CAROL’S REVIEW: SALT BRIDE (PART OF THE SALT HENDON COLLECTION: A GEORGIAN HISTORICAL BOXED SET)

(Salt Hendon, #1)

Genre: Historical Romance (Georgian – Wiltshire, England, 1759 and London, England, 1763)

Cover Blurb

When the Earl of Salt Hendon marries squire’s daughter Jane Despard, Society is aghast. But Jane and Salt share a secret past of heartache and mistrust. They are forced into a marriage neither wants; the Earl to honor a dying man’s wish; Jane to save her stepbrother from financial ruin. Beautiful inside and out, the patient and ever optimistic Jane believes love conquers all; the Earl will take some convincing. Enter Diana St. John, who has been living in a fool’s paradise believing she would be the next Countess of Salt Hendon. She will go to extreme lengths, even murder, to hold Salt’s attention. Can the newlyweds overcome past prejudices and sinister opposition to fall in love all over again?

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Whenever I open one of Lucinda Brant’s books, I know that I will find an engrossing and well-plotted story, richly drawn characters and a heart-warming romance.

When squire’s daughter Jane Despard and Magnus Sinclair, Earl of Salt Hendon(Salt) met at the Salt Hunt Ball four years ago, during Jane’s debut season, they fell deeply in love. After a month-long secret courtship Salt proposed, and Jane accepted.  Succumbing to the moment, they made love in the summerhouse, but Salt was urgently called back to London promising that, on his return, their engagement would be made official and they would marry without delay. However, he failed to return and, finding herself pregnant, she wrote to him but there was still no response and a month later she received his letter breaking off their engagement. When Jane’s father, Sir Felix Despard, discovers her condition and she refuses to name the father, he disowns her, cutting her off without a penny and branding her a whore. Jane is only saved from a Bristol poorhouse, or worse, when she is taken in by Jacob Allenby, a wealthy Bristol merchant and brother of Lady Despard, Sir Felix’s second wife, but loses her unborn baby under the most traumatic circumstances.

Jane and Salt have not met during the past four years, apart from one brief incident two years earlier, a humiliating experience for Jane. However, events are about to change that. Under the terms of Jacob Allenby’s will, Jane must marry by a certain date or her beloved step-brother, Tom, will not receive his full inheritance and to fulfil a promise given to Jane’s father on his deathbed, Salt must marry her. Not a propitious start to a marriage.

Jane cannot understand why Salt hates her so much and why he believes that he is the injured party. After all, she had never disclosed the name of her lover, and it was her life that was destroyed when he cruelly abandoned her to her fate. Gradually, as they spend time together, it is clear they have never stopped loving each other but they are unaware that Diana St. John is willing to go to any lengths to drive them apart.

Salt and Jane are such wonderful characters. Salt exudes power, wealth and authority but Jane is his Achilles heel. He struggles with hating Jane and wanting her at the same time and I enjoyed seeing him gradually soften towards her. He also shows a more relaxed side when he is with his godchildren, Ron and Merry. I loved the scene in the dining room where Jane, Ron and Merry are hiding under the table while Salt and best his friend, Sir Antony Templestowe, are pretending to look for the ‘rats’. Much giggling and laughter ensues which conjured up such a delightful picture in my mind.

Normally Salt is in full control, both mentally and physically but, when Jane’s stepbrother, Tom, tells him exactly what happened to Jane four years ago, he is totally devastated and collapses. Ms. Brant brings so much emotional intensity to this scene that it was as if Salt’s anguish was my own. This is also a defining moment in their relationship because, for the first time, they openly admit their love for each other.

“I love you, Jane.” It was a simple sentence, said simply.
She wasn’t at all sure he was in his right mind, or that he was restful of body, but it was all she had ever wanted to hear him say in the cold light of day since her eighteenth birthday. She smiled into his tired brown eyes and unconsciously sighed her contentment. Tears ran down her flushed face and she kissed his hand and pressed it to her cheek.
“I love you so very much I hate you for frightening me in this way!”

That he is willing to give up his high-profile political career to rusticate in the country in the role of doting husband and father shows the depth of his love for Jane

Jane is such a lovely heroine whose extraordinary beauty is further complimented by her kindness, generosity and sweet nature. I admire her for not letting the tragic events of the past crush her spirit of optimism and I love how she isn’t afraid to stand her ground where Salt is concerned. I cheered her on in the scene where Salt has his secretary, Ellis, read out the rules governing how Jane will live as the Countess of Salt Hendon, but Jane refuses to submit to his ‘insufferable arrogance…

“This document, my lord,” asked Jane with studious enquiry, but unable to hide a sardonic dimple in her left cheek, “does it state terms by which you will conduct yourself as my husband?”

I also love the scene where she shocks him with her frank talk of sexual matters and her playfulness in the bedroom.

In Diana St. John, Ms. Brant has certainly created one of the most memorable villains I have come across. Her obsession with Salt has driven her positively deranged, but what is so scary is the fact that, on the surface, she appears perfectly sane. So much so that, at times, I was convinced her evil plans would succeed. Both devious and cunning, her wickedness knows no bounds which is evident in the events depicted in the harrowing Prologue. Although securely locked away somewhere in wilds of Wales at the end of SALT BRIDE, I know she returns in the sequel, SALT REDUX, to reek further havoc with her evil machinations.

Ms. Brant’s books always contain a colourful cast of secondary characters including Sir Antony Templestowe, Salt’s cousin and best friend and Diana St. John’s younger brother; Tom Allenby, Jane’s step-brother, who always has her welfare at heart; Mr Ellis, Salt’s freckle-faced, hard-working secretary who has a soft spot for Jane; Hilary Wraxton, writer of ‘absurdly odd’ poetry.

Ms. Brant also brings delightful wit and humour to her stories and here are two of my favourite exchanges.

“How will you travel across the Continent if you cannot make a call of nature when we stop at an inn?” Lady Outram enquired.
The poet, who had perched uninvited on the padded arm of a wingchair, jabbed at his temple. “Up here for thinking, Lizzie. I am not just a man of letters, but of ideas.” He beamed at the Countess and said confidentially, “Had my man pack the family pot de chambre. Heirloom. Passed down from father to son since Scottish James sat upon the English throne. Painted with the family crest. On the inside.”
“How-how sensible of you, Mr. Wraxton,” Jane managed to reply, finding her breath and dabbing at her damp eyes. “A definite must for a trip to the Continent. Who knows what amenities are to be found, or not, at a foreign inn.”

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He gave a shout of laughter. “If it will make you happy, I shall abandon my ridiculous vanity and wear those wretched eyeglasses at the breakfast table. But be warned: A bespectacled Lord Salt perusing the newssheets is a sight almost as quelling as a flare of the noble nostrils.”
Jane smiled cheekily. “What an irresistible combination. My knees are trembling with anticipation already!”

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Ms. Brant effortlessly transported me back to Georgian England and her evocative descriptions of the settings, fashions, furnishings and social etiquette, all combine to bring the era vividly to life. Anyone who follows Ms. Brant’s Pinterest boards will know the extensive research she undertakes to ensure that every aspect is historically correct.

MY VERDICT: A compelling story, multi-layered characters, a heart-warming romance and a deranged but cunning villain, all combine to make SALT BRIDE a must read.

REVIEW RATING: STELLAR 5 STARS

SENSUALITY RATING: SUBTLE