Midnight Bride

Valentine St.Leger can take the pain another person is feeling and take it upon himself, this can help people heal. When he did this for his brother however he did himself damage and now he limps.

Kate Fitzleger has loved Val almost all her life but as she isn't his "destined wife" she will die young if they marry. She gives him a love potion and casts spells to try to ensnare him.

Okay, morally dubious stuff all over the place here. With the destined love and fate stuff that I tend to dislike, but it was very readable. Still didn't manage not to leave a slightly bad taste in my mouth afterwards.

This is the third and final book in the St Leger trilogy. The hero is Valentine St. Leger, the second son of Madeline and Anatole. Val has the gift to heal people by getting their pain into his body. Unfortunately, this has caused him a limp that pains him awfully, when he tried to heal his brother from a severe wound during wartime. Val being a healer, is a gentle, tender, even tempered man who's very lonely. Evie, the current bride finder, has declared in [b:The Night Drifter A Novel|353731|The Night Drifter A Novel|Susan Carroll|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174018488s/353731.jpg|1123705] that she cannot detect a bride for Val. Since any woman he would choose to marry and has not been chosen by The Bride Finder, would face death show more as the St. Leger's legacy has predicted, Val is destined to live alone. But Kate, Evie's adopted daughter has loved Val all of her life and is determined to have him at her side, no matter what others say. After all, all that about fated brides and curse of death are silly superstitions, right?Enter the last Mortmain, sworn enemies of St. Legers. He also appeared in the previous book, as a friend of Lance's that everyone distrusted, Val being the most prominent. Mortmain is now dying, but he has one final mission: to get revenge on Val. Somehow by the power of an ancient crystal those two men change personalities: Good, shy Val becomes a rogue and selfish man free to pursue that which he mostly wants: Kate. On the other hand Mortmain becomes a more decent man than he ever was, even feeling guilt for what he knows Val must be suffering. But even as he considers returning back to save the good doctor, a new better life is suddenly at his reach. Can he give it back for his old enemy? And will Val realize how dangerous the crystal really is? Because he is originally blinded by the miraculous heal that has happened to his knee, giving him the ability to ride and fence like any other young man. Now he can go after Kate, since he doesn't feel sorry for himself anymore. But Kate seeing Val's change is becoming more and more afraid for him and of him. Trying to free him from the spell he's under, she's spending most of her free time with Prospero and they become friends.The major problem of the book was Val's change of character. Val was just adorable and interesting as he initially was. When he becomes a selfish rake, he loses the reader's sympathy completely. His total disregard about what would happen to Kate if he goes on with their affair -either death as the curse predicts or at least social ruin as the whole village learns about it- is not something a reader can overcome easily in the end. As Val goes on to test how much his powers have returned riding alone, Kate spends most of her time with Prospero letting too little room for the romance to grow. I found at that point Mortmain's story much more interesting than Val's which is so much shame as Val had potential to be the best hero of the trilogy if he just stayed as he was.However, the heroes pain and emotions are strong and palpable throughout the book, the tone dark and menacing and the mystery very very addicting. If someone is not looking for a romance with some mystery but a complete gothic nonel with mystery and some romance thrown in for good measure, then I would definitely recommend it. Otherwise, this is only recommended for hard core fans of the series who want to read the closure to the St. Leger-Mortmain fight that's been going on for ages. show less

The third story about the St. Leger family and their strange powers. Val's is the ability to heal. The bride finder, Effie FitzLeger, has told him that he has no chosen bride and so he has remained an unmarried man though he envies his brother's happiness with his chosen . This is Val's story.

I didn't find this book as compelling as Carroll's The Bride Finder and the Night Drifter but it has been several years and I may be remembering them as better than they were. Still, I did enjoy the book and it did tie up loose ends from the Night Drifter for me.

In this final book of the Trilogy of Bridefinder books, we have yet another Leger, St. Valentine who struggles with a knee injury he took on his brothers behalf and with managing his gift of having a healing touch. He has been thought to never be able to have a bride and starts to struggle when he realizes he is in love with a foundling child that Effie, the bridefinder has adopted. Kate Fitzleger is the foundling child that has always been his friend and now seeks to be his bride at all costs. Rafe Montmain also returns seeking revenge and brings new meaning to the phrase sweet revenge.

I love how brave Kate was and how Kate and Val are often at crosspurposes as are Rafe and Val. Even better is the very ending of this book wrapped up show more by one of the characters of the book very sweetly.

This book was everything the first book was and left me quite satisfied. Susan Carroll is one to watch for. It gets my big thumbs up. show less

This is my first book I have read by the author Susan Carroll. Too bad I had to read the last book in the trilogy first. I enjoyed the book. The plot was well thought out. The book was a little tame, but overall it was a very good book.

The third and final book in the St. Leger Series. The story focuses on the youngest twin son of Anatole and Madeline St. Leger, Dr. Valentine "Val" St. Leger born on Valentines Day. He has a gift that enable him to draw pain from others, but when he used this on his twin brother he was not able to control the power and it left him crippled. Val was told by the bride finder Effie Fitzleger that he did not have a chosen bride, although he was disappointed he accepted his fate never to marry.

Kate Fitzleger, adopted daughter of Effie was in love with Val he was her teacher, friend, and confidante and she knew in her heart that she would marry Val. Kate was shocked when Val turned her down, she was so broken-hearted she knew what she had to show more do. Kate took it upon herself to visit the ghost of the St. Leger's, Prospero St. Leger in hopes to cast a love spell on Val. Although, Kate new the warnings of marrying a St. Leger that was not chosen by the bride finder would mean death for her, but Kate was sure that was a myth. Kate took a book of spells against Prospero's warnings and chose All Hallows Eve to cast her spell. That night the lightening flashed and thunder roared, and unknown to Kate many things changed.

What happens to Val becomes a mystery to Kate, he was always so kind and thoughtful but now has this dark side that she cannot explained. In another part of the country the family rival Rafe Mortmain has also been affected somehow his dark side has gone, and he now has feelings that he cannot explain. Victor a cousin of Val who has never even looked at Kate is now crazy in love with her. Kate is so distraught over this she seeks out the ghost Prospero again who explains she will have to wait for 30 days before she can undo the spell on these men. show less

From BackCover:
Valentine St. Leger was born with an amazing gift: He can purge the suffering of others by taking their pain into his own body. Yet Val's healing hands cannot change destiny. Should Val wed, his unfortunate bride would be doomed to an early death. But Kate Fitzleger has loved Val almost her entire life and is not about to let what she calls a foolish superstition ruin her chance for happiness. So on All Hallow's Eve, when the spirits of good and evil mingle upon the earth, Kate defies fate with a powerful love potion—which goes perilously awry. When Val awakens, he has no memory of the bizarre events that have given him desires he can no longer resist. All he knows is that his fair Kate is ripe for seduction. He will show more tempt heaven and hell to have her—even if it means he could lose her forever. show less