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The Society Bride
Ramon Villalba is handsome, gifted and wealthy. So why would he want a bride of convenience?
Nena Carvajal is an exquisitely beautiful young heiress who needs protecting from fortune hunters. It would be no hardship for Ramon to enjoy the pleasures of an arranged marriage with her. Ramon is confident he can tame his headstrong virgin wife. But Nena had expected to marry for love...
Nena Carvajal is an exquisitely beautiful young heiress who needs protecting from fortune hunters. It would be no hardship for Ramon to enjoy the pleasures of an arranged marriage with her. Ramon is confident he can tame his headstrong virgin wife. But Nena had expected to marry for love...
163 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
10 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Hood-Stewart
70 books16 followersBorn in Scotland and brought up internationally, Fiona went to boarding school in Switzerland followed by university in several European venues. Europe was the playground for Fiona and her aristocratic peers before she married and moved to South America where she ran her own design business, before turning to fashion, creating her own label and owning several boutiques in Brazil and the US.
However, like the characters in her novels, Fiona has always been mystically drawn back to Scotland, and makes no secret of the fact that her family home served as the inspiration for Dunbar in The Journey Home. Indeed, she is well acquainted with all the locales that are visited in all her novels which are infused with the pattern of the author's own life experiences, giving them a truly authentic feel. As she speaks seven languages fluently, Fiona has a unique insight and exposure into customs and lifestyles that most of us don't get when visiting foreign countries.
At Present
At present Fiona Hood-Stewart lives in Europe and on her stud ranch in Brazil with her two sons. She travels frequently, regularly visits Paris, London and New York, and can often be seen at the races in Deauville or at Royal Ascot.
On Writing. . .
Fiona credits her mother with putting her on the path to becoming a writer. "Mummy always read aloud to me as a child. She didn't approve of television and I spent many hours with my nose in a book. As a child I read everything I could get my hands on."
However, like the characters in her novels, Fiona has always been mystically drawn back to Scotland, and makes no secret of the fact that her family home served as the inspiration for Dunbar in The Journey Home. Indeed, she is well acquainted with all the locales that are visited in all her novels which are infused with the pattern of the author's own life experiences, giving them a truly authentic feel. As she speaks seven languages fluently, Fiona has a unique insight and exposure into customs and lifestyles that most of us don't get when visiting foreign countries.
At Present
At present Fiona Hood-Stewart lives in Europe and on her stud ranch in Brazil with her two sons. She travels frequently, regularly visits Paris, London and New York, and can often be seen at the races in Deauville or at Royal Ascot.
On Writing. . .
Fiona credits her mother with putting her on the path to becoming a writer. "Mummy always read aloud to me as a child. She didn't approve of television and I spent many hours with my nose in a book. As a child I read everything I could get my hands on."
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 11, 2020
Both MCs were silly and he didn't grovel enough but I wanted her mother-in-law. Lol
September 7, 2016
Oh my! That was one hot intense read! I loved the angst and the chemistry between the characters was amazing! The heroine is very insecure and the hero is not a bad guy but boy is he stupid! The misunderstandings drove me crazy so I couldn't put this down until the HEA. If it wasn't for the depressing miscarriage thing i would have given this 5 stars for sure.
January 23, 2018
3.5 stars they didn't declare their love .
August 2, 2025
If you look.up.boring in the dictionary, this.book.would be there
I tell ypu.this was a particularly boring.book.about a.marriage of.convenience. they marry because.her Grandfather is dying, and they actually.ate attracted to each other. They have sex on their honeymoon and she is.on cloud.nine. he forgot to.tell his.mistress of two years that he got married and even.though he had thought about.keeping her, he has decided hes.not. his wife satisfied him. So he wants to see her face to.face, even after he called and told her they were done. The wife overheard him saying, I.will.always adore you when he was on the phone with her and now.she has suspicions about him. She saw his picture woth.her in a.magazine so.she does.know.about.her. one day at.lunch, when he was out of town, she found him at a restaurant with the.ow. she was all over.him, touching him, showing off to her friends that she still had him. He was there to just say.goodbye.to.her but he realized what the ow was up too. And then walking.out, he came face to face with his wife. She was very young and naive and it really.hurt her. He was an.ass. she packs her stuff and flies to her home. Its one.miscommunication after.another, she gets pregnant, doesn't tell him, and then has a miscarriage when he went to New York for business and sailing. There is.lots of stuff going.on with him and she still has trust issues. It ends with.an.HEA kind of but it had no.closure. an.epilogue would have.helped it. But.it was still just dull..even.with.all the.ow.drama.
I tell ypu.this was a particularly boring.book.about a.marriage of.convenience. they marry because.her Grandfather is dying, and they actually.ate attracted to each other. They have sex on their honeymoon and she is.on cloud.nine. he forgot to.tell his.mistress of two years that he got married and even.though he had thought about.keeping her, he has decided hes.not. his wife satisfied him. So he wants to see her face to.face, even after he called and told her they were done. The wife overheard him saying, I.will.always adore you when he was on the phone with her and now.she has suspicions about him. She saw his picture woth.her in a.magazine so.she does.know.about.her. one day at.lunch, when he was out of town, she found him at a restaurant with the.ow. she was all over.him, touching him, showing off to her friends that she still had him. He was there to just say.goodbye.to.her but he realized what the ow was up too. And then walking.out, he came face to face with his wife. She was very young and naive and it really.hurt her. He was an.ass. she packs her stuff and flies to her home. Its one.miscommunication after.another, she gets pregnant, doesn't tell him, and then has a miscarriage when he went to New York for business and sailing. There is.lots of stuff going.on with him and she still has trust issues. It ends with.an.HEA kind of but it had no.closure. an.epilogue would have.helped it. But.it was still just dull..even.with.all the.ow.drama.
March 6, 2012
4 1/2 Stars! ~ Though not Ms Stewart's first book with Harlequin, it is her debut with Presents, and she brings us a most delicious alpha hero who managed to put his foot in his mouth and must find someway of pulling it out! Forced into a marriage of convenience by her dying grandfather, Nina finds herself falling in love with her handsome husband. Ramon is constantly surprised at the many facets to his young wife. When he unintentionally hurts her, he finds he has an almost herculean task ahead of him in earning back her trust. Right from the first pages, I found myself embroiled in Ramon and Nina's love story. This one has just the right amount of angst to make it a compelling read!
June 3, 2021
Ramon Villalba is handsome, gifted and wealthy. So why would he want a bride of convenience?
Nena Carvajal is an exquisitely beautiful young heiress who needs protecting from fortune hunters. It would be no hardship for Ramon to enjoy the pleasures of an arranged marriage with her. Ramon is confident he can tame his headstrong virgin wife. But Nena had expected to marry for love
Nena Carvajal is an exquisitely beautiful young heiress who needs protecting from fortune hunters. It would be no hardship for Ramon to enjoy the pleasures of an arranged marriage with her. Ramon is confident he can tame his headstrong virgin wife. But Nena had expected to marry for love
January 29, 2026
The Society Bride by Fiona Hood-Stewart is an emotionally rich, page-turning romance that lingers long after you finish reading.
The premise alone is compelling. At thirty-two, the hero marries a much younger, painfully inexperienced girl—not out of desire, but duty. She is the sole surviving relative of a deceased family friend, and without his protection she risks being consumed by the ruthless forces circling her grandfather’s business. What follows is a marriage of necessity, restraint, and deep emotional imbalance.
Hood-Stewart handles the complexity with remarkable sensitivity. The hero’s long-standing affair with his sophisticated mistress, Luisa, casts a shadow over the marriage and deeply intimidates the young bride. Their confrontation in an elite restaurant is exquisitely written—tense, uncomfortable, and revealing—yet the heroine holds onto her dignity in a way that is quietly powerful.
When she flees to England and suffers a miscarriage, the emotional fallout is devastating. The loss binds both hero and heroine in guilt and grief, forcing an emotional reckoning neither can escape. Particularly touching is the role of Dona Augusta, the hero’s mother, whose warmth and nurturing offer the heroine a rare sense of safety and belonging.
This is a poignant, thoughtful romance that explores duty, trauma, and redemption with grace and emotional intelligence. A truly memorable read.
The premise alone is compelling. At thirty-two, the hero marries a much younger, painfully inexperienced girl—not out of desire, but duty. She is the sole surviving relative of a deceased family friend, and without his protection she risks being consumed by the ruthless forces circling her grandfather’s business. What follows is a marriage of necessity, restraint, and deep emotional imbalance.
Hood-Stewart handles the complexity with remarkable sensitivity. The hero’s long-standing affair with his sophisticated mistress, Luisa, casts a shadow over the marriage and deeply intimidates the young bride. Their confrontation in an elite restaurant is exquisitely written—tense, uncomfortable, and revealing—yet the heroine holds onto her dignity in a way that is quietly powerful.
When she flees to England and suffers a miscarriage, the emotional fallout is devastating. The loss binds both hero and heroine in guilt and grief, forcing an emotional reckoning neither can escape. Particularly touching is the role of Dona Augusta, the hero’s mother, whose warmth and nurturing offer the heroine a rare sense of safety and belonging.
This is a poignant, thoughtful romance that explores duty, trauma, and redemption with grace and emotional intelligence. A truly memorable read.
February 2, 2026
Typical story where they solve arguments by kissing. Romantic? Frustrating? Not sure. Somehow they fell in love and the side story of him helping her families business was never resolved... Just there to prove that he doesn't sleep around anymore when he is out late. Oook then!
July 19, 2020
Good read, I enjoyed the way Nena made Ramon wake up. She didn't cut him much slack when he screwed up.
September 6, 2012
I love it when the hero puts his foot in his mouth! Nina made him work for her trust. Good read :)
December 4, 2014
I literally could not put this book down. Fiona set this story line up perfectly. Modern day marriages could use this book as a reminder that communication is a key essential in any relationship!
Did not finish
March 16, 2026ne ho letto metà e non riesco a farmi piacere nè i personaggi nè la storia. pazienza.
Want to read
November 28, 2013ok
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews