https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/moonrakers-bride-by-madeleine-brent/

It’s a romantic adventure story about young Lucy, abandoned in an orphanage in China, who finds herself sucked into a bizarre English feud between two neighbouring families over lost Chinese treasure. There are some vey effective fish-out-of-water moments for Lucy when she first arrives in England. The plot twists are pretty absurd, as hidden relatives turn up everywhere and Lucy returns to China to skip through the Boxer Rebellion, and yet I kept on being sucked back into it to find out what would happen next. I’m sure that the Chinese details are as wobbly as I know the English historical details are; but I admit that I was entertained anyway. ( )

2nd, 3rd or 4th reading? Not sure. I read this book back when I was a teenager when I was first discovering romantic fiction.
I came to Madeleine Brent via Merlin's Keep, which I loved so much I immediately devoured the rest of her books. Imagine my surprise when I learned decades later that Madeleine Brent was a pseudonym for Peter O'Donnell. He wrote such strong female leads, young women who weren't afraid to break the rules and who saved the day - and often their male love interests.
Moonraker's Bride is my second favorite of his romance novels (second to Merlin's Keep). A young English woman, born and raised in China at the turn of the 20th century, is burdened with running a mission orphanage. She meets two dashing young Englishmen, desperate rivals in pursuit of a hidden treasure, and her life is turned upside down. The story includes mystery, intrigue, and adventure, and is an utterly compelling read. ( )

I love love love this book it was so good I own it now and I think is really good it was very descriptive it had a great love story added always kept you entertained ( )

I love, love, love this book! I first read it as a teenager, but I think I love it more now as an adult. This is another marriage of convenience novel, but it is fresh and original.

I love Lucy's character- she refuses to be anything other than herself, although she tries to fit in. I also love how she is loyal and steadfast.

Great novel- if you can find it, read it! ( )

Moonraker's Bride by Madeleine Brent is a romance set during the time of the Boxer Uprising in China (sometime during 1898-1903). So it is later than most of the historical fiction I read. The heroine, Lucy Waring, has grown up in rural China in a mission orphanage. At the beginning of the story, as the oldest of the orphans, she tries to keep everyone fed when the elderly lady who is all that remains of the original staff falls ill and money runs out. However, she soon meets not one (Robert Falcon), but two (Nicholas Sabine), English men, both apparently trying to solve a riddle that will lead to treasure. Her life becomes entangled in theirs and the quest, as she is sent to England to help still a third gentleman (Mr. Gresham) solve the riddle from the comfort of his own home, thanks to his awful deductive powers.

It is an interesting blend of romance, comedy, drama, and scenery. Being unfamiliar with Chinese history and culture, I can't speak to the accuracy of her portrayal of turn-of-the-century peasant life, sociopolitical context, British colonial situation, etc. I can say that it certainly all appeared good to me; nothing struck me as particularly jarring or unrealistic. When confronted with the foibles and hypocrisy of a well-bred Victorian family of leisure after being bundled halfway around the world, her culture shock and grievous social missteps (and accompanying isolation and loss of identity) were both amusing and sad. The contrast with the local Bohemian family was also quite vivid.

In all, it is a charming story with a sympathetic protagonist. The plot has a few twists, and it all resolves quite neatly with a bow on top (not that I really consider this a positive). In fact, it practically feels like predestination, how everything in her life seems to lead inevitably to the resolution. It was generally worth reacquiring. I have one major pet peeve with it, which I can't really reveal without a spoiler. I think this is what motivated its departure from my life earlier (well, okay, an intertwined pet peeve). ( )