April 27, 2010 MIRA ISBN-10: 0778327744 ISBN-13: 978-0778327745

Rule's Bride
by Kat Martin

The final book in the Bride's Trilogy … 

Unrepentant rake Rule Dewar can't wait to take his stunning bride to bed.

Unfortunately the only thing Violet wants is to end their sham of a marriage. 

After their strategic “marriage of convenience” three years ago, Rule quite forgot about Violet Griffin, the teenage heiress to a Boston manufacturing fortune. He simply spoke his vows, took over her father’s business and returned to England to resume his usual pursuits: high-priced wine, high-stakes gambling and high-born women. 

Yet when Violet, now a sophisticated woman, unexpectedly appears at Rule's London townhouse, husbandly duties no longer seem so odious—he can't wait to take his stunning bride to their marriage bed. Violet, however, is not so easily led: she has her own ideas and is seeking an annulment to marry another. But as Rule attempts to win her over, someone else is determined to frame him for murder and keep him out of the way for good…. 

A Note from Kat Martin

      As you probably know, RULE’S BRIDE is the final book in my Brides Trilogy, following ROYAL’S BRIDE and REESE’S BRIDE, stories about Rule’s two older brothers. 

      Rule Dewar, the youngest, is also the handsomest and most rakish of the three Dewar men.  As it turns out, he was my favorite hero to write.

      To set the stage a little, we’re in London in 1860.  After an arranged marriage three years earlier, Rule is shocked to find his young bride all grown up and sitting in his town house living room.  Since marriage was the last thing Rule wanted, he has put off his duty to bring his American bride home to England, and gone his merry way.  Now his irresponsible actions have caught up with him.

      No longer a gangly sixteen-year-old, Violet Griffin Dewar has matured into a luscious little morsel Rule can’t wait to seduce into his bed. 

      Unfortunately, Violet hasn’t come to England to begin their marriage as Rule believes. 

      Furious at being ignored, Violet has come to get an annulment.

      I didn’t start off knowing exactly where this book would lead, as I usually do.  I got to know both Violet and Rule as the story progressed.  I wound up liking both characters immensely.  By the end of the book, they seemed the perfect fit. 

      I had come up with the concept for the trilogy about three brothers, sons of a duke, before I wrote the first book, ROYAL’S BRIDE.  I knew the plots would involve promises each made to their dying father, knew a lot about Royal and also Reese, but Rule was younger and somewhat elusive. 

      Being one of the biggest rakes I had ever written, I had to find the real man inside before I could come to love him (and I did!). 

      There was such chivalry in Rule.  Though it took a good deal of effort for him to overcome his roguish nature and become the man he was meant to be, Rule truly proved to be the son of a duke.

      The journey wasn’t easy.  It took a strong-willed woman like Violet to help him find his way.

      I loved the characters in this book, some of which appeared in earlier novels.  Both Royal and Reese are there to help their younger sibling, as well as The Oarsmen, Jonathan Savage, Sherry Knowles, and the others, friends of Royal’s who became friends of Rule’s and Reese’s. 

      I loved revisiting old acquaintances, but I also liked the action in this book, the adrenalin-pumping scenes in the story as the plot develops.  Co-owners of Griffin Manufacturing, Violet and Rule are thrown together as they frantically try to discover who is working to destroy their company--perhaps at the cost of Rule’s life.

      I hated to finish this book.  But alas, all good stories must come to an end. 

      In my world, always a happy one.

      My despair abated as I began working with another three handsome siblings.  The Raines brothers from Wind Canyon, Wyoming.  I call it my AGAINST series, AGAINST THE WIND, AGAINST THE FIRE, and AGAINST THE LAW.  They novels are high-action contemporaries--so much fun to write.

      The books will be out in January, February, and March of next year, and I am hoping they will be the beginning of a whole lot more AGAINST stories with exciting, sexy men and the women who tame them.

      Until then I hope you’ll watch for RULE’S BRIDE and if you haven’t read Royal’s and Reese’s stories, look for ROYAL’S BRIDE and REESE’S BRIDE, too.

      Enjoy this wonderful spring. 

      All best wishes, Kat