James Montgomery is gorgeous, so his two sisters talk him into escorting Axia The Maidenhall Heiress to her fiance in hopes that she will fall in love with Jamie instead. James is A bit reluctant but finally gives in because of his impoverishment. Axia hates her life as the Maidenhall heiress. She wishes she could be someone else for the last few days of her freedom so She switches places with her poor beautiful cousin and tricks James into thinking she was A poor realation. Will James choose the poor realation or the Maidenhall heiress?

This was my first Jude Deveraux book and although the story did not grab me it will not be my last. The characters were interesting enough but I just could not feel the connection between Axia and James. When they first made love I was ptetty shocked because I had no idea that Axia had such A strong reaction to him. *SPOILERS- IT went from her strongly despising everything he was about, to giving him her virginity. I also thought that the lies she told James became tiresome. I was hoping she would come clean before the end but it did not happen. I felt that James let her run circles around him and he came off as A Beta Male. Although I prefer Alpha Males, There is nothing wrong with A Beta Male if he is appealingly clever in my eyes. There was a few things I liked about this book. I loved the secondary charcacter Tode and it was wonderful to see that he had a happy ending also. All in All, this was not A bad book but I just could not get into it the way I wanted to.

The Heiress was a fun adventure. I enjoyed reading it and didn't wish to put it down for long.

Axia is an heiress to a ridiculously wealthy father she has never met. Locked away all her life to keep her "safe" with only a scarred man Tode and a vacuous but beautiful cousin Frances to keep her company.

But now she is crossing the country to meet her betrothed, a man chosen and paid for by her absent father. As her escort to the marriage, her father has send one newly-become Lord, supposedly amazingly handsome but quite poor; Jamie. (Who comes complete with kit of blind twin sister --with amazing super powers-- and dramatic younger sister, as well as conflicted conscience about needing to marry for money to support said females and his own ideas of honor etc.)

Add in some bandits, a bunch of guys who find their hearts going to the less attractive but helpful heroine---who is channeling Martha Stewart/Mother Theresa?--uh, some kidnapping... sex... tunnels... escapes...

I'm sorry. Yes I did read the whole thing, I admit. So in that way, it was compelling. I didn't toss it down in disgust until I read the last page. But when I was done, I buried my head in a pillow and chortled "Ridiculous!"

Really, give me a BREAK!!

All in all, the book was just so... contrived. Feisty heiress. Empty-headed (or not...?) cousin. Dramatic younger sister. Blinded older one....

all the subtlety of a woolly mammoth.
"There was just something different about Tode... what was it?"
"oh, of course I was playing a part all along, because I perfectly understand the inner complexities of your character"
"Oh, I've ALWAYS loved you"

Frankly, I was disappointed. I really was hoping for better, since I spent the money.
All I can say is... get it from the library, and only if you don't have something better to read. ANYTHING better

Axia is in a dilemma. She is the daughter of the richest man in England and she is about to leave the only home she's ever known and travel across England to meet her betrothed. He is a man she's never met and her father, also whom she's never met, has arranged this marriage for her.

Axia has been protected all of her life. Her father put her up in a massive castle with high walls and she's never been outside it. He has controlled everything in her life, including removing those deemed untrustworthy and hiring spies to report to him of her daily activities, including her escapades. Axia's only two trusted companions are Tode, a disfigured man who runs the household, and Frances, a distant cousin.

When Jamie Montgomery is hired to escort Axia, his sisters convince him to woo her. Jamie's older brother, Edward, had squandered the family fortune and is now dead, leaving Jamie, his sisters, and his mother in near destitution. The only solution, it seems, is for Jamie to marry a wealthy heiress, and Axia certainly fits that bill. Jamie, however, is an honorable man and has many reservations about this plan but he reluctantly goes along with it.

When Jamie meets Axia and Frances, he mistakes beautiful Frances as the heiress and Axia as the poor cousin. He tries to solicit Axia's help to woo Frances but in a fit of rage Axia thwarts him. They clash again and again throughout the trip but there is also no mistaking their undeniable attraction for each other. Despite their growing love, Axia can't trust Jamie with the truth, but then their world is turned upside down when Frances is kidnapped.

This was such a great story to read. Even after I was done, I had to go back and read through some of my favorite parts and relive the excitement it brought. Jude Deveraux does such a great job at weaving this story that I would rate this tale on the same level as A Knight in Shining Armor. The characters are endearing, hilarious, and courageous; Axia is indomitable while Jamie, her great love, is wise, patient, honorable and kind.

What a tale! I highly recommend it.

Axia is the lone heir to the largest fortune in all of England. Jamie is the impoverished earl who is to escort her across England to her waiting fiance. Jamie's family persuades him to try and woo and marry the heiress in order to save the family from poverty. Jamie meets Frances, Axia's poor and beautiful cousin, and assumes that she is the hieress. Axia doesn't correct him. The rest of the book is about their trip across England with lots of colorful characters in tow.

The book is very fast-paced and extremely humorous. I laughed out loud many times. Lots of twists and turns and most were not predictable, especially the epilogue -shocker! I love the way these two bickered constantly. Their machinations were hilarious. Axia really did live it up! I enjoyed the secondary characters as well, especially Jamie's sisters and the jester Tode.

I have to agree with another reviewer that the writing style is similar to Julie Garwood, thought the love scenes were not nearly as well written as I would have liked. This is my first Deveraux and it certainly won't be my last.