THE LAST BRIDE

Author: Sandra Landry ISBN: 0425204448 8/2005 HISTORICAL/TIME TRAVEL Publisher: BERKLEY
Time Period: Modern Day/Medieval

A modern woman seeks her past... Claire Peltier is convinced that the man who haunts her dreams was her lover in a past life. Determined to unravel the mystery surrounding him, she follows her instincts to France, where she walks a labyrinth at the heart of a magnificent cathedral. But at its center, instead of answers, she suddenly finds herself transported back to the Middle Ages and face-to-face with the man of her dreams... A medieval warrior seeks his future... Aiden Delacroix needs a wife and heir, or else after his death his lands will go to his enemy. But no woman in all of Christendom will consider becoming his bride, because they believe he's haunted by the ghost of his former mistress. Desperate, he undertakes a pilgrimage to Chartres in search of some divine guidance--and encounters a woman so alluring he impulsively finds himself proposing marriage...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Medieval history buff Claire Peltier has just thrown away yet another relationship. Even at thirty-three, the Louisiana native can't settle on any normal man when her connection to the hunk who inhabits her dreams remains so strong. She is convinced she knew him in a past life and needs to resolve their history before she can move on.

Frustrated with herself, she takes a bath, which is interrupted by the ghost who has haunted her for years. The apparition persuades her to travel to the cathedral in Chartres, France, where the answers to her questions can be found.

In 1202, Aiden Delacroix also travels to Chartres Cathedral. He hopes that a visit there can cure him of the curse that has left him without the wife he desperately needs. As he reaches the center of the famed labyrinth at the cathedral, he comes face to face with a woman so beautiful that she could be a fallen angel. Thinking she is the answer to his prayers, he proposes marriage to her. Claire recognizes Aiden as the man in her dreams, but marriage is not her goal—answers are. In her attempt to escape the proposal, Claire runs deeper and deeper into bizarreness until she finally realizes she has entered the past. With no one but Aiden to help her, she makes an uneasy pact with him.

Though neither of them know it, love is the answer to both their problems. A fast moving, enjoyable tale, THE LAST BRIDE will entice you into finishing it in one sitting. Don't start reading unless you have enough free time!

Heather Hiestand