Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Hidden Affections by Delia Parr

Ahhh! Here is a nice distraction!  I was reading Hidden Affections during the time we had no power for almost a week thanks to the horrific tornadoes in our area. I enjoyed being transported into this story.

One man and one woman, handcuffed together over night. We all know how that looks! Maybe if it was another man she had been "attached" to she wouldn't have had this fate. Because he is who he is, and the reputation he has, Annabelle finds herself forced to be married to this man because of a stage coach robbery!

Annabelle doesn't trust men. She has already been divorced, and so far in her life men have not lived up to her expectations. In the day and age of this book divorce for a woman still has the stigma that so many of us feel today, even though society now isn't as harsh about being divorced. The man she has married at gun point, isn't any too happy about being married period! It seems that Harrison has quite a reputation, and he promises her a hasty annulment to this horrific situation. He has no desire to be married anymore than she does.

Arriving back at Harrions's family mansion, the word is already out! People are rather determined to take Harrison off the "playing field" so that their wives and daughters are not drawn to him. Harrison just wants to be free, because love is painful. You love, and you loose, and he can't bear any more losses. But nothing is ever as easy as we think it will be. Harrison's plans to get the marriage annulled aren't work out, and Annabelle is growing to love the people in the country estate. Worse yet, she is constantly being told that she alone is the one who can reach through Harrison's walls and lead him more towards God as well as figuring out what an amazing woman he has married.

Annabelle has to use a lot of wisdom, prayer and tough love. She grows quite a lot in this book. Harrison has some deep soul searching to do, and he has to make some major life decisions. There are several good characters in Hidden Affections. As a charter Annabelle is brave, and also feminine. She is smart, weak, and strong all at once. In essence, she is very real. Harrison, as some men are prone to be, is a bit slow on the "up take" where matters of the heart are involved. Annabelle's ex-husband, is a loathsome man. As bad as it was for her to be divorced from him, I was quite glad she wasn't having to spend her life with him. God is present in this book, and I can't think of anything I didn't like about this book at all.

Carol


This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Hidden Affections
Bethany House (May 1, 2011)
by
Delia Parr


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Delia Parr, pen name for Mary Lechleidner, is the author of 10 historical novels and the winner of several awards, including the Laurel Wreath Award for Historical Romance and the Aspen Gold Award for Best Inspirational Book. She is a full-time high school teacher who spends her summer vacations writing and kayaking. The mother of three grown children, she lives in Collingswood, New Jersey.





ABOUT THE BOOK
Betrayed by her husband, Annabelle Tyler wears the burden of legally being a divorcee, a difficult position for an upstanding young woman to find herself in.

While attempting to start a new life for herself, an unexpected turn of events once again has Annabelle married--this time to Harrison Graymoor, the most eligible, yet elusive, bachelor in Philadelphia. Harrison assures her that he will secure an annulment immediately, unaware that the constable has sent word of the marriage to the press in Philadelphia. And here things continue to go awry.

Harrison's past, a philanthropic cousin with his eye on Annabelle, and the appearance of Annabelle's ex-husband threaten the tentative relationship growing between Harrison and his "wife." For two individuals set against marriage, there are certainly a lot of second thoughts regarding the one forced
                                           upon them.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Hidden Affections, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764206729 

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