To Wed a Stranger

I just finished reading this book, and agree with some of the other reviews that this is a very "talky" novel. However, I enjoyed the author's tackling the subject of the effects of serious illness on both the patient and the spouse. I have recently read a newspaper interview of the husband of a women battling breast cancer. His experiences seemed to mirror those of Miles...including how to give your wife the (sexual) comfort and reassurance that she needs that she is still attractive to you, when she is so sick and physically changed that it just seems wrong to think about her in that way!

I also liked her depiction of Annabelle's reaction to her vanished good looks. I had never really thought about what it would be like for a beautiful woman to experience the effects of chemotherapy, for instance. It is hard for all women, but how much more for a woman who defined herself soley by her appearance! I was impressed that Annabelle was able to eventually overcome her despair to start building a life with a new foundation of self-worth.

Lady Annabelle Wylde, beautiful but capricious, is getting desperate. The man she'd loved all her life married someone else a couple of years ago, and the men she'd turned to after losing Damon have all abandoned her for other women - though she's self-critical enough to admit that at least some of it is her own fault. So when her father brings her a proposal of marriage from a man she has never met, she's just desperate enough to escape the whispers to accept.

Miles Croft, recently returned from the wars and sold out of the army, needs a wife. Money isn't an issue; what he needs most of all is someone who has a secure position in Society, so that she can launch his younger sister Camille and provide a steady influence for his younger brother. His mother, cowed by her second husband, has neither the confidence nor the influence to help - so his choice of wife is crucial. Lady Annabelle appears to fit the bill in every respect.

So a marriage of convenience, entered into not because either character even likes the other. Annabelle, on her wedding night, is shocked to discover that her husband actually intends to consummate the marriage *now* rather than waiting until she feels ready to do so - and, although the act is mildly pleasurable for her, the pain she feels doesn't recommend lovemaking very much to her.

But then, the very next day, as they journey to Miles' holiday home in Devon, Annabelle is taken ill. She has influenza, and is very badly affected, almost dying. A quack doctor has her head shorn and cuts and bleeds her; that, combined with an alarming degree of weight loss, robs her of her good looks and turns her in appearance into a skeletal, bald, pock-marked child. Miles has stayed with her throughout, out of pity and a sense of responsibility, but it is during this time that the couple actually become close - far closer, it seems, than they might have become had Annabelle not been ill.

But then, how can she re-enter Society with her looks gone? How can she possibly help Camille? And be the kind of wife Miles needs? Annabelle fears that he will never see her as attractive again, let alone want to make love with her and give her children. But does Annabelle's only interest for Miles lie in her looks?

Contrary to another comment, Miles does not lose all sexual interest in Annabelle while she's recovering; he does want her, but he's afraid to hurt her or get her pregnant before she is strong enough to carry a child.

This book continues Edith Layton's C series, and readers of that series will recognise Annabelle as the capricious, selfish woman rejected by Damon, Rafe and Drum, and in whom Eric Ford pretends an interest order to help Rafe. Can she be redeemed? I really wasn't sure - but then Layton confounded all my expectations and made me like Annabelle. It is her illness which makes all the difference: robbed of her beauty, Annabelle has to fall back on finer qualities, which make her a much more likeable person.

You will also get glimpses of characters from previous books in To Marry A Stranger, and there is hope that Eric Ford may get his own book next. A good read!

Fortunately, the author does acknowledge the story's major fallback. To sum it up, if Annabelle and Miles were together in a populated area, they wouldn't give each other the time of day. They marry in the first chapter and the wedding night ends with his pleasure and her resigned acceptance. Days later, she gets sick and almost dies. She recovers and he only keeps her company out of guilt and duty, which they BOTH acknowledge.
During her illness, she loses lots of weight and some quack doctor cuts offher hair. Layton does a decent job describing the emotional trials of a woman used to being desired for her beauty then becoming a tragic waif. Unfortunately, Annabelle's lost so much weight that Miles's erection falls down just thinking about bedding her. True romance, hm?
Somehow, these two decide they're in love and that's fortunate for them because I am truly disgusted. So she goes from conceited snob to grateful waif, and he just bobs along as an undefined joker. Yuck!
I keep returning every Edith Layton novel I buy and finally I've decided to give up on her. If you'd like a good book, check out Gaelen Foley or Kat Martin or Susan Johnson. Their much more worthy.

The plot has been sufficiently described already, so I need hardly do so again. So, straight to my opinion - I liked the story, I enjoyed my read ... but ... Yes, there is a good deal that drags an interesting tale into bouts of boredom. We are privy too far too much of Miles's thoughts, it is good to know the hero's mind - but after a few pargraphs one felt a trifle overloaded. It began to slow down the action drastically and repeat itself.
The subplots involving the various members of Miles's family were very perfunctory and regarding his siblings, definitely bore the dire air of being possible sequels. The blackmail subplot involving his mother stuck out like a sore thumb. All that lead up with the mother's odd character and behaviour with Annabelle, and the revelation seemed very much an anti-climax for all its drama. Perhaps because the mother was an unconvincing mish-mash? She had absolutely no character - but maybe this was the author's intention. The subplot involving Annabelle's father was far better done and definitely a surprise. This was handled well, Annabelle's reaction of dismay and disillusion was particularly believable.
Both Miles and Annabelle were well drawn charcters, even if they droned on to themselves in a wallowing manner. The illness, the recovery and Annabelle's change due to the whole experience were the backbone of the book. Again, well done. So the irritations stood out more.

Lady Annabelle Wylde is touted to be the most beautiful woman in London. So why is she still single well into her twenties? Because beautiful as she is, every man she has ever seriously pursued wound up loving someone else - despite all her machinations. She's tried unsuccessfully to find love, but neither will she be pitied by the ton and wind up a spinster. So when her father proposes an arranged marriage to stranger Miles Croft, she agrees. He's handsome and wealthy and amiable enough, so why not?

Miles Croft, Viscount Pelham, is taken with her beauty, grace and moxie. He needs to reestablish his family in society after his mother's disastrous second marriage nearly ruined them all. Oh yes, Lady Annabelle will do just perfectly - grace, beauty, charm and sterling family name - not to mention that he wants her as well.

Well, the best laid plans . . . unfortunately, Annabelle becomes seriously ill on the honeymoon and emerges a shadow of her former self. Though Miles is at her side every step of the way during her long convalescence, she wonders if it's just pity or the polite concern any kind man would show his wife. And when Annabelle finally heals and makes her triumphant return to society Miles wonders with sadness if she no longer needs him. But why should either care? Wasn't this a marriage of convenience?

Since this is my first Edith Layton book, I obviously was not familiar with Annabelle's character. She's apparently played key roles in prior books as something of a manipulative flirt. As a result, I found I had very little emotional investment in her until a third of the way into this book. Same with Miles - he's the ultimate nice guy and thoroughly likeable, but I wasn't mad for him. Their relationship lacked that emotional spark coming across as more friendship than passionate romance to me. And I found the blackmail subplot tedious. I did, however, feel for her after losing her looks, dealing with a difficult and slow convalescence and the humiliation of appearing in public again while not looking her best. She definitely had strength and courage and Miles was sweetly supportive. Rather than the blackmail bit, I'd rather have seen more time spent on building the relationship of the leads and even would have liked to see more of Miles' sister Camille and Eric Ford (but perhaps they're getting their own story). This story had potential, but ultimately is just an OK read.