The Counterfeit Bride (Avalon Romance)

Not only has Donovan's mission put Lillian in danger, but he has vowed never to marry again and when the job is over, he will return to Washington D. Lillian claims not to care where he goes, but will cracking the case leave them both with a broken heart? Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read.

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The Counterfeit Bride by Nancy J. Secret Service agent Patrick Donovan must ferret out a counterfeit Lillian Picken discovers the perfect solution for the problem of being a female entrepreneur in the s.

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Hardcover , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Counterfeit Bride , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about The Counterfeit Bride. Lists with This Book. She wants independence and the only way she can do that is by making up a husband so she can open her own general store. It was the only way she could think of to have the towns people accept her and shop at her store. Then one day a man shows up claiming to be her military husband home from his time in service. Lillian has to go along with his claims or admit that she never had a husband in the first place.

I liked Lillian and 3. I liked Lillian and Donovan. They had some fun interactions and if not for a few things, I would have really enjoyed their courtship. While the book is clean, there was a bit more innuendo and talk of seduction than I like.

I guess when there is so much focus on physical attraction I have a hard time believing in a long lasting connection. I prefer a sweet courting with some kissing and actually getting to know one another. They never actually do anything, but And it seemed like Donovan was a pretty decent guy and was probably raised by a good family and probably a Christian family, so would he really be willing to compromise a girl who he also barely knew?

Considering the time period, I doubt it. I get they were attracted to each other, I just wish there had been a little more respect for intimacies and make it more clear that neither would do anything until they were married. A month passes and he returns under his real name. I found it very HARD to believe that no one would recognize him. Could he really look that different? And his voice and mannerisms would all be the same. I thought that was a little farfetched and was why I dropped it from a 4 to a 3, it was just too unbelievable for me.

Mild innuendo and kissing. Jan 08, heidi rated it it was ok Shelves: Lillian is a pretty smart cookie, and I like that about her. She has invented a husband who is conveniently away, which allows her to run a mercantile by herself. Of course, this being a romance novel, a mysterious sexy stranger inserts himself into her life.

He is a Secret Service agent with a tragic dead wife. And he realizes that Lillian's cover story leaves room for him to be a part of the town. But instead of, like, ASKING, he just blackmails her into compliance from the get-go, and his met Lillian is a pretty smart cookie, and I like that about her. But instead of, like, ASKING, he just blackmails her into compliance from the get-go, and his methods are pretty unscrupulous.

Not if he's a real man.

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She took a step back and glared at him. And if she asks for help, then the loses her store and her home and everything that she has worked for in the town. Eventually, he takes her into his confidence a bit and they can pull together instead of working at cross-purposes. Then, of course, there is a kidnapping and a shootout and many forms of excitement, and in the end, everyone lives happily ever after. I wished fervently that he had sought her out as an ally instead of blackmailing her into help. I think the premise of this story was super-interesting, and the implementation disappointing.

You like the false-widow, grass-wife trope. You would like an Old West story to leaven your Regency readings. Flash Gold for a woman alone in the mytheopic West. Aug 10, Lauren rated it it was amazing Shelves: I thought that this book was a very quick read. I had never really read any books based in the west in the s and I had my doubts thinking that it was going to be something like all the rest.

But once I finished the book, I loved it! Aug 17, Beth rated it did not like it Shelves: I got three chapters into this before I realized I couldn't handle this book any more.

It was a cute idea, but poorly executed. In one scene within the first three chapters , Lillian barricades herself in her bedroom. He breaks down the door - just because he could - and then proceeds to tell her that she has to obey every order he gives her.

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Um, isn't that how rapes start? Lillian's character also didn't ring true for me. In the very first chapter, she's accosted by a guy on t I got three chapters into this before I realized I couldn't handle this book any more. In the very first chapter, she's accosted by a guy on the street and she takes him down with a parasol good for you, girl! It seemed like she was a very independent woman. However, when this domineering guy came along and told her she had to obey him, her only response is to kiss him? It seems like she lost her spine during chapter 2, and it's probably because this guy had such dreamy blue eyes I'm being facetious, of course.

My other big dislike of the book was the use of "darn" and "heck. Parra didn't need to use the baby words - I've seen other books where there was no swearing, and I never missed it, because the author never used replacement words Hester Browne's The Finishing Touches comes to mind. Just a ridiculous book.

I want my hour back. Aug 02, Cheryl McNeil rated it liked it. The trope of this romance -- being stuck with a strange man and having to make the best of it, e. Who doesn't like fantasizing about getting stranded alone on a tropical island with the most gorgeous man alive? The setting isn't a tropical island, it's a small mining town out West in the late s for all of us that kind of like cowboys. And the getting stuck together part, while believable in its premise, strains credulity in its execution.

There were a few other pr The trope of this romance -- being stuck with a strange man and having to make the best of it, e. There were a few other problems: I don't buy it. But let's let all of that go. We don't read these romances for the perfect plotting and writing. What part of The Wedding Party came to you first? From my previous answer you'll see it was the characters and the setting all rolled into one. Basically I nicked the whole idea from my niece!

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LOL That's not entirely true. The real people bear absolutely no relation to my characters, they were a jumping off point. Does your niece know her wedding sparked this book? Yes, she answered quite a few questions for me. Do the other two people, the ones you based your hero and heroine on, have any idea you've slid them into fictional shoes? Apparently the best man does because the groom told him all about it! Was writing The Wedding Party different from any of your previous novels?

It was different in that I was able to describe the setting very particularly having stayed in Narooma at my in-laws several times. It's a beautiful spot on the coast. The beaches are golden, the water crystal clear and a unique shade of blue green. There's a golf course set right along the cliffs on the headland.

My husband and I went on a research visit. What do you personally like most about this novel? Music usually plays a big part in your books. What were the musical influences in this story? Because neither of my characters are musicians music wasn't such a big part of the story but I did sneak a few pieces in.

In one scene Phoebe, my heroine, is trying to annoy Brady while he's trying to relax. She suggests some music and chooses a classical album at random they're staying in someone else's house figuring opera will be pretty irritating for him. Mozart's Queen of The Night aria comes on and she's secretly pleased because it's a high soprano voice, loud and quite aggressive and should be boring straight through his head.

Unfortunately Brady likes it and actually recognises the singer. Personally, I love Queen of the Night but I can see if one detested sopranos it would get on one's nerves. Is there any musical revenge on Brady's part? No but Phoebe tries again with Neil Diamond whose voice sets her teeth on edge. Brady goes to sleep so she fails again. When he wakes up he thinks she must like the music so doesn't say anything even though he doesn't like it. They're both stuck listening to it then. Do you have any upcoming Avalon releases we should know about?

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Love On the North Shore Line will be coming out next year sometime but I don't have a release date yet. Are you working on any new titles for Avalon? I've sent in another manuscript but haven't heard from my editor about it yet. It's a spinoff from Outback Hero and tells Caroline's story. Caroline is the pregnant younger sister of the hero Jonathan, who appears toward the end of the book.

That's Romantic Book of the Year.