Lady Fiona Hollingsworth never thinks of herself as particularly daring – until she learns that her beloved brother needs her help. But when Fiona approaches the powerful and enigmatic Nicholas Birmingham with a scheme in mind, she is taking a far bigger risk than she knows. For Fiona's exchanging more than vows; she's striking a delicious bargain with the devil himself – and Christmas provides more than enough opportunity for wicked mischief under the mistletoe…
Nicholas Birmingham hasn't become the richest stockbroker in England by being anything less than shrewd. He fully understands what's behind Fiona's brazen proposal, yet he cannot turn away the alluring lady who's haunted his fantasies for so long. Of course, a man has his pride, and Nicholas has no intention of revealing how he feels. Yet from the moment he slips his ring on Fiona's finger, desire and chaos are kindled. Now it's only a matter of time before the magic of the Season brings true love to light!
Since being named Notable New Author for 1997, Cheryl Bolen has published more than 35 books with Kensington/Zebra, Harlequin, Love Inspired Historical, Montlake, and independently. She has broken into the top 5 on the New York Times and hit the USA Today bestseller list. Her 2005 One Golden Ring won Best Historical, Holt Medallion, and her 2011 My Lord Wicked was awarded Best Historical in the International Digital Awards, the same year her Christmas novella was chosen as Best Novella. Her books have been finalists for other awards, including the Daphne du Maurier, and have been translated into eight languages. She’s also been the number 1 bestselling historical romance author in Germany.
She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and English from the University of Texas and a master's degree from the University of Houston. Her favorite pursuits are reading diaries of dead English women, traveling to England, and watching the Texas Longhorns play football and basketball. She and her recently retired professor husband are the parents of two sons. One is an attorney, the other a journalist.
There were a lot of strange noises when the characters had sex. At one point, the heroine and hero literally bleated. Bleated. Like a goat. Enough said.
Lady Fiona Hollingsworth's brother Randolph/Randy has been kidnapped. While fighting Napoleon in France. His kidnappers were Spanish Bandits ransoming him for 25,000 pounds. But the Agar fortune is gone. Fiona only knows one way to get the money. Fiona turns to the richest man in England Nicholas/Nick Birmingham. Nick an his brothers. Adam and William have tripled the financial banking company there father left them. They are the richest family in England, but they have No titles and they are not a part of the aristocracy. They are commoners. Fiona offers herself as his wife which will elevated his families status in society because she is the daughter of the deceased Earl of Agar. Now her brother hold the title.
Nick and Fiona are married and they have a very hot steamy well written sex life. They both are very caring and loving spouses. There story makes you feel good as you watch them fall deeply and madly in love with each other. It was truly a romantic relationship. But the author decides to Ruin there relationship with what I call "The Misunderstanding". Nick sees Fiona with her old betroth and starts to distance himself from Fiona. He believes she is still in love with the man. Fiona think Nick is having an affair with his ex mistress or her friend Hortense the Duchess of Glastonbury. This was so unnecessary the story was perfect until this Angst had to overtake the storyline. It is easy to destroy a relationship instead of building a relationship. This really hurt the story in my opinion.
There are a host of loveable secondary characters. The story is fast paced and I loved the H/H. I felt like I was there watching this story play out. I just wished the Author Cheryl Bolen had not disrupted the harmonious relationship between the H/H and concentrated on maybe an epilog or a better ending instead of the abrupt ending the book has.
I was looking for a good historical series to read and decided to give this one a shot. I did enjoy Fiona's story a great deal. I am looking forward to the next one.
This is the first book I read from Ms. Bolen. I loved the plot of the book and fast pace of it. The secondary involvement of the siblings is also a good touch. The h/h are good togther, but I got tired of all the suspicions. I like more to read about the remaining 2 siblings and hope that they their own story. Unfortunately this is not a series books.
So, what do not like. There so many issues that should had been elaborated rather than the misunderstanding jealousy of the h/h. There should have more story of the younger sibling capture. Ending is brief. It should have been more emotions on the h/h for their confessions of love for each other.
Inspite, I enjoyed this story a very light read. A 3.5 stars for it.
This was nice, I guess. I didn't hate it at all but I didn't find it exceptional either. It was fun and a great rainy evening read. Took me awfully long to finish, though.
Simply marvelous So yes, I loved everything about this story though I couldn't help but wish Verity and Randolph got their own book. It would have made another beautiful story don't you think? So in this book, there's a woman, Fiona Hollingsworth pretty and all, with good family, aristocratic backgrounds and connections. But in the past year, her parents died, she was jilted, her brother left the country for God knows what and she was left swimming in debt.
Lady Fiona Hollingsworth has been through more unhappiness than she ever thought she’d bear. First she had lost her mother, then the man she had loved since she was thirteen and had thought to marry had married another; shortly after that she had lost her father and, with her brother, now Lord Randolph Agar, in the Peninsula, it had fallen to her to sort out the estate. She had discovered that the estate was broke! Now she has received a letter demanding the enormous sum of twenty-five thousand guineas! Nicholas Birmingham is called the Wolf of the Exchange and is surmised to be the richest man in England. He has two brothers and a sister. One brother runs their bank, the other works on the continent keeping in touch with the wealthy and politically important while Nick plays the stock market. One night at the theatre Nicholas is pointed out to Fiona as being the protector of the beautiful actress on stage. That’s when she comes up with a plan. The Birminghams have everything except the entree into the aristocracy and Lady Fiona offers herself, and that entree, to Nicholas for the sum of twenty-five thousand guineas to ransom her brother. This story highlights the vast difference between the aristocracy and the rest of the population during the Regency period. Arrogant to a fault, Fiona’s brother Lord Randolph wants nothing to do with his sister now that she has married down. Fiona and Nick each have their own secrets that threaten any future they may have together. Oh, what a tangled web we weave.........
Lady Fiona Hollingsworth, perdeu sua mãe, pai, noivo e a fortuna da família, quando recebe uma nota, dizendo que seu irmão mais velho Randolph, detentor do titulo da família foi sequestrado e o resgate é uma exorbitância, ela não tem outra maneira a não ser recorrer ao riquíssimo senhor Nicholas Birmingham e oferecer a única coisa de valor que possui, ela mesma. Nicholas Birmingham apesar de muito rico tem origens humildes e nem em seus sonhos mais loucos, imaginou conseguir a mão em casamento de uma dama tão fina, bonita e filha de um Conde, como um homem astuto que é ele sabe que ao aceita-la ele esta fazendo muito bem a sua família, o que ele não esperava era cair tão completamente apaixonado pela bela dama.
Gostei muito da história, e só não dou 5 estrelas porque a autora resolveu dar um up na história criando um mal entendido atrás do outro no relacionamento dos personagens principais, com direito a ciúme de ambos os lados, se fosse só um pouquinho até dava para aceitar, mais para mim ela pesou a mão no tempero e acabou ficando chato. A sorte é que é uma história curta e de leitura bem fluida e deu para administrar, além do fato que há personagens secundários legais que acredito vão aparecer em outros livros dessa série.
The Wedding Bargain is book 2 in Cheryl Bolen's Brazen Brides series, featuring women who dare to defy the societal norms to achieve an impossible objective. As usual, the heroine of this novel, Fiona Hollingsworth, is a delightfully entertaining character. Somehow she survives multiple tragedies and cleverly designs a plan to rescue her brother from villains holding him for ransom. The plan features a favorite situation for Cheryl Bolen - a marriage of convenience which becomes a love match. This is a plot twist that Cheryl Bolen uses with great finesse, creating multi-dimensional characters which are easy to relate to and love.
I was completely captivated by story of Fiona and Nick from the very first meeting to the very last page. This story is more than a romance, it contains lots of suspense and action that keeps the reader glued to the pages. The Wedding Bargain , entertaining and easy to read. Most importantly it contains a happily ever after ending, which to me is a Must in any historical romance.
I can hardly wait to start on the next novel in the series.
I would give the book higher than a 3, but not a 4. I am a fan of Ms. Bolen's work. The relationship between Fiona and Nicholas is a wonderful mix of give and take — well-balanced character development. I was bothered when the author switched from the points of view of the hero and heroine to one of the minor characters. There are several split infinities, for example: to always be, to brazenly declare, to slowly peel, to never bring, to swiftly mount, to gently touch to always hold, to so thoroughly manipulate, to never again retire, to never say, to finally be, etc. "Blond" is male; "blonde" is female "were made for one another" and "must forget one another" should be "each other." "One another" is for 3 or more. "Each other" is for 2.
Fiona & Nicholas's Journey to HEA was Romantic in a a way I understood. I like how Fiona enjoyed her Sexuality & how Nicholas made her feel when they were together. I never thought I could appreciate my own Sexuality or have someone make me feel welcome to Express it without making me feel embarrassed or like a trollop. The Story was well written, a couple of issues I had with it was, Fiona & Nicholas's Narrative it was tedious & repetitive, it truly drove me crazy. Instead of confronting one another or letting one another know how they felt was a tad to much for myself. Other than those things the Plot, Characters & Story was Good.
This was a very good book written by Cheryl Bolen and I really enjoyed reading it. A young woman, a brother in trouble, being jilted, the richest man in England, lots of brothers, a marriage, a new home, a wildly dress man, rescuing a brother, old love, a new love for both, a daughter, an unfriendly mother-in-law, a new sister, parties, coming out ball, young love, no name, war with France, secret meetings, misunderstandings, will there be love, will there be a happy ever after? I would recommend this book to everyone. I really enjoyed reading this book. I hope you do too.
Eldest brother Nick is wealthy, handsome, educated, smart, everything a woman could want...except he's a common Cit. Lady Fiona is the daughter of a Earl, beautiful, passionate, cultured, everything a man could want...except she's penniless and needs money for her brother's ransom. The result: A marriage made in heaven or in hell? Very good series.
May be the second in the series, but this is one of the few times when I think I can say it’s better than the first. I liked this story much better than the first one, not only because we got to see previous characters. I loved the conflicts in the story- getting her brother back, pride on multiple people’s parts, and the love that eventually came about. Great story!
Lady Fiona Hollingsworth needs money to pay off her brother's ransom, so she arranges a marriage of convenience with wealthy CIT Nicholas Birmingham. Nick is willing as the lady is beautiful and will raise his family in society. It was an interesting and quick read which I enjoyed. There was some chemistry between the two main characters and the other characters added to the story. The plot had a good twist so all in all, a good read.
I can not believe I am just now reading this book, so long after it was first published. I absolutely love this story, even if the hero is just a Cit. I first read A Duke Deceived in 2017 and thought it was just, ok. Then I read, His Lordship's Vow and thought it was just, ok. A friend told me about this book and I am glad I decided to read it. The story is wonderful and the sizzling hot steamy sex is what I loved the most.
3.5⭐️ rounded up. There was a lot that I liked about this book, however I was kind of getting fed up with both H and h. I thought the outside plot lines interesting, so for me, I would have preferred less focus on the weird estrangement that could have been fixed earlier if they had just talked to each other. It was so late in the book when they finally made up - and would have liked to see more of their HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A marriage of convenience turns into a heartwarming romance
I love Cheryl Bolen's stories and this one doesn't disappoint! A gorgeous hero and a bold determined heroine make for a really romantic love story. I love how the miscommunication and sense of duty create a rift in this marriage, and neither admits how much they actually love each other.
A very enjoyable book. The love that develops between the characters was heart warming. The ending was to short. I wanted to know more about Trevor and the brothers of the main characters. Hopefully there will be more stories of this family to enjoy and give the bigger picture.
The love story of Nick and Friona. Friona has lost everything in the last year, first her mother, then her father, then the man she had been engaged to for three years and now her brother has been kidnap and she has not money to his release. So she ask Nick to marry her for the money. Will he do it? Great story.
This was a wonderful book. The plot was interesting and I loved the characters. There were a few moments I wish Nick and Fiona would get passed their trials. How much confusion can their be, right? Overall a great read. I will have the other books In the series on my wish list.
I enjoyed this book, though there were a few things that made it a 3 star rather than a four. The characters go around and around in the same circles, coming to the wrong conclusions repeatedly, which gets to be tedious. The language is very anachronistic, but that’s easy to handle. A pleasant story, but not a great work of literature.
Story was Ok but not worth recommendation and I won't read it again so only gets 3 stars. There's some fun plot points, but not a lot of human condition discussion.
Romance level: open door sex between married couple. No BDSM or dominance issues which is nice. Focus on union and love making and lust is not the prime motivation.
Lady Fiona has a problem. Her older brother has been captured by rogue Spanish soldiers and they are demanding an outrageous amount of money to release him. Her problem is they have no money so she goes to see if one of the richest men in England can help her.
a tiny doll’s cape with gloved hands? I don’t think so. Other than that one nit, this was a very enjoyable, sexy Regency which may have paved the way for sequels.
Loved this story. Filled with self doubt broken heart,love of family,willing to do what it takes to secure their safe return regardless of what other of her peers thought.Willing to forgo love for family
I loved the telling of this story! The struggle of the characters to accept each other’s differences and admit to love was beautifully told. With steamy love scenes and additional characters love story it was a really good read.
This is the second time I am reading this book and I have enjoyed reading it being unable to stop reading .... Thank you. I need to find other books written by this author...
A bit desperate, Lady Fiona proposes marriage to a wealthy cut in order to random her brother from Spanish bandits. So begins her confusing hunt for true love and a true soul !ate! Holds your attention! I couldn't put it down! Great read!
This is a beautiful story, with a wonderful story line, characters you will fall in love with, where love blooms between nobility and a Cit She ask him to marry her to save her Brother, he excepted her, because she was the only one for him. Thank you ❤❤