Reviews

Nozze d'inverno by Anne Gracie

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diannaphantomfiction's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

laurenjodi's review against another edition

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3.0

The Winter Bride
3 Stars

A sweet romance with likable characters, but all of the conflicts are resolved too easily.

Freddy's easy-going charm and rakish reputation conceal an honest and truly caring man. Damaris sweet shyness masks her incredible strength of will and resilience. Their betrothal of convenience develops into a lovely slow-burn romance that is a joy to read.

Unfortunately, the rest of the storyline comprised of several secrets is rather mundane and lackluster. Whether it is the alienation between Freddy and his parents or Damaris's traumatic past, these secrets never live up to their full potential and come across more as filler than true plot points. The resolution of these threads feels very rushed and saccharine.

All in all, The Winter Bride isn't as engaging as the first book, but I am interested enough in the secondary characters to continue with the series.

elliefufu's review against another edition

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4.0

The Winter Bride, Chance Sisters #2, by Anne Gracie
Grade: B

“Are you a famous rake?” “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

Damaris Chance knows that her life has finally gotten better and she can rest easy and enjoy being a lady of the Ton but old habits are hard to break. Damaris can’t forget the horrible things that happened to her as she escaped China to get back to her homeland in England and even though she is pretending to be the niece of a very well off and respected lady, she refuses to give up her side job or ever get married. Freddy Mackon-Coombes, a close family friend, has been left to care for the three remaining girls and proposes an arrangement that will change both of their lives forever.

Freddy Mackon-Coombes has swore he will never marry but all that changes when his parents demande he pick a bride and carry on the family name. Freddy knows Demarius never wants to get married and proposes the fake an engagement that will be beneficial to them both. With the fake engagement Freddy spends more time with Demaris and begins to peel away the wall that she has built around herself and the more he peels back the more he realizes he must make this engagement real and keep Demaris in his life or he will be lost forever.

I loved the first book in this series and I couldn’t wait to get Freddy and Demaris’s story. This book starts up right after The Autumn Bride leaves off but gives us a much bigger insight into what the Chance sisters went through at the brothel before they escaped and why Demaris is so closed off and so scared of marriage. From the very first page of reading how Demaris escaped China I was hooked and I could not stop reading this book because I had to know what was going to happen next.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like Freddy that much but he provides a lot of entertainment and when he finally accepts his feelings about Demaris he turns into a big romantic. A lot of this book takes place at Freddy’s parents house so we get a great look into this life as a child and why he is scared of marriage. As the book goes on both Freddy and Demaris change for the better and watching them fall in love and accept that they needed each other was very beautiful.

SInce so much of this book was set at Freddy’s parents house we don’t get to see a lot of the other girls. I really hope Daisy’s book is next since she is such a spitfire. I haven’t found a lot of historical romance series that have really grabbed me and made me want to read them but the Chance Sisters is at the top of my list and a must read for any fan of this genre.