Books › Counterfeit Bride
Counterfeit Bride
First published 1983 · 187 pages
A high-stakes, sun-drenched battle of wills where a reckless deception leads to a fiercely passionate captivity.
What it feels like
Reading this vintage romance is like stepping into a time capsule of unapologetic 1980s melodrama, where the stakes are sky-high and the heroes are ruthlessly domineering. The narrative moves at a brisk, breathless clip, sweeping the reader from a misguided deception straight into a sun-drenched, claustrophobic Mexican hacienda. The atmosphere crackles with tension and culture clash, leaning heavily into the fantasy of being overpowered by an immovable force. Craven's prose is sharp and emotionally charged, focusing intensely on the heroine's internal battle between righteous fury and undeniable attraction. It is a perfect, escapist read for fans of old-school category romance who crave the intense, problematic thrill of forced proximity, kidnapping tropes, and fiercely possessive alpha males.
- Mood
- claustrophobic
- sun-drenched
- tense
- escapist
- Tone
- melodramatic
- intense
- authoritative
- passionate
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- forced proximity · loss of control · culture clash · deception and consequence · taming the alpha
- The writing
- Dramatic and breathless, characterized by sharp dialogue and intense internal monologues typical of 1980s category romance.
- The arc
- Moves from righteous indignation and panic to reluctant surrender and overwhelming passion.
- Who it's for
- Fans of vintage, unapologetically problematic alpha-male romances and high-stakes forced-marriage tropes.
Content notes
- kidnapping
- forced marriage
- coercion
- dubious consent
- dated gender dynamics
About the book
Nicola found he was a law unto himself
She had agreed to masquerade as his prospective bride to help her young friend escape. She was appalled that arranged marriages still existed.
But Luis Alvarado de Montalba was not a man to be crossed. "You forced your way into my life, " he informed her when he discovered the deception, "and now you will remain in it. "
While she conceded he was entitled to his anger, it was her life and future he had taken under control. And he simply ignored her protests.
Because the last thing her young friend Teresita wanted was to be forced into a marriage of convenience with the guardian she had not seen for years, Nicola Tarrant agreed to pose as Teresita when the guardian, the formidable Don Luis Alvardo de Montalba, came to claim her. But the plot went sadly awry when Don Luis called her bluff - and to her horror Nicola found herself whisked off to a hacienda somewhere in the heart of Mexico, and forced to marry him. And there was no way she could escape...
Description from Open Library.
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