Now available as audio book
The Bride's Secret (narrated by British
actress Rosalind Ashford) is now available in
audio format at the following sites:
Amazon
iTunes
Audible |
E-book cover
(Previously titled
A Fallen Woman)
Paperback
ISBN 0-8217-7549-X
|
The
Bride's Secret
(The Brides of Bath, Book 3)
DARE SHE HOPE HER HUSBAND'S LUCKY STAR WOULD SHINE ON HER?
Life had indeed smiled upon Lord James Rutledge. A former soldier,
his life was spared when his captain took the bullet meant for him.
Then, after the war, he inherited vast wealth and a title from an uncle
he never knew. Now he has come to Bath to make amends to his captain's
beautiful widow and has won her hand in marriage.
The lovely purple-clad, lavender-eyed widow's gratitude toward
James quickly blossoms into a powerful love. But will her husband still
cherish her when he learns she has been another man's mistress?
Read an excerpt
Buy The Bride's Secret at
Amazon.com for Kindle Reader
Barnes and Noble for Nook reader
Kobo for epub editions
Google Play for epub editions
iTunes for iBook editions
Smashwords for epub editions
"What we all want
from a love story"
Reviewed by Joan Reeves, In Print
You'll fall for A FALLEN WOMAN, the latest Regency
historical romance by Cheryl Bolen.
There's much to appreciate in this emotional story of a
woman's journey from despair to triumph. I particularly liked
the characters who quoted evocative lines from popular poets of
that day, in a manner as natural as a contemporary character
singing bits of a romantic ballad to a loved one.
Carlotta
Ennis, widowed, penniless, and shunned by decent society, grabs
your sympathy immediately. She does not make excuses for the bad
decisions she's made in the past nor does she cower in shame.
Her decisions, at first glance, might make her appear vain and
foolish. Yet, her pride that makes her hold her head high and
her real heartbreak in having loved, and given herself, to the
wrong man creates a real woman readers can identify with. Who
gets through life without some mistake in love? The reader soon
discovers Carlotta wasn't selfish and vain as much as young,
insecure and frightened. Bad decisions led to heartbreak and
disgrace. Ms. Bolen peals the layers back and reveals the
underlying causes for every mistake Carlotta made without
resorting to modern-day labels such as no mother role model and
post-partum depression to explain the psychological reasons for
Carlotta's actions.
When James Rutledge, who survived the war
because Carlotta's husband died in his place, enters her life,
Carlotta decides to use his guilt to her advantage. And thereby
hangs the balance of this tale! Carlotta, more mature now,
recognizes the honor and integrity in James. He shames her by
example, never by words. When she brings her son to live with
her, at James's insistence, she's afraid and resistant. It
doesn't take long for her frozen emotions to be melted by her
son. When she grows to love the little boy, regret for the
missed years that can never be regained seizes her. Instead of
wallowing in self-pity though, she resolves to be a real mother
to him.
As Carlotta grows and changes, her beauty, once her
prized asset, becomes a minor thing in and of itself. Her son,
and James of course, are the sun of her universe around which
her world revolves. Just as she recognizes this fact, her world
is destroyed by her scarlet past.
The old Carlotta would have
lied and connived to keep her husband. The new Carlotta is a
vastly different woman who, in her husband's arms, has learned
the value of honor. If you don't shed a tear or two, then your
heart is as hard as Carlotta's was at the beginning of her
story.
A FALLEN WOMAN has what we all want from a love story--an
adorable child, a brave heroine, a hero who loves her just as
she is and loves her even more as she grows and changes, and a
journey of the human heart. Don't miss it! |