"An amusing Regency romp"

Considered on the shelf by most of the Ton, Samantha Briggeham has no plans to marry unless somehow love enters the equation. However, at her advanced age (the mid- twenties) she knows that will never happen. However, the infamous BRIDE THIEF thinks that Sammie is being forced to wed in an arranged marriage. Unable to allow that to happen to her or other unwanted females, he abducts Sammie.

After being freed by him, Sammie cannot forget the BRIDE THIEF or the wonderful Eric Landsdowne, the Earl of Wesley, who she has just met. Eric also cannot ignore his feelings for Sammie, who he met when he "rescued" her as his alter ego, the BRIDE THIEF. Instead of receiving the typical courting scenario from him, Sammie engages in a romantic liaison with Eric, but they are caught. He does the honorable thing and proposes, but Sammie fears for her independence. Then there is the Bride Thief, under siege by angry fathers seeking missing daughters, wanting to set free the woman he loves from an arranged marriage, ironically to him.

THE BRIDE THIEF is an entertaining, often humorous Regency romantic romp that also provides a lesson in sticking to ones values even if it hurts to do so. The story line retains its amusing posture throughout the tale though a couple of subplots seem like unnecessary detours. The characters are a delightful group, especially the bewildered Eric and the intrepid Sammie, which Jacquie D'Alessandro provides her readers with a hilarious historical romp.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 25, 2002

Summary

Has England's Most Infamous Bride Thief Finally Met His Match?

At six-and-twenty, Samantha Briggeham knew her marital prospects were fading by the season and she was pleased by the thought. She had no intention of being betrothed - especially against her will - to a man she did not love. She had a plan...and it didn't include being swept into a pair of powerful arms and spirited away by a masked rider. News of Sammie's heroic rescue from undesired wedlock turned her into the toast of the ton, wooed by suitors far and wide. But she couldn't forget the swashbuckling brigand who'd abducted her - something about him intrigued her completely. Then she met Eric Landsowne, the dashing and seductive Earl of Wesley.

His exploits were legendary, his life filled with danger. He was the elusive Bride Thief, who had his own reasons for helping young women escape the unhappy fate of arranged marriages, wand whose true identity was a scrupulously guarded secret. But from the moment he rescued Sammie - only to discover she'd already managed to get herself unbetrothed - Eric knew he couldn't lose her a second time. Marriage was out of the question. Which left only one option: A clandestine affair that might lead to scandal, social ruin, and the unmasking of a love-bested legend...