The Bride's Secret: The Brides of Bath

Cheryl Bolen

May 2011 · The Brides of Bath Book 3 · Harper & Appleton

About this ebook

"This emotional story of a woman's journey from despair to triumph has what we all want from a love story. – In Print 

A story of healing, forgiveness and change that will make readers cheer. – Romantic Times 

I would recommend it to anyone." – Escape to Romance 

*** 
Since his commanding officer in the Peninsula took a bullet meant for him, James Moore, now the Earl of Rutledge, feels responsible for the dead man's young son and the boy's exquisite mother, Carlotta Ennis – so responsible that he offers to marry the lavender-eyed beauty. Though their marriage was not to be a love match, Carlotta's torturing presence has James yearning to make her his true wife. 

Though she did not love his lordship, her desperate situation forced her to accept his proposal. Little did she know she would come to crave being with him, would hunger for his every touch. If only she could be worthy of the fine man she's married, if only she can keep him from learning her dark secret . . . 

Ratings and reviews

i don't usually give anything I read 5 stars but I have to say Cheryl Bolen outdid herself with The Bride's Secret. She always spins an absorbing tale but this one is as close to perfection as it can get. Her use of language is both intelligent and accessible; her punctuation skills means I always know what she's trying to say- I don't have to reread a sentence to puzzle out what she most likely meant, and her plot always begins on page 1 and even if you know the 2 protagonists will wind up together (it IS a romance, after all!) the story is so compulsive you can't quit until the last word. In this one, the female is so shallow, egotistical and grasping, even my romantic willingness to look through rose-colored glasses revolted and I considered her irredeemable. But Bolen's steps in her total reformation were so inherently reasonable and logical, I realized by the time of The Crisis that I completely accepted her turnaround and was rooting for the outcome. It was neither shallow nor idealized-just imperfectly human. Every romance lover should have an extensive acquaintance with Cheryl Bolen's work- she's just that good.

I have finished just 44% of the book and couldn't help mention that the constant use of 'my love' and 'dearest' , when there is neither any declaration of love nor a real marriage, is getting on my nerve!! my goodness.. it feels so fake!!

This read like an old morality play with hot sex thrown in at times. Go figure. The characters, though, were believable.