Meant to Be

by Kate Donovan

Return to the rousing 1860's, where Chicago's Happily Ever After Co. is doing a brisk business in mail-order brides, and three spirited young women will risk it all on a once-in-a-lifetime chance at... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821768204
• ISBN13: 9780821768204
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
• Length: 346 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

#3 of the HAPPILY EVER AFTER CO. - Braddock's own daughter

Aha! Noelle Braddock means to be the only one to chose her own husband. Not her father, much as she loves him. She has left herself open to the subtle flattery of a 38 year old jaded man who is looking to seduce a virgin. Adam Bartholomew Prestley considers Noelle an innocent, but being raised by her marriage broker father, Russell Braddock, he expects her to have the knowledge and wantonness of a [...]. Lieutenant Zachary Dane, 26, is invited to the Braddock mansion as a curtesy to Colonel Tom Greer. He shows up in dusty buckskins and appears to Noelle as uncouth and backwoodsy. Not a man who has served as bodyguard to General Grant. Not a man who knows how to socialize. She does learn that he is an accomplished sharpshooter with his rifle, "Henry". And his horse is called "Mercury", he talks to him a lot. Noelle seems to have a bit of confusion about what represents love and attributes all the qualities to Adam. Zach seems to have seen the disrespect and lust that Adam allows to show once. He feels that Adam will destroy Noelle's confidence in love and her ability to make the right choice. Ah, but then the wedding to Adam dawns and Noelle appears as the fairy-tale bride. Thank god for the emotional explosion. Zach and Mercury to the rescue. The rest of the story pulls all the loose ends together [with humor] and a flirtatious Dr. Philip Davenport. It seems that Russ wants to move to California - so Noelle is moveing that way through Virginia City, Nevada. Zach makes contect with Megan Steele, Noelle's cousin. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- a great addtion to the HAPPILY EVER AFTER CO. saga.

Sparkling dialogue and playful naughtiness

In 1866, marriage broker Russell Braddock's invitation to provide personal service to Lieutenant Zachary Dane has unexpected results. MEANT TO BE is the THIRD book of the Happily Ever After Co. miniseries.Zach arrives at the Braddock home in Chicago prepared to ask for a bride who is "young, sturdy, cheerful, healthy, a good cook, and suited to a simple, hardworking life and raising sons and daughters." However, when he sees Noelle Braddock standing on a table for a fitting in her wedding gown, one look confirms that he's found the perfect bride. Her long legs and silvery eyes will certainly compensate for her lack of cooking skills. Now he's got to convince Noelle she's marrying the wrong man, and they are meant to be. Noelle refuses to entertain the brash young war hero clad in buckskins, despite her strong attraction. She's engaged to marry another, whose age, polish, and social position will guarantee a life of genteel fulfillment. With a professional match maker for a father, Noelle has always been determined to find her own husband, and believes she's found him; that is, until Zach turns her world upside down with his shameless seduction. But it will take more than sweet words to convince Noelle that she's engaged to the wrong man.MEANT TO BE tells the story of a love and passion that begins with a glance, and ends in an inferno. With heated, stolen moments that inspire romantic desire, MEANT TO BE is a sexy, fun romp filled with sparkling dialogue and playful naughtiness. When confronted with her fiancé's true nature, Noelle's response and subsequent action keep the plot moving delightfully along. Indeed, Kate Donovan's characteristic style for blending the madcap and the sensual, the rogue and the innocent, makes MEANT TO BE highly recommended.