Confessions of an Improper Bride
Jennifer Haymore
Grand Central, Aug 1 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780446573146
In 1822 Serena Donovan fell in love with Jonathan Dane, who ruined her reputation. She left London accompanied by her twin sister Meg. Off of Antigua on the Victory, a rope accidentally pulls Meg into the water where she apparently drowns. Already feeling remorse for the shame she brought to her family, Serena suffers from survivor guilt.
In 1828, Serena’s mother demands she come home to pose as her dead twin sister Meg. Her mother kept in touch with Commander William Langley pretending to be Meg. He has written a proposal of marriage to Meg; her mother says Serena owes the family who is in in dire straits to masquerade as Meg for the rest of her life as Langley’s wife.
Jonathan has become a wastrel feeling guilty over what he did to the late Serena to cause her death at sea six years ago though he fulfilled a deathbed pledge he regretfully made to his father. When he meets Meg, Jonathan knows she is his Serena. He knows he will betray his friend Will, but must persuade his Serena to give him a second chance. To do so would ruin Serena’s life and that of her family.
The Donovan sisters’ Regency romance is an entertaining historical due to the triangle as each of the trio has strengths and weaknesses, but none are evil. A secondary romance between Serena’s sister Phoebe and a Mr. Harper enhances the insight into the 1822 relationship between the older twin and Jonathan as Serena realizes her sibling is doing what she did. With Meg not miraculously coming back from the dead (except in Serena’s portrayal), fans will appreciate this enjoyable early nineteenth century second chance at love tale.
Harriet Klausner
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