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