His Heart's Delight

by Mary Blayney

Book Overview

Morgan Braedon's father demands he choose a bride from this Season's marriage mart or lose his inheritance. Christiana Lambert is determined to avoid potential suitors now that she's in London, but will pretend that she's entertaining romance to please her parents. When Morgan and Christiana's staged flirtation becomes something deeper, they cannot deny love has taken them both by surprise.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821771809
• ISBN13: 9780821771808
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
• Length: 253 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

an engaging read

"His Heart's Delight" by Mary Blayney is the first book in a projected series that features the romantic ups and downs of the Braedon family. And the hero of this first book in the series is Morgan Braedon, the younger son of a marquis (a rather dark and dour individual who has managed to not only keep his entire family at arm's length but to also maim them emotionally as well). The novel opens with Morgan being told that he has to find a wife by the Season's end, or else lose all financial support from his father. And since Morgan is a man of very little money, and who makes his way as a gambler, such a threat would definitely make his life more difficult than it already is. So Morgan comes up with a plan to find a young woman who would be willing to enter into a sham courtship with him. And this is where Miss Christina Lambert comes into the picture.Christina is in London to make her debut into London society along with her elder (and more quiet by nature) sister. However Christina, a rather bubbly and flirtatious young lady, is no ordinary young debutante: she is actually engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Richard Wilton, who is currently serving with Wellington's forces in the Peninsula. Christina's parents however want to keep the engagement secret for the time being, and will only agree to making this engagement official after Christina has had her Season. Christina's dilemma then is how to enjoy a Season, to dance and flirt, without raising the hopes of any eligible bachelors. An innocent dance with Morgan leads to a whole slew of gossip, but which allows both parties to realise that they can each help the other achieve their means: Morgan will have his sham courtship, and Christina will have a male escort who has no expectations that she will reciprocate his feelings. However the more time the couple spends with each other, the more they both come to the private conclusion that they were meant for each other. But what of the complication that comes in the shape of Richard Wilton?The test of a really well written book in my opinion is if the characters and plot engage the reader whether or not you take to the primary characters. And I was definitely engrossed with the on-goings in this novel. In spite of the fact that Christina Lambert is not really the type of heroine that I usually take to -- she's a little too flirty, stubborn and supremely sure of herself for my taste -- I found myself becoming totally involved in the quandary she found herself in, and rooting for to make the right decision. (In fact, I wouldn't at all mind reading a novel featuring a much, much older Christina, to see if she's still the same stubborn, supremely-sure-that-her-opinions-and- notions-are-the-right-ones woman, and how her children deal with this managing aspect of her character!) Mary Blayney did a wonderful job of depicting Christina's confusion over her conflicting feelings for Richard and Morgan. And while Morgan Breadeon belonged to the tortured hero