It was the wedding of the season. When a handsome, charming duke proposes, heiress Annalise Hadley believes all of her fairytale dreams are about to come true. But on their wedding night, the once-perfect duke smothers her with a pillow and throws her over the side of their honeymoon barge. Apparently, the duke had no intention of marrying an unappealing bastard like her. Annalise survives but her heart isn't so lucky. Fished out of the river by a reclusive earl, Annalise is nursed back to health by a man with his own demons.and a penchant for taking his shirt off in front of her. Alone with him in his remote lodge, she keeps her identity a secret, waiting for the day that she's strong enough to visit the duke and take her revenge. But a lot can happen in the days and nights alone with a beautiful man. Is Annalise ready to seize the passion between her and the handsome earl? Or will her distrust of men keep her from claiming the love that blooms between them?
Even though How to Lose a Bride in One Night begins with attempted murder, it's a very cute and sweet read. Annaliese has just gotten married to a duke and everything seems too good to be true. Because it is. Instead of a wedding night, she's suffocated, then thrown overboard from their wedding barge. Anna makes it to shore where she's found by Owen who takes her for help. Owen doesn't want to get attached but he can't just leave Anna since it's obvious she's in trouble.
How to Lose a Bride in One Night does spin the amnesia trope a bit. Anna knows exactly what her husband did to her, but she doesn't tell Owen for fear of being returned to either her husband or her family. Instead, she pretends that she doesn't remember anything except for her name. Owen isn't stupid though and knows she's lying but doesn't press matters. Like I said, it's obvious that she's in some kind of trouble, so he agrees to teach her self defense! I absolutely adored this! He may not know who she needs protection from, but Owen is going to make sure that no on harms Anna again.
How to Lose a Bride in One Night is just one of those feel good reads that make you want to climb into the pages and knock the lovers heads together so that they get to kissing! I flew through it in one sitting as Owen and Anna dance around each other for their own reasons, before finally realizing that they're meant to be! There is a brief, annoying break up. It does seem a bit forced, but at least it doesn't last very long.
