The Accidental Abduction by Darcie Wilde

After having his proposal rejected by a beautiful but flighty woman, Harry vows he is done with unpredictable and impetuous women for good. Until beautiful and fierce Leannah Wakefield barrels into his life, inadvertently kidnapping him while on a wild carriage ride and leaving him all too eager to get back in the saddle…

Leannah would sacrifice everything to protect her family. So upon hearing of her sister’s intended elopement, she races across London to stop the ill-advised ceremony before it can happen. However, when her mad journey picks her up an unlikely stowaway, one who ignites her desire beyond all reason, she’s the one who ends up hastily wedding a handsome and secretive stranger.

But as Leannah and Harry immediately encounter opposition, jealousy, and suspicion of their hurried nuptials, they begin to doubt that their unquenchable passion can truly lead to a happy marriage—especially when both the bride and groom have devastating secrets to hide…

Type: Historical Romance
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Runaway carriages, accidental abductions, quickie marriages and all sorts of scheming! Oh yes. The Accidental Abduction was a very interesting introduction to Darcie Wilde and a delightful historical ride!


The quick of it is that while rushing to save her baby sister from a loveless marriage Leannah... well... she abducts a man. A man that thinks Leannah is the victim of a runaway carriage and in need of rescuing herself. And an instant connection leads these two somewhere they never expected...the wedding alter. Marrying someone they are inexplicably drawn to, know little about and now have to build a life together in the face of friends, family and some unknowns that are hell bent on tearing them apart.

"What is it?" Harry pulled his hands out of his pockets as if he thought he might have to catch something.

"I'm sorry," Leannah smothered her startled giggle. "It's just...I realized I don't know how old you are."

"Twenty-eight," he answered promptly. "I hope that will suit? If not, it will be changing on the thirtieth of January."

"It will suit admirably. And the room is perfect." She paused. "Are you going to ask my age?"

Harry drew himself up in a great show of being affronted. "You will find, madam, that your husband is the soul of discretion," he told her stiffly. "With him, you will always be ageless, and any bonnet that arrives from the milliner will suit you perfectly."

"How terribly discerning of me to have chosen such a man."

"Yes, it does speak very well of your sound judgement and inherent good taste."

---

"I'm twenty-five," she told him, mostly to see how he responded.

Harry's response turned out to be a surprisingly self-satisfied little smile. "I thought you might be."

"Are you going to be one of those tiresome men who is always right?"

"Would that bother you?"

"I'm afraid it would, yes."

"Then I shall endeavor to be wrong at certain discreet intervals." His brow furrowed in mock consideration. "Mind you, it will take some time to form the habit. I may have to start with small matters."

"But not the bonnets."

"Never the bonnets."

I really liked both Harry and Leannah. The two. Well. They're unique. I'll give them that. From the way they meet to their personalities, their impulsive decision to jump into a marriage hours after meeting--don't worry, it totally worked and that they weren't exactly part of high society. They were just great together. And I loved seeing them try to put together a life now that everything had changed. It wasn't easy sailing of course. And not just from outside sources but from insecurities and fears they had as well. Fears and worries that kept them from being completely honest and open with each other despite their need and desires for one another. They're each holding hard secrets that weigh heavily on them and their relationship.

Like I said. I liked them together. They weren't perfect but they brought a light heartedness to each other that they both sorely needed as they dealt with their families and how little they thought of them. Harry's thinking him boring, reliable and easily dooped. And Leannah's that she's an easy fix for financial struggles since she can be married away. I really felt for both of them and how much this bothered them. And could understand the need to just do...something unexpected and entirely for them.

There was a sweetness to their interactions that was a little awkward now and again since they were getting to know each other and making a life together. And I enjoyed that feeling. Things weren't all awkward though. Whew. The sexy times--Yeah these two had no problems there and lordy it was nice and heated between them. *fans self* They really were a nice pair and fed off of each other's personalities. I did want to shake them about now and again over the secrets they were both guarding but at the same time understood their fears and insecurities especially since they were just getting to know each other and dealing with unsupportive families at the same time.

And oh those families. How they made me want to bite someone. Leannah and Harry really didn't have an entirely easy go of things. There's some hinky stuff going on and a little mystery with it that they have to deal with. Manipulative families turning their backs on them or trying to plant seeds of doubt any chance they could. But they pulled it off and had me cheering for them as they did.

I did think there were a couple blips though. Things could be rather slow in spots and then way too speedy in others. Particulary the ending that threw so many things at you--some rather shocking--and then wrapped up before you realized. I really felt it needed a couple more chapters there at the end.

Overall, though,  I really enjoyed my first read from Wilde. It was a lovely read with unique and charming characters that left me a bit smitten and excited to read more from Wilde.

Have you tried Wilde? What did you think?

Any quickie marriage reads that worked for you?

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