The Bridal Quest (Matchmakers)

While I adore steamy sex scenes, I find that I don't miss them in Camp's books because her plots and subplots are intricate and plausible, and the sexual tension is certainly there. The Bridal Quest is the second book in Camp's four-book Matchmaker series, and I will certainly buy the next two books when they are released.

Candance Camp is a new discovery for me, and a welcome one. Although the books in this Matchmaker series certainly don't have the same sexual heat as Lisa Kleypas' Wallflowers series (Secrets of a Summer Night (The Wallflowers, Book 1), It Happened One Autumn (The Wallflowers, Book 2), The Devil in Winter (The Wallflowers, Book 3), Scandal in Spring (The Wallflowers, Book 4) and Elizabeth Hoyt's wonderful Prince series (The Raven Prince; The Serpent Prince' and The Leopard Prince, they do share with those series (at least thus far) a depth of plotline and character which keeps the reader interested and the pages turning. And there is one sexy scene near the end of the novel which is well worth waiting for.

The plot concerns the return to the family fold of our hero, Gideon, who was ostensibly kidnapped at the age of four, along with his mother. When he is miraculously discovered as a grown man running a gaming club in London, he has done well for himself financially, but he is rather lacking in the social graces which would go along with being the new Earl of Radbourne. Enter our heroine, Irene Wyngate, the independent-minded daughter of a now-dead drunken womanizer and bully who made her childhood miserable. Seeing how unhappy and timid marriage has made her gentle mother, Irene is determined never to marry. She is recruited by an acquaintance, Francesca Haughston (a continuing character in the series, who is a kind of high-class matchmaker) to help with Gideon's transformation to gentlemanly behavior so that he may marry an upper-class lady and produce the requisite heir.

Some reviewers have said that they find the heroine, Irene, to be a tad abrasive but I found her refreshing. Her stated reasons for staying single are very real concerns for women of her era -- they were legally nothing but property and their children belonged to the fathers. Of course, as the book progresses and she finds herself ever more attracted to the rough-edged handsome hero, Gideon, it becomes a case of "methinks the lady doth protest overmuch," but I found that realistic rather than irritating. Because her father was such a tyrant, Irene has some very natural concerns about trusting her future to a man.

The subplots concerning Irene's overbearing sister-in-law, Maura, and Gideon's equally overbearing great aunt, Odelia, are absorbing and fun. Irene gets in some great caustic lines in response to other characters' observations on her spinster status. The mystery of what really happened to Gideon and his mother twenty-seven years earlier is handled deftly, woven neatly into a plot of intensifying sexual tension between the H/H.

I like these series romances when they are done as well as this. The author has done herself proud with the Matchmaker series.

Candace Camp delivers again!! This was a nice follow-up to the Marriage Wager and the love story was a departure from the usual. The author has a gift for making her characters come alive on the page. Keep it coming, Candace!!

This was the first book of Candace Camp's that I read, and I was immediately hooked on her style of writing and character development. I am not normally a fan of Victorian era books, but she makes it fun and interesting and her characters are genuine and human and very real. She also brings alot of humor and adventure to her stories, which brings that usually dry time in history very down to earth and enjoyable. I've since read several of her other books, and look forward to the remaining books in the Matchmaker series.

The Bridal QuestI really enjoyed the love story of Irene and Gideon . I could not put the book down. I loved Gideon's Aunt Odelia !
I also enjoyed what looked like a future story between Francesca, and Lord Rochford. I can't wait until September for THE WEDDING CHALLENGE !

I found myself really liking The Bridal Quest. I had read the first book in the series and was anxious to read this one. It didn't disappoint. I liked our hero, Gideon, from the get go. And, the first meeting between Gideon and Irene was a doozy. I enjoyed all the little snippets about Francesca and the duke and have to say that I am most anxious to read their story.
The Bridal Quest had very likable characters. I was afraid Irene might be a little too strident, but she never veered into unlikable territory. I felt she had a right to be so wary of marriage. Gideon, of course, was excellent. Most romance novel heroes are. They must be easier to write than women. I find myself liking the men in the books more than I do the women. Too often, the woman turns me off and ruins the book. But, happily, in this book that wasn't the case. I liked it all--the characters, the story, the little mystery thrown in.
I will be eagerly awaiting the next 2 books in this series. The Bridal Quest was a delight.