365 books in 365 days Challenge ... Book #308

The Ruthless Marriage Bid - Elizabeth Power
Mills & Boon Modern
In 'Reclaiming His Wife' Mills & Boon By Request
Harlequin Mills & Boon, 2009
ISBN: 9780263871296


My rating

From the back cover:

"Will their passion persuade her? 
Taylor's time as Jared Steele's wife was short, but not sweet: within weeks of their wedding she discovered that she was pregnant and that Jared had a mistress. She lost both the baby and her marriage... 
Now Taylor is stunned by Jared's return - and his ruthless claim that he wants her back! And he holds the trump card: he won't grant her a divorce unless she agrees to his demands. Though Taylor will never forget the pain that drove her and Jared apart, how long can she hold out against his magnetic sensuality - when every glance at her tall, dark and impossibly handsome husband reminds her of the passion they once shared?"


This is the first book in the By Request omnibus, as above, I found this is the kindle store quite cheap a while back.

The heroine Taylor is trying to move on with her life after separating from her husband, when he suddenly turns up. Jared, the hero, has come back to try and win back his wife after their relationship crumbled under the weight of past mistakes and secrets. Jared goes to see Taylor to try and get her to talk to him about their marriage, and they end up being snowed in together. Jared hopes to make the most of this, but for Taylor it only reminds her of the hurt she felt during their marriage. However, it is also clear that the passion between them has never gone away and Jared uses this to his advantage to finally get Taylor to open up to him. But with so much baggage between them, Taylor doesn't know if she can ever trust Jared again.

I really enjoyed this book, if there is one thing I like about Elizabeth Power's books it is that there is always a lot of emotion in them. The plot is a little far fetched, but it also has elements of reality, that helps ground it. Yes, the hero is a bit too quick to always blame the heroine rather than think about his own part in the problems in the relationship, but I think this is actually quite realistic. The heroine is insecure, very insecure, but that suits her character and explained her rather rash reactions throughout the book.
At the heart of this story is the fact that secrets and lack of proper communication in marriage/relationships are very damaging, and I think this part is written very well.

An interesting and emotional read.

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