Cheryl Bolen's Once Upon a Time in Bath is book seven in her Brides of Bath series. I haven't read any of the other books, and while I was able to jump in to this book, there were a lot of characters from previous books (whole families, all with the same last name) that played a big part in this book.
Once Upon a Time in Bath features Forrester, Lord Appleton, who has recently lost everything gambling. With three sisters to support, he finds he must marry an heiress. Conveniently, one has just arrived in Bath: Miss Dorothea Pankhurst. Unfortunately, she is a rustic with a penchant for cats, of which she has many and travels with them everywhere. Appleton accepts his fate and offers for the lady, but soon finds that there is much to admire in Dorothea.
For much of the book I didn't really like the characters. Forrester was very shallow and was downright hurtful in his thoughts of Dorothea, her only asset worth admiring being her ample bosom until well over halfway through the book. Dorothea, likewise, seemed incredibly desperate to fit in and far too concerned with her clothes and coiffure. There is a secondary plot about a murder that Forrester and Dorothea are trying to solve, however the reader knows who the culprit is from the beginning of the story, as well as the motives. The climax is quick and almost glossed-over, and I would have appreciated more of an explanation over what the repercussions would have been.
Overall I'd rate this 3.5 stars, it was a quick read and the descriptions of Bath were quite nice.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.
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