THE OTHER GUY'S BRIDE – Connie Brockway
Amazon's Montlake Romance
ISBN: 1319059577 (E-book)
ISBN: 16121181449 (Trade Paperback)
Digital: November 22, 2011
Print: December 22, 2011
Historical Romance

Egypt, 1905

Twenty-some years ago, Ginesse Braxton's parents, eminent archeologists and linguists, met in Egypt, had adventures, and married. That's an over simplification of their story, but this is Ginesse's tale. From childhood, Ginesse has always been enthusiastic and impulsive. So much so that her parents, then living in Egypt, sent her at a young age to an English boarding school—after one more of a long list of inadvertent mishaps—in the hopes of settling her down. Some of her lessons may have taken, but these days Ginesse is still intensely curious. She's worked hard to live down her reputation as an imp and a jinx and is anxious to prove herself a serious archeologist. She has a degree in ancient civilizations, and while working at Cambridge , she believes she has found clues that would lead her to locate the fabled lost city of Zerzura in Egypt . If she could find it, everyone would have to take her seriously, especially her parents and her six younger brothers, two of whom are already showing signs of becoming noted scholars.

A chance to return to Egypt comes from her doting great grandfather still in Cairo , and Ginesse jumps at it. She hopes once there, that she can somehow arrange to cross the Sahara to look for Zerzura. Ginesse is a kind person and cares for a violently seasick fellow passenger aboard ship, Miss Mildred Whimpelhall. Miss Whimpelhall is on her way to marry her fiancé stationed at a British outpost close to where Ginesse wants to go, so naturally, when Mildred departs the ship in Italy to finish her journey by land—which will take longer—Ginesse decides to impersonate Mildred in Cairo and take her place long enough to reach her target site.

Jim Owens is known as a rogue and an adventurer who makes a not-so-ethical living in Egypt , but is not one to forget a debt. Seven years earlier, his life was saved by Colonel Lord Pomfrey, who now asks Jim to go to Cairo with a few soldiers to bring his fiancée to the fort. This is how Jim and Ginesse, masquerading as Miss Whimpelhall, meet and make a long and dangerous journey across the vast Sahara .

Jim is more than a rough expatriate Englishman as we eventually find out. Ginesse is perhaps a bit less complex than the many-layered Jim, but what a lot of spirit she has to go with her rashness! She might be described as an intrepid optimist. Both are finely drawn characters who cannot fail to grab readers' empathy. On one hand, we have Ginesse who starts out with the single-minded purpose of finding the lost city. On the other, we have Jim who is determined to repay an old debt honorably. Two attractive people face betrayal and worse during an arduous trek of inhospitable days and nights. The perils are such as would break lesser souls. Other expertly done characters, including family members of both, add to the richness of the plot. THE OTHER GUY'S BRIDE could be subtitled The Braxtons, the Next Generation , but there is no need to have read the earlier book, AS YOU DESIRE, to enjoy this one, but it's also available in paperback and e-book.

For a rousing adventure filled with originality, passion and wit, I highly recommend THE OTHER GUY'S BRIDE.

Jane Bowers