The Wrong Bride by Catharina Maura Series: The Windsors #1
Published by Ichara Publishing on October 15, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Pages: 382
Format: Audiobook
Goodreads
She's his fiancée's younger sister. He's the man she's always loved.
When her sister doesn't show up on her wedding day, Raven has no choice but to take her place - but marriage to Ares Windsor is nothing short of torture.
The elusive billionaire media mogul is the man she's always loved... yet he's only ever had eyes for her sister.
Married to him at last, Raven is determined to win him over.
After all, everything is fair in love and war.
And this?
This is war.
Publisher's Note: this book contains a lot of angst. As mentioned in the blurb, the heroine is marrying her sister's fiancé. If this is not a theme you'd enjoy, then this book might not be for you. This is a standalone with a guaranteed happily-ever-after, and no cheating.
When I was browsing Audible for a new audiobook to listen to, this one popped up as something I might be interested in; so naturally, I spent a credit and downloaded it. There’s definitely enough to like about this book; the angst in having to marry your sisters ex fiancé gave me what I wanted. Shortly after finishing this, I was on the fence of continuing the series, but now I’m definitely interested in trying the others in the series.
TROPES
Billionaire, arranged marriage, sisters ex fiancé, best friends brother, childhood friends to lovers, age gap.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Emotional abuse, toxic relationship (not between the two main characters), sexual content, pregnancy, cheating (not between the two main characters), eating disorder.
WHAT WORKED FOR ME
As a whole, I really loved the dynamic between Ares and Raven. From the start, I believed their friendship and the underlying foundational elements every couple needs for a strong relationship. I loved the sweet moments between these two and soft moments when you can see how much they care for the other. Catharina does a fabulous job in making us HATE Raven’s family. It made my physically angry when I was listening to this and her family was involved in a scene. The other piece that really worked for me is how I felt like I didn’t know exactly where this was going. Raven’s sister, Hannah, is a trash of a human and I felt that she made a fitting “villain” in the story. I loved the use of outside of the relationship plot dynamics combined with the inside the relationship elements.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME
The one item that comes to mind is how often Ares and Raven had the exact same conversation. It all stemmed around trust and her ability to trust that he will be there for her and won’t go running to Hannah. I understand the need for this conflict, her sister is his ex fiancé after all. However, I don’t think the same conversation almost word for word had to happen each time. This annoyed me enough to be the sole driver as to why this was not a five star read.
SPICE RATING
I’d put this at a four on the spice scale.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I like this more looking back than I did at the time I read it. After reading the descriptions of the next couple books in the series, I’m definitely looking forward to trying more in this world and more of the authors work.
