Rushed to the Altar (Blackwater Brides)

by Jane Feather

From New York Times bestselling author Jane Feather comes the first of a wonderful new trilogy, The Blackwater Brides, set in the sensually im-proper Georgian period, in which three noble brothers discover they will be forced to find brides under highly unusual circumstances.

Jasper Sullivan, Earl of Blackwater, needs a prostitute. Not in the usual way, however. His wealthy uncle's will promises to divide his huge fortune among his nephews if each rescues a fallen woman . . . by marrying her! And since Jasper's estates were already mortgaged to the hilt before he inherited them, when he catches a pretty young prostitute trying to pick his pocket, he immediately makes his proposal.

Clarissa Astley is not at all what Jasper believes. The orphaned daughter of a prosperous merchant, she is searching the seedier districts of London for her young brother, abducted by their evil guardian, who wants the little boy's inheritance. But she needs powerful help, and the darkly handsome Earl of Blackwater is certainly that. So she pretends to be exactly what he assumed-- a risky charade for an innocent virgin. But when passion flares between Jasper and Clarissa, the deception becomes even more difficult to handle. . . .

• ISBN10: 1439155496
• ISBN13: 9781439155493
• Publish Date: 22 June 2010
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Pocket Books
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 480
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I knew I had to read Rushed to the Altar as soon as it said Jasper needs to marry a prostitute. Say what?! But then it continues to promise mistaken identity, since Clarissa isn't what Jasper assumes her to be. And then I started reading and realized it was a fake relationship turned real tale as well! I basically hit the jackpot here. Jasper wants his inheritance and the only way to get it is to reform a fallen woman, and he figures it'll be easier if she's in on it. It's a mutually beneficial situation after all.

Rushed to the Altar was so fun! I loved seeing Clarissa try to commit to her role as a prostitute who is pretending to be the earl's new mistress and future wife. She tries really hard to create a convincing history for herself since she doesn't want to tell Jasper what she was really doing staying at a brothel. But he's no dummy and sees right through her lies, although he can't quite figure her out.

Then there's the matter of Clarissa's evil uncle who sent her little brother to die at a home for unwanted children. Rushed to the Altar finds Clarissa searching for him, and coming up with a scheme to get him back, get him safe, and hide away from said evil uncle until she comes of age. Uncle Luke is completely despicable! That man will do anything to inherit everything from his recently deceased brother. However, he doesn't expect his naive niece to snag herself an earl and all of the protection he provides.

Rushed to the Altar was just a great read. I am such a sucker for mistaken identity, and combining it with my most favorite Romance trope was a nice bonus! Now I'm eager to see how Jasper's brothers fare at finding their own fallen women to wed.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.