Jade Lee

There can only be one winner in this game of hearts Wendy Drew, co-owner of A Lady's Favor dress shop, is working at a gambling den to help pay off a relative's debt when she catches the eye of the den's owner. Wendy is attracted to his dark, dangerous ways but she has no idea how far he'll go to make her his. Seaman Jacob Teel has been in love with Wendy from the first time he met her. Now he's home, done with the seafaring life, and has recently inherited a Welsh title. Finally, he can court Wendy for real-if he only he knew about his deadly competition.

What the Groom Wants

Lover of Romance 

Rated 3.5 

Wendy has been working hard for months to pay off her brothers gambling debt, and the man she owes money to she despises. He is cold and hard and cruel. Wendy is exhausting herself working days as a seamstress for the shop, and then nights at the gambling hell. The last man she expects to walk through her door is Jacob Teel. Jacob has always wanted Wendy for his wife, and now he is about to have his own ship after being on the sea for years hoping to save enough to start a life with Wendy. When he returns though, circumstances change. His true desire is to have Wendy and convince her of his honest intentions, but he is shocked to discover he has inherited a title, a title he doesn't want a part of ,but has little choice. The only problem, convincing Wendy that the title changes nothing, he still wants her as his, and goes about proving to her his devotion. But Wendy will be forced to make a difficult choice, a choice that could threaten every one she loves even Jacob.

What The Groom Wants is the fourth in the Bridal Favors series. I was able to get this ARC through Sourcebooks Casablanca via Netgalley. I have read the first book in the series, and that was when I fell in love with Jade Lee. Her stories are fiercely passionate and wildly fun. So when I started reading What The Groom Wants I was expects a fast paced regency romance. But what I got was far different than I expected. There was a bit of a darker theme to the story, and probably the only character I really loved was the hero, he was bright and loving and good. There was such a frank honesty to his character, and he is so sweet with Wendy. He is the type of hero you want to crawl into his life with and never let go. The heroine, however, well I had a few issues with. Don't get me wrong, Wendy is a very strong heroine, and has a tough exterior, however she has made some decisions that are a bit darker than you would expect. There is some intense twists and turns involving the villain that made this story be much more darker than you would expect when looking at it first glance. There was quite a few moments I had to take a breather, and get some sunshine and chocolate and get to my happy place, before returning to this story.

I found that overall, this story was intense, passionate, and fast paced with tension and suspense. It does have many great and tender moments, especially between this couple, that you can't help but continue forward with the story. But it is definitely the type of story you need to mentally prepare for. The side characters were fun and we see the couple from previous books, which made me excited to read their stories. The plot was very intriguing, and has the feeling of spiraling out of control, but at the same time, makes you feel as if you are soaring. There are many ups and downs throughout the story, but I found I enjoyed the story way more than I normally would, due to this authors stellar storytelling abilities. INTENSELY WILD AND FULL OF DANGER!! I would recommend this to any historical romance lover, especially if you are a fan of Jade Lee!!

What the Groom Wants

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