My first thoughts after finishing this:

This was so sweet.
I can't believe it's actually written by a man.



Though I'm not saying for one moment that men can't write as good as women;they can,and they've proved it numerous times,too. It's just hard to associate sweet with
men.

El mejor libro que me pude haber encontrado y leer en una pequeña cabaña en el bosque

if you're keeping a list of delightful books for both you and your daughter to read, add this one to the list. It's listed as a romance book but I think it would be much more appropriately labeled as a heroic adventure book. It has action and history and mystery. I spent time on wiki researching the boxer rebellion and anytime I spend extra time learning about historical context is a sign of an engaging read.

Lucy’s parents were missionaries to China, they ran a mission/orphanage. They died of cholera shortly after her birth. She was raised in the orphanage by another missionary. The story begins when she is 17. The country is against foreigners, which Lucy is. Lucy knows how to work hard and with the dwindling funds of the mission, Lucy has tried begging, which just got her a beating. Now with no funds for food left she is contemplating stealing, which if caught will get her worse than a beating.
She meets Robert, he is looking for a cleverly hidden treasure. at first he seems kind, but he has a mean streak. Later she meets Nick, who also looking for the treasure. Nick marries Lucy to help her out of her predicament, with no hope to himself.
Later Lucy hears her new husband was killed, and she is suddenly sent to England to solve the same riddle that even one more person is interested in the mysterious treasure.

Madeleine Brent's books all follow a certain pattern, but it is an intriguing and enjoyable pattern indeed! The heroine always has an unusual background outside of ordinary society. She is usually thrust into that society and the story becomes a "fish out of water" story, and then usually it becomes incumbent upon her to return to her origins to solve the mystery/rescue or become reunited with the hero. Off the top of my head, some of her heroines have been circus performers, raised by aborigines, English girl raised in China (Moonraker's Bride),half-Caste Indian girl raised in Tibet, Daughter of a notorious Jewel Thief, A young English girl living in a Paris Garrett with a shocking past, etc. As predictable as the plots are, they are utterly fascinating and engaging. Great Romance as well, though adventure is the #1 focus.

This is an excellent story with elements of destitution and survival, treasure hunting, adventure, war, and of course romance. I could not put it down and will be keeping it to read again!

Taking place in China, the main character of this complex and intriguing novel, Lucy, must find a way to feed 15 children. What she does gets her thrown into prison where she has a chance encounter with a man who gives her a mysterious riddle. When she winds up in England, Lucy finds herself wrapped in a feud between the family she lives with and the neighbors, who live in a house called Moonrakers. It is here that she discovers love, danger, heartache, and unravels the mystery of her true past. I remember loving this book when I read it over 14 years ago. It has stuck with me, and I definitely consider it one of my favorites.

2.5⭐

Quick easy read. The protagonist was well developed but the other characters were kind of clunky and not fully conceived.

I'm not sure when I first read Moonraker's Bride, but it's a book I take out and read every few years or so, and each time I shake my head at the magnificent culture clash and wallow in the dramatic and romantic tale of East meets West. This is a book which required special knowledge to write, and Madeline Brent's depiction of late 19th c. China, and England's view of China, is simply stunning.

Lucy, the daughter of missionaries and orphaned at an early age, has grown up in China. She not only speaks Chinese, she thinks Chinese. When the missionary who has brought her up falls ill, "Lutsi" finds herself responsible for all the young girls in the mission who would have been abandoned at birth simply because they were female. Her desperation as money runs out ends in a secret marriage, a dead husband, and Lucy packed off to England to the life expected of a young English girl of seventeen.

And there begins a convoluted tale of how events in China stretch all the way to England, where Lucy is alternately scorned and sought after, and ends up back in China for as satisfying and dramatic a conclusion in the midst of the Boxer Rebellion as any reader could ask for. One of my all-time favorites, I'd give this oldie but goodie ten stars if I could.

Loved it! This book was introduced to me at a book club and I'm so glad it was. I had never heard of the book or the author before. It was full of mystery and kept me guessing for most of the way through. I loved the main character, Lucy, and also several others. This was a book that I even dreamed about and woke up in the middle of the night thinking about because I couldn't wait to find out how it ended.

In late 19th Century China, on the eve of the Boxer Rebellion, Lucy Waring has grown up as the orphaned child of missionaries, running the Mission herself. More culturally Chinese than British, Lucy's world will change when she comes into contact with two feuding English families in search of a lost treasure, a hunt that will take her back to her native England and into danger and love. Lucy makes a strong addition to Brent's gallery of strong, capable heroines who are more than capable of solving their own problems and rescuing themselves. As in her debut Gothic, "Tregaron's Daughter," Brent offers detailed historical information about turn of the 20th Century England's manners and mores. The novel's only flaw is its curious lack of suspense in its final third, when Lucy returns to China. Otherwise, it's a very enjoyable ride.