What the Bride Wore by Jade Lee

August 5th, 2013 Kimberly Review 43 Comments

5th Aug
What the Bride Wore by Jade Lee
What the Bride Wore
by Jade Lee
Series: Bridal Favors #3
Genres: Historical Romance
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne Star

Grant Benton, Earl of Crowle, finally has the funds he always pretended to have, and what he wants now is a woman. That woman is Lady Irene Knopp, who spends her days helping debutantes plan their weddings. A recent widow, Irene longs for love again, but she's afraid to risk her heart, especially to the notorious Grant Benton.

What the Bride Wore by Jade Lee is the third book in the Bridal Favors series. I did not read the first two books and feel this works easily as a standalone.  I enjoyed this romance which was filled suspense and heat. It appears that each of the tales deals with female friends and their individual love stories. Three-word review: sweet, original and suspenseful.

The tale begins when we meet Grant Benton, the Earl of Crowle. Thanks to his father the family have fallen on hard times and they are forced to sell off their un-entailed land. Determined to buy the land back he goes into trade, and here he meets Lady Irene Knopp. Their attraction to each other draws them together like moths to the flame. The tale that unfolds is filled with suspense and danger. As secrets are revealed we have to hope these two can find their happily ever after. I consumed this in two sittings and found myself caught up in this clever tale.

Grant is an aristocrat through and through and while he succeeds at his trade, he struggles emotionally. He feels shame, fears to become his father and often hears a voice in his head. He has one set back after the other and clearly wears his heart on his sleeve. Swoon-worthy and likable he was the perfect hero to this tale. Lady Irene Knopp was a complicated creature. She has a brilliant business mind and is compassionate and witty. While she is not a raving beauty her eyes twinkle with merriment and she blushes quite easily giving her a glow. She tends to speak with authority and seems to know her own mind although she has a tendency to over think things… Her flaws are quickly revealed as Lee peels back her layers and often Irene behaved like a child and I wanted to slap her. I enjoyed their banter and Irene’s dominance in the bedroom. The romance felt genuine and I was rooting for them even as I wanted to throttle them along the way. Irene’s friends are delightful and I would like to revisit book one and two for their romances.

What the Bride Wore offered something different from the standard troupes in this genre and I found it refreshing. Someone means to do them harm causing danger and this thread was suspenseful as Grant uncovered clues and tried to protect Irene. The romance took center stage and the complexity of the characters made things interesting and unpredictable. They both felt genuine and each made the other a stronger person. Lee delivers some heat and more than one tete-a-tete. The scenes are fairly detailed and parts heated the pages as they curled my toes but there were moments that felt awkward and silly. They were written in such a way that I found myself giggling, and snorting as tears of laughter rolled down my face. This did not affect my feelings towards the couple and to be quite honest it has entertained me long after I closed the book. I find myself giggling when I think about those scenes. I would so love to hear it on audio! The mystery and suspect turned out to be quite interesting with a twist at the end that set up the next book in the series. Overall this was a fun, fast-paced read that left me feeling entertained.

Fans of heated romance with a touch of mystery and suspense will enjoy What the Bride Wore and the Bridal Favors series. I do plan to pick up the other books in this series.

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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43 Responses to “What the Bride Wore by Jade Lee”

  1. anna

    She’s one I’ve been meaning to give a try. I think I even have one or two of her’s sitting around the house. Have definitely read a scene or two where it sent me into giggles like that. lol

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Did we talk about the scenes on Facebook or did I just imagine we did..LOL You would definitely snort!

  2. Dani C

    Great review! If I ever start reading historical romance I may just have to add this one to my list! 🙂

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I am so surprised you don’t like regency romances but if you do this will make you giggle!

  3. Maida

    I love that you can read this as a standalone. And you know I enjoy romances, and this one is all the more intriguing with the added suspense. I can’t wait to pick this up. Both Grant and Irene sound like enjoyable characters and you totally have me curious about the hysterical smexy scenes! ;p Glad you enjoyed this overall! Great review! 😀

    ~ Maida
    Literary Love Affair 

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Would love to hear your thoughts when you read it 🙂

  4. Lauren

    I think it’s awesome that some of the sexy times scenes were so silly you wish you had them on audio! 🙂 I have to see these for myself! Great review 😀

  5. fishgirl182

    this sounds like a fun read. i haven’t read any jade lee before but am always looking for new hr authors. the suspense aspect sounds good, too. i feel like in historicals the mysteries are sometimes anti-climactic. glad this one kept you on your toes.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      It did and I love suspense in all of my genres..LOL

    • kimbacaffeinate

      hehehe if you instant message me on facebook ..i will share since I know HR is not your thing.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      thanks Kimberly, hope ya get a chance to read it:)

  9. Jenea

    I’m not sure this is something I would normally pick up, but I am glad you did enjoy it, even with the awkwardness and silliness of some of it.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      hehehe…all I am saying is “it was hilarious”

    • kimbacaffeinate

      humor is always good, although I don’t really think this was intended but I enjoyed it none the less. 🙂

  14. Giselle

    Ha for a second I thought the book was called Bride Whore O_O This is not really the book for me but it sounds like it had something different to offer so it stands out a bit from the rest which is good! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!

  15. kindlemom1

    It sounds like you had fun with this read and that is all that really matters!
    Great review as always Kim!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I agree Ali..life is too short to be serious all of the time:)

  16. Andrea

    This made you laugh until you cried? How awesome! I think it’s great when series books can be read as stand-alones. I’m glad you enjoyed this one!

  17. Jenny

    Well I want to read these scenes that are awkward and silly and made you giggle long after reading! It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a good historical romance, I tend to go in phases and I’ve been out of the historical phase for a little while, but I think I’m ready to go back into one:) Can’t wait to meet Grant and Irene!

  18. Tanja

    You and my mum would be instant best friends I’m telling you. It’s actually great to hear that this one was a bit different, as it bores me when every story starts to sound the same. I’m glad you enjoyed it overall! Great review 🙂

  19. Debbie

    Kim great as always review and post I don’t know how it happened but I’ve never read Jade Lee (I know right) so I think I’ll start now
    and what an inventive contest too
    deb

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Enjoy Debbie:) There are two books for free in this series on Amazon today…not sure about B&N

  20. Nick

    I like that this also has an element of mystery to it with someone trying to harm them and all. I’m not sure how I would feel about this book, especially since it seems that some scenes between the couple were awkward and silly. Were the scenes supposed to be silly or were they supposed to be steamy?
    I hope you’ll enjoy the other books in the series better, Kim!
    Lovely review! 🙂

    • kimbacaffeinate

      For me personally it was moments of sweet and hot but some of the descriptive terms were so funny and just made me giggle.

  21. Adria

    I read the novella that comes before this book and enjoyed it a lot. I can’t wait to pick this one up. Great review!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I just picked that up for free, and am glad you enjoyed it:)