Secrets of a Runaway Bride

April 1, 2013
Annie Andrews is young, headstrong and determined to marry Mr. Arthur Eggleston; Jordan Holloway, Earl of Ashbourne, is a confirmed bachelor, best friend to Annie's new brother-in-law and determined to stop her. With her sister Lily happily married and off on her honeymoon, Annie sees the perfect opportunity to convince Mr. Arthur Eggleston to ask for her hand in marriage. When she realizes that Lily has tasked Jordan with keeping an eye on her, she sets out to elude him but is foiled time and again. The cat-and-mouse game which starts out somewhat in fun becomes more high-stakes as Annie begins to make choices that threaten her reputation, and Jordan finds himself increasingly annoyed at, yet also protective of and attracted to, his young charge. Whisking her away to his country estate, he sees a new side to the young woman he'd considered a flighty nuisance and takes steps to find her a groom, stunned when his attempts backfire, hurting her feelings and offending him on her behalf--and stirring emotions he didn't believe he was capable of. Could it be he's met his match in the vexing chit? This book is the follow-up novel to Bowman's debut, Secrets of a Wedding Night (2012), and it shines with the same charm and wit. The dialogue sparkles, and the characters--especially Annie--have unexpected depth and subtle layers that make them relatable and authentic, even when they're doing things that, on surface level, we know they shouldn't. Watching cynical Jordan succumb to Annie's naively seductive personality is sweet and touching, and we are thoroughly invested in the relationship long before the main characters understand that they are falling in love, which makes their romantic enlightenment more potentially devastating and ultimately satisfying. A fun, delightful yet emotionally poignant late-Regency romance which succeeds on every level.

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Starred review from April 15, 2013
If there is one thing for sure in life, it's that the moment Annie Andrews is doing something extremely embarrassing, Jordan Holloway, Earl of Ashbourne, will be there to mock her. Case in point: Annie had almost finished scrambling up the shrubbery outside Arthur Eggleston's home when who should suddenly appear but Jordan? If Annie could just figure out a way to get Jordan out of her hair, she knows she can elevate Arthur to matrimonial standards. What Annie doesn't know is that her sister, Lily, has made Jordan promise that he will stop Annie from eloping again with Arthur. Jordan is positive that he can keep Annie and Arthur apart for two weeks until Lily returns from her own honeymoon. What Jordan never expects is that he just may be tempted to run away with the delightfully unconventional Annie himself. A perfectly matched pair of protagonists engages in a wonderfully amusing and deliciously sensual battle of wits in Bowman's (Secrets of a Wedding Night, 2012) second stellar Regency-set romance, and the author's flair for mixing red-hot passion and captivating characters makes her an excellent suggestion for fans of Sabrina Jeffries' and Nicole Jordan's historical romances.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)