THE BACHELOR'S BARGAIN by Catherine Palmer

This is book two in this series and could be read as a stand alone very easily, although there are characters in this book that you would know much better if you read book one first. The year is 1815 in Devon, England, a time when there were royalty, nobility, merchants, and laborers and each person remianed in their class distinction in society. So when lowly Ann Webster accepts a marriage proposal made in jest by Ruel, the Marquess of Blackthorne, everyone is appalled and in shock. Ruel is a man who has "found his education boring, most of his pers simpering, and his propsects for the future deadly dull. Travel, adventure, and gambling - whether at cards or in speculative exploits - were the only things that interested him." For many reasons Anne goes through with the marriage, even though she knows Ruel is incapable of loving her. Can a lowborn lady who is headstrong, stubborn and impatient heal a man's heart and hope to transform him and help him see what love really looks like?

This was a story that dealt with history and the making of lace, but more than that it dealt with breaking through the boundaries of the class system at that time. There was alot of battles of the wills between these two characters, along with some mystery as to who was really in danger and why. A little bit of everything all wrapped up in a story I very much enjoyed. Looking forward to moving on to book 3 next!