Born into wealthy family, heiress Mallory Edwards honorably marries John Barron to fulfill a family obligation. Although he seems charming at first, she soon discovers that he is a beast of a man. Abandoned on her wedding night, she survives by her wit and resourcefulness until her errant husband's debts became too much for her to overcome.
Facing debtor's prison, Mallory won't rest until she finds John and nullifies their marriage. But he may not be the villain she believes him to be.
Author Cathy Maxwell has been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award from the Romance Writer's of America. Narrator Vanessa Moroney lends a special radiance to Maxwell's tale of bedlam and bliss.
©1997 Cathy Maxwell; (P)2002 Recorded Books
"Whiny"
I had a very hard time finishing this book -- more than once I almost gave up. I am not sure if it was because of the narration, but the heroine seemed to whine her way through this book.
I was willing to give her some leeway at the start, she is 16 and thrust into a rushed wedding with an unknown boy, so perhaps some whining is in order. But years later, she still is whining. Listen to the sound snippet, Mallory at 16 is pretty much Mallory at 24. As for the love story (afterall this is a romance, so of course they fall in love) -- I couldn't buy it. It seems as if out of the blue the hero is besotted with his wife, cannot live without her, but I wasn't sure why? He wants to be nagged through life?
I have enjoyed Cathy Maxwell's books in the past, but not this one. Check out The Marriage Contract, that story had more humour, and the heroine was actually feisty, unlike this book, where the heroine was almost obnoxious.