Runaway Brides
Julia Roberts got nothin' on these three women
I find runaway bride stories fascinating. After planning my own wedding a few years ago, I cannot fathom putting all that work in, making all those commitments and decisions, only to back out at the very last minute. As such, reading about women in this situation is very interesting to me! These are three of my favorites I’ve read, but don’t be surprised if we see this trope again someday on this newsletter.
A Duke In Shining Armor by Loretta Chase. Loretta Chase is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite historical authors now that I’m making my way at a steady clip through her back list. And she’s still writing! This book is from 2017! What a gift to us all!
To this start of a new series, we have bespectacled Olympia climbing out a window in her wildly expensive wedding dress, drunk on brandy and second thoughts. She’s supposed to marry a rakish (also drunk from a night of predictable and well-known rakishness) duke after a whirlwind courtship, but the rakish duke who ends up catching her bolting and accompanying her as she works out what happens next is his best friend, the Duke of Ripley. At first, Ripley accompanies her hoping to redirect the surprisingly feisty bluestocking back to his friend, hoping his friend sobers up in the meantime. Then, he considers what a great prank it is to steal away the bride on the wedding day and force his friend to come get her. Then, well… what if he kept her?
This is a hysterical romp of a road trip romance, full of swatting away societal expectations (and ones you’ve held upon yourself) and embracing joy and happiness even if it comes at the collapse of your reputation. They’re all so ridiculous, there’s a duel (of course there is), and they’ve gotta get out of these wet clothes!!
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥
Runaway Girl by Tessa Bailey. The only contemporary in this first roundup, but also one of Tessa Bailey’s most old-fashioned stories that feels more like a Lauren Layne book in set up (another contemporary author who frequently strikes me as a historical author writing contemporaries). This is the second half of a duology, the first book of which I think is part of a November round up (you’ll see). In book 1 we see what happens to the groom half, but in book 2 we finally learn where our runaway bride went, what she got up to, why she bolted, and why she came back at a pivotal moment in book 1.
So why do I say this book feels more old-fashioned in set up? Because Naomi Clemons, our bride, is an old-fashioned gal, the dutiful daughter of rich rich Georgia rich people who’s all set to marry the future mayor. Except… he doesn’t know her at all, she realizes. They’re a political power couple, not a romantic couple, and she isn’t sure if it’s fair to herself to go through with it. But what else would she even do? Well… she’s got to find out.
After bolting, she ends up in Florida, and manages to secure a job to give her a bit more freedom from her past (which she’s totally going back to, eventually)… as the pageant coach for Special Forces diver Jason Bristow’s teen sister. He’s skeptical of Naomi herself, the pageant world, but his grieving little sister has her reasons to need both, and he’s not so hard-hearted not to see how much brighter his world is with Naomi in it. But is small town Florida as a working woman and lover of a rough, not mayoral candidate material men going to be enough for her? I guess we’ll see!!
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Too Wilde To Wed by Eloisa James. Two years ago, Diana Belgrave ran away from her, according to society, “perfect” fiance Lord Roland Northbridge Wilde, aka North. He subsequently ran away as well, but now he’s back, and she’s… working in his family’s castle? As a governess? Of a MYSTERIOUS BABY OF SUSPICIOUS AGE??
There’s a lot to this book that I don’t want to spoil, but suffice it to say… it’s funny, it’s devastating, it’s clever in its conclusion, it’s sweet in its supplemental characters, and it’s one of those books where right up until the end you’re like… there’s no way these two are getting an HEA. Which is the best kind!!
I wanted this to be my last book in the roundup because it’s one of the rare runaway bride books where the runaway heroine is running from her eventual happily ever after… someday, but not right now, which I find an even MORE fascinating set up to this trope. It’s the best kind of second chance, one where the first chance couldn’t happen for all the right reasons, but the second chance sees both characters having evolved and changed to finally be the correct fit.
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥
Next week, I’ll be taking a short break from recommendations to share some of my favorite romance/romance-adjacent MEMES! Yes, it’s a return of the meme!
What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!
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