The Perfect Stranger [Mass Market Paperback]

Once again Anne Gracie delivers! This third installment, "The Perfect Stranger," in the Merridew sisters series was a deeply satisfying read, proving to be as absorbing and as compelling as the other two books in the series ("The Perfect Rake" & "The Perfect Waltz"). However, readers used to swifter paced and more complex fare should be forewarned: while "The Perfect Stranger" truly was a wonderful read, and while the storyline was refreshingly different from the other two books in the series, the plot for "The Perfect Stranger" was rather straightforward one, with few frills and fancies.

Faith Merridew thought that she had found her soul-mate and love of her life when she met talented violinist, Felix Vladimir Rimavska and so eloped with the man to France in spite of her very proper upbringing. Unfortunately for Faith. she discovers too late that Felix had played her false, as he was already married and had actually courted and run off with her in order to win a bet. Her pride and good name in tatters, Faith leaves the cad and tries to return to England and her family. But it is a rather dangerous thing for a young, beautiful woman to travel alone with no escort and little money, and Faith soon finds herself destitute and in very dire straits indeed. And that's when Faith's luck suddenly changes for the better. Rescued from a gang of louts by Nicholas Blacklock (a veteran of the Peninsula Wars), Nicholas offers to rescue Faith's reputation by marrying her. Nicholas assures Faith that it will be a marriage of convenience, and has plans to send her back to England to live with his mother. But Faith has no intention of going quietly back to England. She senses that Nicholas is on a grave mission, and she's determined to prove her worth to him by sticking it out at his side. And already halfway in love with him, she's determined to win his love and approval as well....

There is much to recommend about "The Perfect Stranger" -- like how the author allows for Faith's self assurance to grow with each succeeding chapter, and how she showcases the love blossoms between the Faith and Nicholas (even though Nicholas refuses to admit his feelings for his wife for much of the book). In "The Perfect Stranger," Annie Gracie has written a novel about how two emotionally scarred people find each other and so discover a love they had quite given up on ever finding. And this makes for some rather poignant and satisfying reading. However, while the book could be characterised as an "adventure" romance novel, not very much happens adventure-wise -- there are no spies or murderers, etc for Nicholas to hunt or the group to run away from, nor are Nicholas and his friends on a revenge mission either. So that in spite of its on-the-road motif, "The Perfect Stranger" is essentially a quiet romance novel about the blossoming love. All in all, "The Perfect Stranger" was a very satisfying, romantic and moving love story, well worth the cover price, and its 5 star rating.

I'm not sure what to write about The Perfect Stranger and am a little at a loss about how to give it a fair star rating. I've decided on 3 stars, having initially given it 2. This is a road, cabin and "big secret" story. These are three things that almost inevitably annoy me in romantic fiction - admittedly a matter of personal taste. And, I have to say I thought Anne Gracie was running out of steam in this, the third instalment of stories about the Merridew sisters. Frankly, the fact that Faith Merridew had eloped and had a bigamous marriage and then was wandering alone on the beaches of northern France was a little to far-fetched for me - particularly as the previous books were not so unrealistic.

However, finally (for the first half of the book annoyed me - I nearly put it aside unfinished) the second half of the story started to pick up pace with the introduction of a gypsy (or perhaps Basque) character and her mysterious grandmother. At first I got even more annoyed because the story took on some rather fey and "magical" elements - something else that usually is a turn-off for me.

It was the last couple of chapters that lifted this book from 2 to 3 stars. The credulous but extremely emotional solution to the hero's problems (at last revealed) were movingly portrayed and even brought a tear to my eye.

I hope that if Anne Gracie is continuing the Merridew saga that she gets re-energised; otherwise, I think it is best left alone and she moves on to something else. As always, she writes extremely well but I did not think this story was up to the standards of the first two in the series.

I've been waiting for this third installment of the Merridew sister's saga and it did not disappoint. It's nice to have read the two previous books but it stands alone very well.We meet Faith Merridew on a French beach. She's being persued by a scruffy mini mob of lustful pigs thinking she's a skittish prostitute. She runs right into the arms of our hero Nicholas Blacklock, a waterloo veteran who's suffering mental and physical remnants of war. He protects her and introduces her to his companions. A rough Scot and his faithful retainer. They're on a mysterious journey back to the battlefields where all was lost.

This is essentially a marriage of convience/ road romance with a fresh twist. I appreciated that we were spared all the usual London Season hoop-la. Interesting secondary characters and great sexual tension makes this an outstanding read.