WEDDED BLISS – Celeste Bradley
The Wicked Worthingtons Series, Book 5
Jove
ISBN: 978-0-451-47598-5
May, 2017
Historical Romance

London 1818

After a lonely childhood left in the country by her rarely-seen parents, Bliss Worthington has joined her eccentric relatives in London. She has found the perfect man for herself: Neville Danton, the fourteenth Duke of Camberton. It is neither his fortune nor title that makes him perfect; it is the fact that he is a kind, honorable, and steady man who will not go away and leave her alone and lonely. Neville's only family are his father's brother, Lord Oliver, and an older illegitimate half-brother, who was accepted by the late duke and brought into the family home after his wife died. The two boys became fast friends.

Uncle Oliver does not approve of Bliss as Neville's wife. Bliss became aware of that and began smuggling letters to Neville outlining a plan for them to elope in secret. They were married away from London on a dark and noisy rainy night . . . except they weren't! Once the ceremony was over and the license signed, Bliss realized she had married Neville's brother, ship's Captain Morgan Pryce.

Oliver had intercepted Bliss's letters and had convinced Morgan that Bliss is only a gold-digger from a notorious family who got her hooks into Neville. He persuaded Morgan to take Neville's place to save his younger brother. What does it matter anyway? Morgan planned never to marry; he's away at sea nearly all the time, so he's happy to keep Neville from an unhappy life.

Bliss is stunned. All she can do is go along for now, preserve her virtue, and hope to get the marriage annulled. She extracts a promise from Morgan that he will not force her in exchange for moving into his house with him. So there they are—together. Morgan can't get over Bliss's beauty, and he can't get over how innocent she seems. But she won't let go of her plans to marry his brother. Yet she cooks for Morgan and surprises him over and over. To her, he is handsome and fun, but she's determined to get an annulment.

The stage is set for an amusing and suspenseful relationship between the two. But—have we seen the last of Uncle Oliver?

I must admit I haven't read any of the earlier four novels in this series, so I had a bit of trouble keeping track of the rest of the Worthingtons and all their stories. They did, however, add much to the whole and will be welcomed by those who have met them. And while I recommend WEDDED BLISS for a fun read, I recommend the series to those who have yet to meet them.

Jane Bowers