The Runaway Bride - Softcover

Chastain, the popular, prolific, and award-winning author of more than 40 romances, returns to the West in her latest historical. Back east, Annalise Sinclair, the pampered daughter of a wealthy Wall Street investor, has finished medical school, but her father expects her get married and give up the nonsensical idea of practicing medicine. She agrees to consider potential spouses, but when her maid discloses that she is pregnant, the two young women run away to the West. Meanwhile, handsome former diplomat Daniel Miller is being pressured by his father, a business partner of Mr. Sinclair's, to find a bride. Daniel and Annalise are drawn to each other at a masked ball but are reluctant to pursue their mutual attraction any further. Independent and stubborn, they each have their hearts set on achieving their dreams, but love will not be denied. Chastain maintains a leisurely pace as her likable characters test themselves against a demanding world and the unruliness of their own emotions. Diana Tixier Herald

At a time when preserving the family fortune hinged on marrying into a family with a fatter bank account, Annalise Sinclair and Daniel Miller find themselves pawns in their fathers' schemes. Each man is secretly on the brink of financial ruin and hopes the other's fortune will save him. Romantic sparks light the way as their children head west to follow their dreamsADan to build a railroad cattle spur that will connect the eastern U.S. to the West, and Annalise to set up practice (no one in 1869 New York will have a woman doctor). A few glitches along the way (a train derailment, a series of accidents allowing Annalise to demonstrate her physician's skills) slow their westward progress. The lack of conflict between the characters contributes to this novel's rather bland feeling. Chastain (The Last Dance) compensates by offering a well-researched look into 19th-century medical procedures. (July)
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