The Bride Thief, by Jacquie D'Alessandro

The other one I started was a book by Jacquie D'Alessandro, The Bride Thief. I've read and enjoyed this author before.

Back blurb

HAS ENGLAND'S MOST INFAMOUS BRIDE THIEF FINALLY MET HIS MATCH?

At six-and-twenty, Samantha Briggeham knew her marital prospects were fading by the season and she was pleased by the thought. She had no intention of being betrothed -especially against her will- to a man she did not love. She had a plan...and it didn't include being swept into a pair of powerful arms and spirited away by a masked rider. News of Sammie's heroic rescue from undesired wedlock turned her into the toast of the ton, wooed by suitors far and wide. But she couldn't forget the swashbuckling brigand who'd abducted her -something about him intrigued her completely. Then she met Eric Landsdowne, the dashing and seductive Earl of Wesley.

His exploits were legendary, his life filled with danger. He was the elusive Bride Thief, who had his own reasons for helping young women escape the unhappy fate of arranged marriages, and whose true identity was a scrupulously guarded secret. But from the moment he rescued Sammie -only to discover she'd already managed to get herself un-betrothed- Eric knew he couldn't lose her a second time. Marriage was out of the question. Which left only one option: A clandestine affair that might lead to scandal, social ruin, and the unmasking of a love-bested legend. . .

Posted later...

I finished The Bride Thief almost at the same time. I enjoyed it, too, but it had quite a few things that bothered me. I'll give it a B-.

I liked both Sammie and Eric, but especially Eric, a beta hero who is truly heroic. I liked what he did as the Bride Thief, I felt he had excellent reasons to do it and, though he could have done it a different, less dangerous way, he did the right thing. I also liked that he gives lots of thought to the consequences of sleeping with Samantha. And so does she, even finding out how to prevent pregnancy.

My problems were the following:

1 - The "I love him so I'll let him go" - "I love her so I'll let her go" , "oh, he's letting me go, so he doesn't love me", ad nauseam in the last quarter of the book. This got tiresome.

2 - The resolution of the Bride Thief problem was much too predictable. As soon as it was implied that the magistrate had once been in love with Eric's sister, I was sure that he was going to find out that her arranged marriage had been hell, and so, when he discovered that Eric was the Bride Thief, he was going to let him off the hook.

3 - This was minor, really, but I hated Sammie's mother, and intensely disliked her father. I have a problem with characters who just refuse to listen to what people are saying. They frustrate me, and I want to kick something, so when any character in a book does this, it just puts me in a bad mood.

To summarize, I enjoyed this one while recognizing its faults. I'll probably keep reading this author.