Bride for a Day

Brown (The Sunshine Club) reworks her 1997 romance Love Is the Answer, published as Abby Gray, into a sweet if contrived contemporary. Twenty-year-old orphan Cassie Stewart flees Lindsey, Tex., after Cecil Gorman, her evil guardian, sells her to a sex ring. Cecil retaliates by claiming to police that Cassie stole from him, starting a manhunt. On the way to Oklahoma City, Cassie has the great good fortune to encounter farmer Ted Wellman, her damaged knight in shining armor, at a diner. When the cops show up and question Cassie, Ted saves the day by insisting she’s not the woman they’re looking for but rather his fiancée—but the dubious detective calls his bluff by escorting the pair to the courthouse to watch them wed. What starts as a pretend marriage quickly turns all too real for both Ted and Cassie; Cassie helps Ted work through the loss of his twin brother, John, while Ted and his family provide the love and stability Cassie has always longed for. The melodrama can be a bit much, but Brown’s characters easily inspire readers to care what happens to them, and the many plot twists keep things moving. Brown’s fans will be pleased. Agent: Erin Niumata, Folio Literary. (Mar.)