The Stolen Bride
Brenda Joyce
ISBN# 0373771843
HQN, October 2006, 560pp
Historical Romance-Regency
The de Warenne Dynasty
$6.99 (US) $8.50 (CDN)

Reviewed by Laurel
August 2006

“I promise.” Were the last words that Sean O’Neil said to Eleanor de Warenne as he rode out of her life four long years ago. Accused and convicted of treason, he is just a breath away from the gallows when a daring escape makes him the most wanted man in England and Ireland. Changing his name he is set to leave Ireland but the absence and longing of his family calls to him and he can’t resist returning home to Adare. What he finds and sees upon his arrival hurts him to the core. Eleanor his stepsister is about to be married. Once he may have dreamed of living a life with her and raising a family but those dreams were shattered and the man that Eleanor knew does not exist anymore. Instead he is a man with regrets, a man torn inside on what he really wants or desires.

For years Eleanor sat and waited patiently for Sean to return home from his adventures. She’s loved him madly since he was adopted into her family when her father and his mother married. She always chased and followed after him and he was truly her hero. It was naturally assumed that Sean and Eleanor would eventually marry. As the years went by Eleanor’s heart was broken bit by bit and she was finally convinced that she seek marriage elsewhere. She found herself enchanted by the charm and personality of Peter Sinclair and she is soon going to be married to him. On the eve of her wedding, she discovers Sean at Adare and her heart leaps in her throat. But the Sean in front of her is hard and cruel towards her. Elle knows that she can reach him and in a daring escape she steals away with Sean on the day of her wedding.

Now on the run Sean and Elle are finally alone and face-to-face with their feelings and undying love. But are both strong enough to deny and abandon the feelings they feel inside.

THE STOLEN BRIDE is one of the most intense, riveting, emotional reads that I have read in a long time. The romance of Elle and Sean is complicated they are hurt, torn and damaged but yet has they delve through the layers reaching into the soul of each other it makes for a spicy and enthralling read. As part of The de Warenne Dynasty it is a novel that certainly stands alone. But it ties previous novels with recaps and follow-ups on related characters introducing them to newer readers making sure not to overwhelm the story for readers who have been following the series.

THE STOLEN BRIDE is classic Brenda Joyce back in her element of strong tortured hero’s, and heroines brave enough to rise against the odds.