His Make-Believe Bride

Rakes & Rebels: The Raveneau Family, Book 6

By: Cynthia Wright

Narrated by: Tim Campbell

Guarded Hearts....

A French pirate of smoldering passions, Justin St. Briac will never marry. However, when his manipulative mother beckons him to her deathbed in Cornwall, he succumbs to her plea that he take a bride.

Mouette Raveneau, once the toast of the London ton, has been ruined by her dead husband's crimes. With two adolescent sons and no means of support, she reluctantly takes refuge in Cornwall.

A Pretend Marriage....

To grant his mother's dying wish, Justin devises an elaborate charade. Her days are numbered, after all, and soon he'll return to his life of unfettered romantic conquests and adventure in France.

But what if his mother isn't really dying? And what if he begins to enjoy the very thing he's avoided his whole life?

©2017 Cynthia Challed (P)2026 Cynthia Challed

Amazing Dialogue in Historical Romance

His Make-Believe Bride is another wonderful historical romance by Cynthia Wright. This is the 5th book about the Raveneau Family, which is part of the broader Rakes & Rebels series and I’ve enjoyed many of them. In truth, I’ve listened to them out of order, as each book truly stands alone. This series is unique in that you do not need to read or listen to the prior book in the series to know what is going on. In other words, they are unlike most trilogies where the other books build on each other in sequential order.

His Make-Believe Bride is one of my favorites because the two main characters are older and more mature than most couples in historical romances. The story begins with Mouette Raveneau needing an occupation to support herself and her two young children after the death of her husband leaves them penniless. To escape her husband’s creditors, Mouette is accepts an invitation from one of her oldest friends to travel to Cornwall to start anew. There, she is reacquainted with French pirate Justin St. Briac who is sworn off of marriage after witnessing the machinations that his mother employs. However, he can’t resist giving into his mother’s manipulations when she appears to be on her deathbed. Because Justin’s mother wants to see him married before she dies, he devises a scheme to hire Mouette to pose as his fiancé to satisfy his mother. He even goes through with a “staged” wedding and buys a house that Mouette refurbishes. Needless to say, Mouette and Justin can’t deny the attraction they both feel (and had 10 years earlier when they first met).

What I appreciate most about this story are the conversations shared between Justin and Mouette’s oldest son. The dialogue between them is realistic and heart-warming. I especially loved the ending of this story, which is just precious.

Tim Campbell does an amazing job narrating this audiobook, as he has several other books in this series. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook and recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical romance.

Schemes Could Go Worse!

This gracefully and eloquently written Regency read/listen, with a humorous plot kept me entertained as it reunites a dysfunctional family. Justin St. Briac has a complex about his mother, whom he sees as one who made his childhood miserable with her games of leaving the family, making his father run after her to bring her home. Marriage is not for him, even though his brother has a happy marriage. He’s more suited to one-night stands and unattachment. At 48 he is a man the women look at when he enters a room.

He’s called back home, not having been there for many years. His mother is dying. He doesn’t know if he should trust her. Is she acting as she had been so many times in his youth? He feels a bit of compassion for her and tries to do the right thing when her dying wish is for Justin to find a wife.

Rather than argue the point, Justin cooks up a scheme – pulls Mouette Raveneau into the scheme by promising her lots of money she can’t refuse. Her financial circumstances are left in tatters from her previous marriage and now at 36 she must look out for herself and two sons.

She accepts this whole charade with the caveat he will not consummate the marriage and use physical touching only to convince his parents they are truly married. But quite a few people know it is all a farce.

In the process of furnishing his rented home (which Mouette is very good at), they spend lots of time together…with interesting results.

It’s always a pleasure to add children and animals to the mix of a good story. Children speak their minds and express that which many adults feel inappropriate. I enjoyed both boys’ growing relationship with Justin and the surprising reaction Justin has to them. The dog, Robinson, found on the road, becomes very much part of the family.

The rental becomes a home. The make-believe world created by this scheme is starting to feel for real. Justin decides it isn’t so bad – being a pirate does have its excitement, but holding Mouette in his arms has a bigger draw. How can he turn a make-believe marriage into a real one?

Tim Campbell narrates most of Cynthia Wright’s work. I’ve come to enjoy his French-accented English, his voice impersonations of the male characters with varying personalities. His deep voice and the way he uses it pull out every nuance of Wright’s work. Campbell excels in dog barking! Robinson has dialog, too. Enjoy!

This stories of the Raveneaus and the Beauvisage, sometimes humorous, sometimes thought-provoking, and sometimes dangerous, will fill all your senses, quickening your heart with moments of passion. I highly recommend her work. It’s classic!

Once again a brilliant combo!!

Cynthia Wright wrote a fantastic story and Tim Campbell hit it out of the park with the narration. I must admit I didn’t think I would enjoy a historical romance about someone my age. Boy was I wrong. I love the energy and tension between Justin and Mouette. Cynthia did a fabulous job. The story gripped me so much and I had to finish pushing a side everything else. When I was not listening I was thinking about the story. Tim Campbell truly brought every character to life with his very talented voice. I seriously think he could make a phone book sound interesting. I highly recommend this book!!!!

Loved the Book... Love the Audio Version!!!

Once again the magic duo of Cynthia Wright's words matched with the "he could read me the phone book and I would swoon" voice of Tim Campbell doesn't fail to amaze! I loved the story the first time I read it, and now listening to it read by Tim... can it truly get any better? The way the characters just came alive. I felt like I was truly there as the story was being told. The ruggedly handsome Justin and Mouette the mother that would do anything to keep her family afloat had both built walls around their hearts for different reasons, and a plan to "fake" a wedding caused those walls to come crushing down, although not without resistance on Justin's part. He tried so hard not to fall in love with Mouette, her two boys, and the adorable Robinson (the dog), but in the end he found the family he always longed for and needed, although he didn't even realize it himself. Loved how this story weaved in history, and characters from other beloved books written by Cynthia. It's like coming home to family every time you recognize a beloved character shows up for a visit. <3 Definitely a book worth reading and listening too! <3

Loved Justin

Good story. Nice to see a story involving people over 30 and 40! Highly recommended.