Victoria Alexander has done a wonderful job with this entire book! It was incredibly captivating and it kept my attention the entire way through! I think what impressed me most was how I could see the two characters fall in love with each other. Most authors don't show as much detail and this one did, but I am very happy with the way she did it! So yes I rate this 5 stars because it earned every star!!!!!

15 of 17 found the following review helpful:


Amusing, but not necessarily a keeper  Mar 23, 2001 By Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk"
When I first started to read this book I was very pleased to realise that Pandora was the cousin of Gillian, the heroine of The Husband List. Pandora and Max were encountered briefly as minor characters in THL.

Pandora, the unconventional daughter of even more unconventional parents, had been dubbed The Hellion of Grosvenor Square by a rejected suitor some years earlier. Six seasons later she is still unmarried. Max, the Earl of Trent, wants her, however, but she refuses to have him. Attracted though she is to him, she tells him that she really wants a hero. What she doesn't tell him is that she wants her marriage to be an enduring love match, as her parents' marriage is.

Max challenges her to set him a test; if he passes, she marries him, and if he doesn't, she can name his bride. Pandora responds by setting him the Twelve Labours of Hercules. Max, clearly an ingenious man, interprets the labours in very much contempory terms, aided and abetted by various of Pandora's family and her best friend, all of whom want her to marry Max. She in turn enlists the aid of Max's best friend (the twit!) to help her defeat Max.

Oh, and Cynthia - Pandora's friend - and Laurie, Max's friend, are a great pair of secondary characters.

Much of the book, including the various lengths to which Max goes to succeed in his tasks, is very amsuing. There are also some wonderful sensual scenes. But where the book falls down for me is towards the end, when the miscommunications seem to get more and more forced. We know that Max and Pandora love each other. They've known they were in love for quite some time. Max knows that she needs to hear him tell her he loves her. Pandora knows that it's not fair expecting Max to confess his love for her when she's never told him that she requires love from a husband... what more do they need??! I was shaking my head at what actually happened before we got a resolution.

Alexander falls down on the manners and customs of the period, too; I don't mind suspending disbelief a little in this regard now and again, but she has her main characters, and their friends, closeted together far too frequently. Cynthia and Pandora visiting Max (separately) in his London house would simply not have been permitted; even if the ladies had been bold enough, the servants would have been outraged and Max would - if he was a gentleman, which he appears to be - have refused to see either of them without a chaperone. Neither even brought a maid with them; young ladies didn't go anywhere without at least a maid.

So... fun, frothy, a little frustrating, and not to be taken too seriously!

17 of 21 found the following review helpful:


A fresh and original regency romance  Dec 12, 1999 By Harriet Klausner
After seven or eight seasons (depends on who is counting), twenty-four-year-old Lady Pandora Effington appears headed to a life of spinsterhood. Independently wealthy, Pandora has been the leading debutante for years, but refuses to wed for anything short of love. Thus, she is dubbed the Hellion.

The Earl of Trent, Maximillian Wells is known as a rake and a beast among other names. He has vowed to also marry for love and plans to stay faithful to his wife. He chooses Pandora, who will never bore him. However, she rejects his proposal that sounded more like a horse breeding to her. She demands a hero like Achilles. He demands a test to prove he is her hero. She gives him the twelve tasks of Hercules to accomplish. If he fails in even one, he must marry a woman of her choosing. If he succeeds, she must marry him.

THE WEDDING BARGAIN is a satirical, yet sensual, but definitely enjoyable Regency romance that pokes fun at the marriage mart. The story line never lets up as Max toils through the "Herculean" tasks to win the hand of his Dora. The lead couple is a delight due to their constant battling and the support cast, especially their mutual best friends, adds depth to the plot. Victoria Alexander has written a triumphant romp that will elate fans of historical romance regardless of era preference.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:


Ah the games woman play  Jun 13, 2002
While I generally don't like to see women play games to win a man, Pandora's character begins her games in a way that is engaging and entertaining. There does come a point at which you just want to say, oh give it up already.... but just as you say that, the heroine herself begins to question the game as well! Great timing, witty dialogue

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:


great book to read  May 20, 2000
This is the first Victoria Alexander book that I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of her books. The by-play between Pandora Effington and Maximillian Wells, the Earl of Trent is wonderful. The fact that Pandora refuses to marry for anything other than love irritates Max, especially considering the passion that flares between them. Max, however, is not prepared to give up, and with a little help from Pandora's family will even follow Pandora's 'Twelve Labours of Hercules' to win her. A very funny and very enjoyable book to read. I look forward to reading many more of VA's books

See all 27 customer reviews on Amazon.com