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The Prince's Bride

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Overview

Once upon a time there was a young debutante of means who dreamed of marrying a prince. So she traveled to London to become... The Prince's Bride As a poor but proud young lady, Jocelyn Shelton had but one dream: to marry a prince and bring comfort to herself and her family. Now circumstances bring her to London, where her charms could make her wish come true. But her rendezvous with royalty is dangerously interrupted, and she finds herself rescued -- and thoroughly kissed -- by Rand, Viscount Beaumont ... a daring man in the service of the king. To protect her life, Rand whisks her away to the countryside, and to defend her reputation, he agrees to marry the willful beauty. Lady Jocelyn is hardly his first choice as a bride, but beneath her fiery nature he uncovers a tender vulnerability and a sizzling passion. But Rand is keeping a shocking secret-one that, when revealed, could either shake her belief in him or make herrealize that it takes more than blue blood to be a true prince.

Editorial Reviews

Lacking the sympathetic heroine that made her previous Shelton family adventure so charming, Alexander's latest Regency-era romance (after The Marriage Lesson) focuses on Jocelyn, the self-described "pretty one" who's dreamed since she was 10 of marrying a prince. Now the belle of London, Jocelyn captures the attention of Prince Alexei of Avalonia, but her accidental eavesdropping on a conspiracy against Alexei endangers her life, forcing her to marry hastily and flee London. Unfortunately for Jocelyn, her new husband is Rand Beaumont, a "mere" viscount; unfortunately for Rand, Jocelyn doesn't take well the dashing of her princess dreams. Enforced seclusion in the countryside opens the couple's eyes to each other's merits, creating a respect that blooms into love. When the plot against Alexei snares Jocelyn and Rand again, however, Jocelyn is forced to choose between her new love and her longing to see her princess dreams come true. Though Alexander struggles to transform Jocelyn from a title-hungry mercenary into a loving, humorous wife, the change doesn't take, perhaps due in part to Jocelyn's misguided focus on the problems in Avalonia instead of in her own marriage. Readers will rush through this romance with their sights set on the youngest Shelton sister, the irrepressible Becky. (Dec. 4) Forecast: Avon is pushing Alexander, its romance Superleader for December, in an impressive way, and it's no wonder, considering that the author's previous titles have achieved over a 70% sell-through. Although this isn't Alexander's best effort, readers who were hooked by her earlier books will undoubtedly pluck this one off the shelf. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Victoria Alexander

New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award-winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full-time and is still shocked it worked out. Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written twenty-one full-length novels and six novellas. Her books have hit the top ten on the New York Times bestseller list and regularly appear on the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, as well. She has twice been nominated for the Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter. Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: West Virginia and Nebraska. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie Boys Don't Cry and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small-town dump in rural Nebraska. During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She's interviewed movie stars, including Kevin Costner; ridden an elephant; and flown in a governor's helicopter. She's covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Denver, as well as small-town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glenn Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations, including the Associated Press who called her feature about a firefighter's school "storytelling genius." It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She's never looked back. Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband (whose name she routinely uses when she needs a dead husband in a book), two kids in college (buy her books!), two bearded collies who believe they're human, a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts, and never-ending chaos. She laughs a great deal--she has to. Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well-drawn.

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Additional Info

Imprint

HarperCollins

Filesize

1.71 MB

Number of Pages

384

eBook ISBN

9780061179624

Excerpt from: The Prince's Bride by Victoria Alexander

Late Spring, 1819

It was generally acknowledged, in the circles of polite society, that staring was not permissibleýnever permissible, regardless of the circumstances. Yet each and every guest in the too crowded ballroomýfrom jaded rakes to overdressed matrons, from sweet young things in the first flower of youth to elderly lords on their last legs, from the envious to the curious to the vastly amusedýdid indeed stare . . . or at least observed carefully, which was much the very same thing.

Oh, discretion was in order, of course. There were no open mouths or overly wide eyes. No pointed fingers or upraised brows. Besides, regardless of the rules of proper behavior, no one who was anyone would ever admit he was not already privy to the liaison unveiling itself before the very eyes of the ton. And everyone in attendance at the gala reception given by the Marquess of Throubridge for the crown prince of Avalonia was indeed someone, or at least believed himself to be someone, which was nearly as important.

Still, even the illusion of good breeding and fine manners could not prevent a fair amount of discreet tittering behind fans, an inordinate number of speculative smiles, and more than a little nudging of elbows.

And why not? It wasn't every day London had a foreign prince in its midst. That he was handsome and wealthy and unmarried made his every move of utmost interest to the mothers of eligible daughters as well as to the daughters themselves. That he was showing particular attention to one young lady made him the subject of intense curiosity for everyone else. And that the young woman in question was the incomparable Lady Jocelyn Shelton made him the envy of the majority of men, married or otherwise.

Whatever their circumstances, each and every guest in the room watched Prince Alexei Frederick Berthold Ruprecht Pruzinsky escort the lady from the dance floor. Jocelyn herself was well aware of the scrutiny. Indeed, she could feel it almost as if the gazes directed toward her had a physical presence: long, probing fingers of curiosity. She lifted her chin the tiniest notch and tried to maintain as natural a smile as possible.