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299th out of 1,609 books
—
2,743 voters
The Perfect Stranger (The Merridew Sisters #3)
by
Anne Gracie (Goodreads Author)
They vow to love, honor, cherish...
With her signature spirit, Faith Merridew has left everything she's ever known for the man she thought was the love of her life. Instead he leaves her name—and dreams—in the dust. That is, until she crosses paths with Nicholas Blacklock, a Waterloo veteran, who offers to save her reputation with a marriage of convenience.
...And then get t...more
With her signature spirit, Faith Merridew has left everything she's ever known for the man she thought was the love of her life. Instead he leaves her name—and dreams—in the dust. That is, until she crosses paths with Nicholas Blacklock, a Waterloo veteran, who offers to save her reputation with a marriage of convenience.
...And then get t...more
Mass Market Paperback, 344 pages
Published
June 6th 2006
by Berkley Sensation
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Different but delightful Regency period romance - a road story with English main characters, but none of it actually takes place in England or in any typical high-society English Regency surroundings (most of it takes place on Atlantic beaches and the road between Calais in northern France and Bilbao in northern Spain, and the climax of the story is in a gypsy's cave just outside Vittoria in Spain). The heroine Faith was wonderful and her steps to growing up and taking responsibility for herself...more
I bought nine (9) books the day I bought this one. Didn’t intend to get so many, but WalMart had so many of the ones I wanted/needed. Anyway, in this one, the heroine has run away from the man she ran away from England with. He turned out to be a liar and bounder and all those other bad things. And now she’s stumbled across the camp of a man who protects her from the men who want to take advantage of a woman traveling alone. He decides the only thing to do about her predicament is to marry her h...more
Heartrending and yet immensely sweet, Faith's story is quite different from those of her sisters.
Faith finds herself alone and desperate in a foreign country with no way to contact her family and no help coming to her. Fortunately for her she meets an unlikely savior when she most needs him and an unexpected solution to her problems.
Nicholas is in a depressing situation and resigned to his fate. Meeting Faith is a complication he hasn't imagined and his selfless attempt to help her backfires whe...more
Faith finds herself alone and desperate in a foreign country with no way to contact her family and no help coming to her. Fortunately for her she meets an unlikely savior when she most needs him and an unexpected solution to her problems.
Nicholas is in a depressing situation and resigned to his fate. Meeting Faith is a complication he hasn't imagined and his selfless attempt to help her backfires whe...more
Faith Merridew has wised up to the fact that her dream had turned into a nightmare. Eloping with her musically inclined Count to France, she soon discovers that Felix is really a belgian peasant who has betrayed her and intends to keep her as his mistress. Fleeing that very fate, she finds herself lost in a foreign country without money and with no one willing to help a seemingly destitute young miss. One night, things take a turn for the worse and this is where our story starts, with her escapi...more
Book 3 of the The Merridew Sisters while the first two dealt with witty humor and lightheartness, this was much darker in tone.
With Faith dealing with heartbreak and betrayal, she starts to come out of her shy and shelter shell when she meets Nicholas who is fighting his own demons from a war torn past.
I really enjoyed this book more then the Perfect Waltz, perhaps due to it’s darker but more real tone of what a solider must deal with after the war is over. Nick at times I wanted to hug him...more
With Faith dealing with heartbreak and betrayal, she starts to come out of her shy and shelter shell when she meets Nicholas who is fighting his own demons from a war torn past.
I really enjoyed this book more then the Perfect Waltz, perhaps due to it’s darker but more real tone of what a solider must deal with after the war is over. Nick at times I wanted to hug him...more
1 like · like · see review
I enjoy this author's work. The story felt fresh and was a road trip story which is a plot line I like. Kudos to the author for having a "ruined" heroine who was actually ruined. I also enjoyed that their marriage was consummated early in the story as I like stories where a couple in a convenient marriage do have sex and the story is about other elements. I think that is more realistic than having married couples not having sex for months because of some weird pact or something. One of the thing...more
5 likes · like · see review
This whole series is cursed by the first book The Perfect Rake. I guess nothing can live up to it. Witty dialogues and cool heroine are what I was looking for, but sadly it was lacking in this story. As in The Perfect Waltz author is trying to channel Giddeon and Prudence personalities through secondary characters but it's not enough for me.
The whole story felt rushed. The proposal, resolving heroine's trauma over former lover's betrayal and finally H/h's falling in love.
And at the end of the...more
The whole story felt rushed. The proposal, resolving heroine's trauma over former lover's betrayal and finally H/h's falling in love.
And at the end of the...more
May 19, 2012
Nicol Althea
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
ebooks,
worth-re-reading,
heroine-virgin-naive-inexperienced,
hero-military-veteran,
narrative-mode-3rd-person,
gnr-adventure,
gnr-historical-romance,
hero-alpha,
hero-badass-tough,
hero-love-commitment-phobic,
hero-injured-scarred,
hero-awful-tortured-traumatic-past,
hero-w-disorder-disability,
hero-wants-heroine,
heroine-badass-tough,
heroine-in-poverty,
heroine-awful-traumatic-past,
heroine-wants-hero,
hh-married-couple,
humorous-witty,
on-a-journey,
steam-5-scorching-hot,
sex-after-marriage,
hero-titled-wealthy,
hero-needs-smacking,
sp-secrets-deceptions,
steam-1-dearth,
2012-reads
I find this third installment of the Merridew Sisters better than the second one. Although the broken hero Mr. Rayne and his poor sisters in Perfect Waltz appealed to me, Sebastian and Hope's story didn't quite move me as much as i wanted. This book however, kept me interested from beginning till end. From the usual England setting like the previous installments, Anne Gracie brought us out of England to the roads of Paris and Spain. Nicholas and Faith's attraction grew and bloomed on the road, o...more
I admit it threw me off that they consummated their marriage so early in the book -- most of the Anne Gracie novels I've read usually have more UST than that and wait until close to the end to consummate it. There's nothing wrong with this -- like I said it just threw me off a bit. In this story, it definitely fit, and while there were a few PG-13 or possibly R-rated moments, most of the smexin was implied or fade-to-black, so at least it didn't get bogged down with the smut.
I wanted to shake my...more
I wanted to shake my...more
Can I just say...I loved it. Faith and Nicholas were wonderful together. Faith's on the run from a phony marriage, and Nicholas is running from himself, and when they meet they see something in each other that neither expected, and Nicholas doesn't want. You could see their relationship build, both physically and emotionally, and it was a delight to read. The secondary characters were vibrant personalities, and they were so different from each other, but so devoted to Nicholas and then Faith. Th...more
I bought the book thinking this was a historical western romance because of the pistol on the cover... no, couldn't be more wrong. This is a historical English type romance that mostly occurs on French soil, near the Atlantic coast.
There is little mentioned about France or French culture, there is only a few phrases, but everything was accurate which I approve of as a part-time resident expat in France. There is nothing that irks me more then fake French in romance novels. Please, romance write...more
There is little mentioned about France or French culture, there is only a few phrases, but everything was accurate which I approve of as a part-time resident expat in France. There is nothing that irks me more then fake French in romance novels. Please, romance write...more
oh my god... it was amazing! it may even have been the best book in the series! wow simply wow what a book! i was so pleasantly surprised about it! it kept me fascinated from the very first page!
it had a really creative story with such sweet streaks of sadness and happiness... i simply adored Nickolas Blacklock... he was everything a hero should be: galant, charming, witty, strong in body and character... a really perfect stranger!!! i dont want to give away even the very little details of the...more
it had a really creative story with such sweet streaks of sadness and happiness... i simply adored Nickolas Blacklock... he was everything a hero should be: galant, charming, witty, strong in body and character... a really perfect stranger!!! i dont want to give away even the very little details of the...more
I'm a total sucker for marriages of convenience, and I really enjoyed the first Merridew sisters book. This was a lot of fun, although I felt like the ending was all wrapped up a little too quickly -- I like a good external conflict, and this one had promise, but I felt like this would've been fine without it. I'm also not a big fan of dialect being written out, so the supporting characters grated a bit at times. It just didn't quite work for me. The primary storyline, though, was absolutely del...more
My second time through this book as I'm re-reading the series. Faith's story is a bit different in that she meets the love of her life after eloping with a man she thought was her true love. The marriage turned out to be a sham, both because a false priest married them but also because he was already married with five children. Don't worry, he gets his just rewards in the epilogue.
Faith is running from men who intend to rape her when she comes upon Nicholas. Nicholas fights the three men and the...more
Faith is running from men who intend to rape her when she comes upon Nicholas. Nicholas fights the three men and the...more
May 30, 2012
Katrina Passick Lumsden
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of Jane Austen, History buffs, romance lovers, fans of farce
We're descending into mediocrity with this third installment of the Merridew Sisters saga. Still, I can't bring myself to give it any less than three stars, even if the plot was a bit played-out, the devices uncomfortably familiar, and the male lead a bit predictable. In my humble opinion, it doesn't hold a candle to The Perfect Rake, but romance fans will probably still like it.
Jul 05, 2011
Elke
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Tanneke
Recommended to Elke by:
Monika
Shelves:
chick-lits-romance
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
An awesome story, truly touching. I almost cried several times. The heroine was so warm hearted, so lovely. The hero was tough and so in need of love. A brillant combination. However, there were some parts that didn't really impress me, like the ending and how the hero's problem got fixed. But overall, it was a fun read, one I could not put down until the end.:)
Faith Merridew is running from criminals trying to rape her when Nicholas rescues her. He then marries her, but says it's only a "white marriage", and that there will be no attachemtn between them. He has something he must do and is traveling to Spain etc. but plans to make Faith return to England. However, Faith doggedly refuses and wants to remain with him.
This is actually a 3.5 star for me but because of the mere fact that the plot is so unique among regency romances I had to give it the benefit of the doubt. It was completely refreshing to find a good story that was also creative and unique. It is third in a series of four so it is best understood if the first two books are read previous but it is not mandatory. There were a couple of skippable steamy scenes but at least they were married.
This comes in second after The Perfect Rake (because The Perfect Rake was so much more lighthearted in a sense... than this story).
My heart broke for Faith and Nicholas because they experienced some very real difficulties of life, especially when it came to the issues of "unknown" illnesses and death. Over-all, it's really a great read. =)
My heart broke for Faith and Nicholas because they experienced some very real difficulties of life, especially when it came to the issues of "unknown" illnesses and death. Over-all, it's really a great read. =)
3° Cap. La saga delle Sorelle Merridew
Questo è il terzo libro, di questa bella saga e devo dire che è stato fino ad ora il più intenso ,il più ricco di avvenimenti, il più intraprendente nella storia stessa. Come sempre, nota particolare di questa saga ,anche in questo libro si sviluppano due storie d'amore, concatenate tra loro.
Questo è il terzo libro, di questa bella saga e devo dire che è stato fino ad ora il più intenso ,il più ricco di avvenimenti, il più intraprendente nella storia stessa. Come sempre, nota particolare di questa saga ,anche in questo libro si sviluppano due storie d'amore, concatenate tra loro.
I can't put it down and can't stop thinking about it. Both the roles of the hero and heroine are perfect for each other. It is well played in the story. Although, it is better that the gypsy thing should be elaborated. A fast paced book that keeps you going.
May 05, 2013
Cruth
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
reviewed-on-zon
I was engaged, interested, and I cared for the characters. The journey through rural France was unusual, and the light and dark of their relationship endearing.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R184R124...
http://www.amazon.com/review/R184R124...
I've really enjoyed this series from Anne Gracie - a lovely mix of romance, humour, pathos and adventure. I thinks he may be my favourite romance novelist since Georgette Heyer and that is high praise indeed.
I couldn't make it through this book. The plot was intriguing, but I got tired of all the meaningless sex scenes--I didn't see them developing anything between the characters that the experience was not.
Extra 1/2 star.
I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. It might be because I didn't quite like Faith as much as Prudence and Hope.
I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. It might be because I didn't quite like Faith as much as Prudence and Hope.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Finally! I thought I'd never get a more-than-three-stars book read this year! But this one was pretty good!
Regency romance, 3rd of the Merridew Sisters series, of young girl alone and on the run in France after being duped into a false marriage. Miraculously, a handsome stranger saves her life and then offers to marry her to save her reputation. No strings and no future attached. What secret is he hiding and can they avoid falling in love, despite their promises not to? This turned out to be a poignant story after the slow start. Picked up half way through and became a page turner. 3.5/5
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I'm sure I"ve read this but I can't remember if I liked it or not!
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I've always loved stories. Family legend has it that I used to spend hours playing in the sand pit, with a dog on either side of me and Rocka the horse leaning over me, his head just touching my shoulder, while I told them stories. I have to say, dogs and horses are great audiences, apart from their tendency to drool occasionally. But people are even nicer.
In case you imagine we were a filthy rich...more
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In case you imagine we were a filthy rich...more
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Jun 12, 2009 09:56am