Rushed to the Altar

Jane Feather

Jun 2010 · Blackwater brides Book 1 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

From New York Times bestselling author Jane Feather comes the first of a wonderful new trilogy, The Blackwater Brides, set in the sensually im-proper Georgian period, in which three noble brothers discover they will be forced to find brides under highly unusual circumstances.

Jasper Sullivan, Earl of Blackwater, needs a prostitute. Not in the usual way, however. His wealthy uncle’s will promises to divide his huge fortune among his nephews if each rescues a fallen woman . . . by marrying her! And since Jasper’s estates were already mortgaged to the hilt before he inherited them, when he catches a pretty young prostitute trying to pick his pocket, he immediately makes his proposal.

Clarissa Astley is not at all what Jasper believes. The orphaned daughter of a prosperous merchant, she is searching the seedier districts of London for her young brother, abducted by their evil guardian, who wants the little boy’s inheritance. But she needs powerful help, and the darkly handsome Earl of Blackwater is certainly that. So she pretends to be exactly what he assumed— a risky charade for an innocent virgin. But when passion flares between Jasper and Clarissa, the deception becomes even more difficult to handle. . . .

Ratings and reviews

I was shocked and horrified that she would have a virgin take her own virginity at her own hands, I had to force myself feeling violated to keep reading. The plot was good and intriguing, but still the whole virginity thing left me feeling devastated. After finishing the book I felt I had renarrated the book in my own mind to make myself feel non violated!

Jane Feather's books usually offer a great read for lovers of romantic fiction, but I found "Rushed to the Altar" somewhat disappointing. The plot is predictable and the characters one-dimensional. Even the hero's name is not quite believable - Sullivan being about as Irish as you can get. there was one anachronism that jumped out at me. Bethnal Green (the place where the heroine's little brother is supposedly sent to die) did not become a slum until after 1830. During the late 1700's when the story is set, Bethnal Green was a pleasant place famous for its flower and market gardens. Although there were a couple of notable large houses, the village was comprised mostly of small two-story houses occupied by the silk weavers who moved into the area when the silk trade expanded there from nearby Spitalfields in the 1750's. The silk trade was a prosperous one until the late 1830's, when it collapsed because the hand-woven English silks could not compete with much cheaper factory-made silks coming from the continent, and by 1850, Bethnal Green was one of the worst slums in metropolitan London. Except for this one bit of nitpicking on my part, I would recommend the book wholeheartedly.

Rushed to the alter

About the author

Jane Feather is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty sensual historical romances, including the Blackwater Bride series. She was born in Cairo, Egypt, and grew up in the south of England. She currently lives in Washington, DC, with her family. There are more than 10 million copies of her books in print.