Game of Hearts

by Kate Donovan

Not a hero. Not a villain. Just a man afraid to risk his heart…and hers. The Happily Ever After Company, Book 1Aengus Yates broke Suzannah Hennessy’s heart. Twice. As an eight-year-old, she... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 082176683X
• ISBN13: 9780821766835
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Zebra Books
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

OH WOW! TRUE GULLIBLE INNOCENCE AND DELIGHTFUL DOUBLE-TALK

This is a wonderful introduction to Russell Braddock and his "Happily Ever After Co." - He is becoming a legend in the marriage brokering field. He has an only daughter, Noelle, 17, who is a close friend of Suzannah Hennessey, 19 and Noelle's cousin, Megan Braddock. Megan is a dithery sort of young woman who needs Suzannah's advice before making a decision. Russell is trying to help Megan when he contacts Dennis Riordain, 26 of Bent Creek, California. They mean to raise their future families next door to each other. To make a long story short - that is after we learn about Suzannah's disallusionment with men in general when the love of her life, Aengus Yates married another woman, Katherine and had two sons and then left his family when Johnny was barely 2 years old. That happend 3 years ago and Suzannah has spent most of the time with Luke and Johnny Yates and loves them dearly. The two girls set out for Sacramento and the Sierra Nevada mountains where Mr. Riordain has a horse ranch. On the boat trip Megan meets the gambler Ben Steele who falls in love with her. But she is already promised and ready to go through with the arranged marriage. You will dearly love the dialoge between the girls and the young men they converse with. Suzannah's mother, Mary Hennessey kept some kind of business for Alex Monroe and his wife, Elaine. Mary provided many biscuits and attention to the growing Aengus when Alex had brought him from Boston to Adamsville, Indiana because of his talent for training horses. Alex was also the one who introduce Aengus to Katherine. She seduced Aengus and then told him she was pregnant. All of these incidents broke Suzannah's heart as she determined she would marry Aengus. The outcome of the trip to Bent Creek and the meeting of Luke and Johnny with Suzannah was heartwarming and intrigueing in its own way. There are some hilarious parts, with Megan's hang-up about her mother's way of life and then being introduced to the marriage bed. The girls had some strange ideas. This book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - and I dare say the whole set will be well worth the reading - this book is definitely tempered to the morals of the times and the young girls ideas and attitudes of 1866.

Dissed fiance shows up again.

This 1866 historical will delight fans of the mail-order-bride scenario. Suzannah must come to terms with losing the love of her life Aengus Yates. This Irish heartbreaker leaves her for someone else. Believing she'll never see him again, she travels with her best friend Megan to Bent Creek, a growing town in the Sierra Nevada mountains, to watch this woman unite with a successful mate in an arranged marriage. Another man waits for Megan in the background, knowing this relationship is doomed. Under a different name Aengus masquerades as Megan's betrothed. Of course, when he sees Suzannah again, it's her he wants, not Megan. Filled with light humor and touching romance, this is a novel of discovery and renewal as these young lovers find joy in each other... body and soul. Donovan is a skilled storyteller. Reading her work is like watching a good movie.