The Rejected Suitor
by Teresa McCarthy
Lady Emily Clearbrook was once madly in love with Mr. Jared Ashton, but when he married another she threw off love and decided never to give her heart away again. Which is fine with all of her overbearing but loveable brothers because they intend to find her a mate. Nothing Emily can say will dissuade them from their course of action either. They don't want her help or input, they just want to get her away from all the fortune hunters! At first Emily balks at this kind of treatment, but once she realizes they are going to send her off to her favorite aunt Agatha she agrees to leave the battlefield and reconnoiter.
Jared, now the Earl of Stonebridge has always regretted not being able to marry his one true love, Emily. He wanted to, but her father was against it due to some old petty family history, but with her arrival at his aunt Agatha's home he begins to think that there might be a possibility of winning her back.
I am always leery of plots like this one because I don't like angsty, dark books, but McCarthy proves she knows her craft by skipping over most of the melodrama and getting to the heart of the characters. There were only a few moments that I sighed and rolled my eyes at Emily and Jared for being so darned pig headed! For most of the book I was wrapped up in the family politics that had kept these two apart, and their new budding relationship.
Although The Rejected Suitor is not a comedy, it has some very funny tongue-in-cheek moments that will make people who love a bit of dry humor, smile. The sexual tension between the two characters is fierce. You can feel the heat, rage, and lust brewing in both Jared and Emily. I kept waiting for the pages to set on fire during one of their heated altercations!
The integration of Emily's brothers trying to find her a mate was handled perfectly. Unlike many plot device characters, they each had their own personality and purpose, and I look forward to seeing them in future books.
Bottom Line: A good read for a lazy spring day.
“Can a heart learn to forgive and love again?”
April 2004, 217 pages
Publisher: Signet
ISBN: 0451211804
A Heart's Memory
Lady Emily Clearbrook's brothers claim they are looking after her best interests when they take on the duty of finding her a husband. But Emily will not trust matters of her heart to another—especially after the love of her life professed his undying devotion, then ran off with another woman.
When Jared, Earl of Stonebridge, returns from the war a widower, he vows to set things straight with Emily, the girl he left three years earlier. Though he expects resistance from her weapon-wielding brothers, he has no defense against Emily's anger. Yet Jared still yearns to spark even the least hint of desire in his old flame, and with his disarming kisses, he might just succeed…
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Other Books by Teresa McCarthy
The Convenient Bride
“Lord Clayton Clearbrook needs a wife right away. Will Briana Garland fall into his plans?”
– Leanne Davis
The Wagered Bride
“Elizabeth Shelby is not happy with the betrothal her father has arranged. Can she do anything about it?”
– Leanne Davis
To Marry a Marquess
“Lady Victoria tries to marry wealth in order to save her beloved aunt from financial ruin. But everything goes wrong, especially when the Marquess of Drakefield chooses to involve himself.”
– Barbara R. Hume