Always the Bridesmaid by Emily E K Murdoch
Always the bridesmaid and never the bride – but not if the Duke of Axwick has anything to do with it…
Miss Tabitha Chesworth is walking down the aisle for the third time, but never as the bride. Frustrated with being passed over, there’s nothing that a well-born lady can do about it. But at four and twenty, she’s starting to worry that this is her lot in life – until a fiery encounter with the Duke of Axwick.
Richard St Maur, sixteenth in his line, has sworn an oath never to marry. He’s seen the damage of the male Axwick line, and he won’t bring another gambler or drunkard into the world. Of course, that doesn’t mean he can’t have a little fun and there’s no one he’d like to play with more than Miss Tabitha Chesworth. He’s determined to have her. She’s determined to hold out until a ring is on her finger. Sparks fly as this repeat bridesmaid takes on one of the most determined men of the ton.
Whose offer will eventually be accepted? Will the Duke of Axwick find his way into Tabitha’s bed – or her heart?
- File Name:always-the-bridesmaid-by-emily-e-k-murdoch.epub
- Original Title:Always the Bridesmaid (Never the Bride Book 1)
- Creator:Emily E K Murdoch
- Language:en
- Identifier:MOBI-ASIN:B083L578K1
- Publisher:Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
- Date:2020-01-15T16:00:00+00:00
- Subject:Fiction,Historical,romance
- File Size:216.967 KB
Table of Content
- 1. Title Page
- 2. Copyright Page
- 3. Publisher’s Note
- 4. Additional Dragonblade books by Author Emily E K Murdoch
- 5. Table of Contents
- 6. Chapter One
- 7. Chapter Two
- 8. Chapter Three
- 9. Chapter Four
- 10. Chapter Five
- 11. Chapter Six
- 12. Chapter Seven
- 13. Chapter Eight
- 14. Chapter Nine
- 15. Chapter Ten
- 16. Chapter Eleven
- 17. Chapter Twelve
- 18. Chapter Thirteen
- 19. Chapter Fourteen
- 20. Chapter Fifteen
- 21. Chapter Sixteen
- 22. Chapter Seventeen
- 23. Chapter Eighteen
- 24. Chapter Nineteen
- 25. Chapter Twenty
- 26. Chapter Twenty-One
- 27. Epilogue
- 28. About Emily E K Murdoch
Always the Bridesmaid, Book 1 of the Never the Bride series, was about Miss Tabitha "Tabby" Chesworth and His Grace Richard St Maur, the Duke of Axwick. Tabby had played the role of bridesmaid three times, but she had never been the bride. All of Society paid notice to that fact and the whispers and gossip were plentiful. The only thing she wanted was a husband and family of her own, but after several seasons on the Marriage Mart, no man had offered for her. Richard, having been the spare to the heir apparent, never expected to become the Duke of Axwick. But then his brother died and had become deeper in debt, much like their father before. After looking back through history, Richard did not like what he saw. It seemed ever Axwick heir had been, at some point in their lives, a wastrel and ne'er do well. Because of that, Richard determined that the Axwick line would end with him, that he would never marry or produce an heir. After spotting Tabby at a wedding they had both attended, Richard decided to pursue her to become his next mistress. However, Tabby would have none of it. In fact, she informed him that if he wanted her in his bed, he would have to marry her. Nonetheless, Richard continued to chase her, intent on changing her mind. The more Tabby resisted, the harder Richard pressured her to yield. When he threw a ball for her in hopes of seducing her to give in, she misunderstood his intentions. Tabby believed he had changed his mind and wanted to marry her after all. When she read an article in the paper touting that Richard was in financial straits, she started doubting what he had truly asked of her. Things happened that caused Richard to become enraged and believed that Tabby had used him before becoming engaged to another man. When he confronted her with what he had learned, all of the misunderstandings between them came out...and devastated Tabby worse than anything else she had ever had to endure. The story was well-written. There was a tremendous amount of angst and drama, a touch of humor here and there, and an exorbitant amount of passion that was volcanic. But there was also pain, betrayal, heartache, and misery. The constant twists and turns the storyline took were abundant and, at times, a bit overdone. The characters were not quite as well-developed as they could have been. Richard was way too shallow and arrogant. Sure, he was a duke, right? But that didn't mean he had to be such a hateful character at times. While his past may have warped him for a while, he did eventually come around. Although, he could have been a bit more generous in his treatment of others, considering how he, himself, had been treated. Tabby was a sweetheart, though a bit too naive for a woman of 24 years of age. She needed a bit more of a backbone than she started out with, but she did eventually develop it...to a small degree. Other characters were definitely lacking in all the above-mentioned attributes and needed more fleshing out, especially as some of them will be in future books. With all that said, it was a decent book with a HEA and, therefore, deserving of at least a four-star rating. But it definitely did not merit a place with the Keeper for the Shelves collection. It had too many issues for that honor.