The Bridemaker

By Rexanne Becnel

She's called "the Bridemaker", but Hester Poitevant prefers to think of herself as the gentle facilitator of marital union. Hester's popular Mayfair Academy has helped teach many the awkward society miss how to find her way to the altar with the eligible bachelor of her choice. But while her students flirt and mingle, Hester possesses as a prim widow--rather than reveal herself as the never-been married beauty she truly is...

He made his fortune in America. Now the dashing, scandalously sired Adrian Hawke is in London, determined to fight off the season's most wily debutants. Adrian isn't fooled by Hester's thin disguise--for she possess the soft, womanly curves no somber gown can hide. The question is, why does she dress like a schoolmarm when she could easily make a better match than any of her student? Adrian vows to reveal Hester's most precious secrets. But what he discovers is a woman with a past more complicated than he could ever imagine--and whose beauty is not just skin-deep...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Nov 18, 2002
• ISBN: 9781250011176

Rexanne Becnel

Rexanne Becnel is the author of more than twenty historical romance and contemporary mainstream novels, many of which appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. With the publication of her first novel, My Gallant Enemy, Becnel won the Waldenbooks Award for Best First-Time Romance Author and the Romantic Times Award for Best Medieval Romance by a New Author. While growing up, Becnel lived for a time in Germany and England, where she became fascinated by medieval history. After studying architecture at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, she worked as a building inspector for the Vieux Carré Commission, the agency of the City of New Orleans charged with protecting and preserving the distinct architectural and historic character of the French Quarter. Becnel lives in New Orleans with her husband and two children.

Reviews for The Bridemaker

[sugarbeat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I LOVED The Bridemaker! I actually read this book first of the four and it was this book that had me searching for the others of this “Maker” series.We are introduced to “The Bridemaker” - Hester Poitevant (don’t like the name!) who earns her living by tutoring awkward young ladies of the ton to be sophisticated prize catches for the season’s marriage mart. She has quite a history of finding just the right clothes, just the right advice, just the right tutoring to make ugly ducklings into swans! She hides herself in plain sight as a widow, downplaying her beauty, hoping no one remembers her past.When her latest charge, Dulcie, sets her sights on Adrian Hawke - the disreputable American merchant, Hester is forced to interact with Adrian to try to dissuade him from courting Dulcie. We actually met Adrian Hawke in The Matchmaker. He was the illegitimate son of the Neville Hawke’s deceased older brother. At the end of The Troublemaker he goes to live with Marshall and Sarah in America.Although Hester is successful at dissuading Adrian from pursuing Dulcie, he sets his sights on un-peeling the layers that make up the facade of Hester. What results is a wonderfully endearing love story. It has all the glam and glitter of Regency England, that I love, and a swashbuckling hero that sets my heart to pounding. A must read!

[sabrinajeffries · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you enjoyed Rexanne's other Regency-set book (see above), you'll love these, too. They're not your average family series. The heroines of the first and second books are half-sisters. The hero of the third book is the illegitimate nephew of the hero of the first book. And the upcoming fourth book features the two half-sisters' half-brother. It's less complicated than it sounds, and oh, are these books delicious!