"Wonderful series romance with charming characters"

Lorenzo Martelli's mother insists he visit old family friend Marco Angolino while in New York with the hope that he will marry one of Marco's daughters. Lorenzo, of course, is the epitome of a playboy and has no such plans - in fact just the word 'marriage' sends chills racing down his spine!

In New York he meets Helen at a hotel party and finds himself utterly and totally fascinated by this sparkling woman who values freedom and refuses to be tied down by traditional values. Just when things begin to look very interesting and appealing from Lorenzo's bachelor/playboy point of view, he discovers quite by chance that Helen is one of Marco Angolino's unmarried daughters. Once he overcomes his surprise, Lorenzo's friendship with Helen grows stronger and shockingly enough, he soon finds himself contemplating the 'M' word but can he possibly convince Helen to say yes?

Elena 'Helen' Angolino is determined never to be tied down by marriage vows to an old-fashioned, domineering Italian male despite her mother's efforts to find her a suitable husband. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life with a man who would never treat her as an equal - and she strongly believes that would be her fate if she followed her mother's advice. Then she finds out the gorgeous man she met at the hotel party is none other than the Sicilian male her family is hoping to hook her up with. Of course the situation becomes more complicated when Lorenzo proposes quite publicly and Helen is expected to give him an equally public answer!

Lucy Gordon's BRIDE BY CHOICE is a wonderful romance that will be greatly appreciated by lovers of Harlequin Romance. Beautifully penned, it provides a few hours of light, cozy entertainment for readers who enjoy friends-to- lovers type of plots.

Lorenzo makes a charming hero and is very easy to love. Helen is a delightful heroine many women will find easy to identify with. Together the two make sweet music and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them find their way to true love. All the characters, main and secondary, leap out of the pages to capture the heart and it was easy to be pulled into their world as the story unfolded.

Ms. Gordon has done an impeccable job of crafting a sweet emotional story that will stay with you long after the last page is turned!

Reviewed by Leena Hyat
Posted April 17, 2002