The Winter Bride (Chance Sisters #2) by Anne Gracie

Historical Romance

From Goodreads:

Award-winning author Anne Gracie delivers the second in her enticing new series about four young women facing a life of destitution—until a daring act changes their fortune and turns them each into a beautiful bride…

Damaris Chance’s unhappy past has turned her off the idea of marriage forever. But her guardian, Lady Beatrice Davenham, convinces her to make her coming out anyway—and have a season of carefree, uncomplicated fun.

When Damaris finds herself trapped in a compromising situation with the handsome rake Freddy Monkton-Coombes, she has no choice but to agree to wed him—as long as it’s in name only. Her new husband seems to accept her terms, but Freddy has a plan of his own: to seduce his reluctant winter bride.

Will Damaris’s secrets destroy her chance at true happiness? Or can Freddy help her cast off the shackles of the past, and yield to delicious temptation?

If you have not read The Autumn Bride you need to read it first to really understand some of the characters and their actions.  The Autumn Bride had several unusually characters and actions that are important but not really explained in The Winter Bride.

In The Winter Bride Gracie uses a well-used trope, a pretend betrothal.  Neither Freddy or Damaris want to marry.  The betrothal is just to keep Freddy’s parents off of his back about marrying.  Of course they fall in love with each other but not before they spend a lot of time with each other and face several problems together.

I loved both Freddy and Damaris.  Both have things in their past that make them wounded characters.  Damaris has something she did in her past of survive and Freddy is blamed for something that was just an accident.   Both things made it easy for them to accept the other and their actions.

I found The Winter Bride to be a bit slow at the beginning.  I was also looking for a plot as unique as the first book.  That was not there.  It was an enjoyable plot but not as interesting as The Autumn Bride.  There is a lot of build up to the actual story.  Some of that action seems to be a set up for the next book.   Damaris is the second sister to marry so there are two more to go.  I will be watching for the next two books.

Berkley Sensation published The Winter Bride by Anne Gracie in 2014.