The Bartered Bride

Author:: Cheryl Reavis
Published:: Harelquin, 1996 ; 344 pages
Subgenre:: Historical romance -- Civil War
Setting:: United States -- North Carolina and Virginia, 1861-5
Main characters:: Frederich Graeber and Caroline Holt
Sexual explicitness:: Fairly explicit
Keywords:: Intrigue ; adultery, family loyalty, farming, forced marriages, Germans, immigration, pregnancy, war
Reader rating:
Reader comments:: Reavis certainly seems able to pen a good sentence, but this book is nevertheless somewhat disjointed and would have benefitted from more time spent in writing or editing. The hero's and heroine's oft-changing attitudes toward each other sometimes seem quite realistic but at other times seem forced, with the author "padding" the book with misunderstandings simply to reach a particular length. I find this sort of padding is often a problem in the average romance, and that's what this book is--just average. Still, based on the author's clear ability to write, I'd sample her again--perhaps an earlier book, when she may have been trying harder? (E.P., 2-4-97)

ep@starr