Sweet Bravado

by Alicia Meadowes

It was not a marriage made in heaven! It was a union decreed in her will by Aunt Sophie. She planned to end the feud between two branches of her family by naming joint heirs. Valentin, Viscount Ardsmore, and Nicole Harcourt, daughter of his disgraced uncle and a French ballet dancer, would inherit Aunt Sophie's fortune only if they married each other. And wed, they did. But Aunt Sophie's plan for peace had stirred up a new battle between the fiery, little French girl, who wanted love--and fidelity--from her new husband, and the virile viscount, who expected his wife to want only what he wanted to give...

Genres: Historical Romance

303 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1979

Reviews

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hormonal Barbara Cartland - was my first impression.

We have a supremely insensitive clod of a H and a completely tstl and immature h.
And both have anger management issues.
And they are going to inbreed now!

First cousins pushed into a moc by a dying but scheming great aunt who wants to patch up the ripped apart Harcourt family. I liked the half French h to begin with. Not many hs have sly used as an adjective around them. She’s poor but haughty and knows that the English branch of the family is equally eager to get their hands on the great aunt’s funds so she gives them jitters on whether she’s agreeable to the match or not.
That is till an infuriated H (summoned as reinforcement by his mother) arrives on the scene - his ‘demanding masculinity’ much in display. The h gets grabbed, manhandled, lambasted and shown a peek in to her future. She’s upset and she’s intrigued. As is he.

The louse sleeps with the ow even after meeting the h.
They wed. The wedding night shows his insensitive side. He arrives drunk, proceeds to do the deed. She’s okay till here but then he calls out the ow’s name. The h obviously recoils in hurt and confusion.
When confronted the H just laughs it off - it’s beyond his thick skulled insensitive mind to perceive her hurt and humiliation. They argue and he dumps her on the honeymoon and leaves!
And remains absent for about 60% of the book - not cavorting around (hopefully) but assisting Wellington himself.

The h, injured pride and heart, lashes back by befriending his enemy and a troupe of ballet dancers. The h, being the daughter of a much maligned (by the Harcourts) ballet dancer seeks retribution on her mother’s behalf as well. I didn't mind her rebellion - more power to her - but it was her self-destructive lack of common sense that annoyed me. The plot moves from Paris to Brussels as they fight a frosty distant battle.
The H is dominating and ruthless but doesn’t really ‘rein’ her in when he should have and so unsurprisingly more mus and distance arise as a result of not talking to each other.

But but…
The ending is beautifully done and their love and character growth is believable. So at least it’s wrapped up in a sweet and satisfying way.

[Mermarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

and yet he looked every inch the magnificent god of war that he was.

Laughs in not impressed.

[Live2Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have major mix emotions about this one. It was bad then it was good, then it was cringey then it was not. Writing was fine… but the characters were not? Mannerisms & dialogues carry out by these people appears to be not of the era. Coming off too modern at times, sometimes making everyone sounds like a bunch of high school kids rather than the adults they were. His mom is a snob, but the way she converse almost seem out of place for someone her age, not very common of their historical time. Then we have the hero addressing his mother as madam, meanwhile we have the heroine addressing her lady chaperone person or whoever she was as madam too. A speech of respect common of the era I guess, but when it comes to one’s offspring addressing one’s own parent, I rather it was ‘mother’ than not. Although, I guess that’s better than addressing one parent by their first name, a cringe factor…Now, back to the story, when MC meet again for the first time since eleven years ago, he was kind of mean then he was suddenly nice. Okaaaay? It was a very short-lived reunion at that. They briefly discussed their upcoming marriage, that including a battle of the wills & a slight more from the hero before he departs with clear intentions. The marriage will go no matter what. Ok, forceful much but whatever. Simply, a couple days passed on before MC meets again but here & now, the two suddenly act all brand new. Getting (re)acquainted? Carrying on a causal conversation as if they haven’t rubbed each other wrong not too long ago. As if he wasn’t arrogant & rude in his treatment of her before… idk maybe I’m focusing too hard on this, looking too much into it but I do think I would have enjoyed this storyline have it wasn’t for these slights. Oh well, onto the next.