Tuesday, January 6, 2015

The Baron’s Betrayal by Callie Hutton




It's been two years since Lady Marion Tunstall lost her husband at sea. Two years of sorrow and grief. Only now has the young, comely widow finally re-entered society. It isn't until she and her family attend the merriment of a country dance that Lady Marion sees her dead husband, alive and well... and faints dead away.

Lord Tristan Tunstall has no choice but to confess - he is alive, yes, but not a whole man who can be a husband and father. When he offers her a divorce, however, Marion stubbornly refuses. Now she has forced herself back into his life, and into his home and (oh, God forgive his weakness) his bed. He cannot stop himself from wanting her. Loving her. But can he live with the secret she is keeping from him?



Published & Release Date: Entangled Publishing, January 12, 2015

Time and setting: 1815 Regency England

Genre: Historical Romance/Regency

Heat Level: 2

Rating: 4 Gold Crowns

Vikki’s Musings

While browsing titles offered on Net-Galley, I came across this Regency historical romance. The book description caught my eye, and I accepted it from the publisher for an honest review. I always enjoy Regency romances, and I have read books by this author in the past and have enjoyed them. I am so glad I found this fantastic book! It captured my attention from the first page and kept me enthralled all the way to the end. I adore a story that grabs me right away and can keep my attention the entire time I am reading.

Lady Marion Tunstall has mourned the loss of her beloved husband for over two years. At last, her family has convinced her to rejoin society. When she enters the assembly room, her gaze falls upon her deceased husband on the arm of another woman. She swoons and her brother, the Duke of Manchester sweeps her up into his arms and carries her from the room after telling her husband he will call upon him on the morrow.
Lord Tunstall is stunned when he realizes his wife is in attendance at the assembly room. His companion apologizes, but the damage has been done. His wife now knows he is alive. Tristan is blind and had planned on his wife never learning he had survived the explosion of his ship, which took his sight.

Now that Marion knows her husband is alive, she refuses to be parted from him and moves into his country estate against Tristan’s wishes. He tells her he wants a divorce, but then he finds out that a divorce is not possible. He informs her that while they will remain husband and wife, it will be in name only because he will never chance getting her with child. However, there is one small problem. He allows passion to sweep them away one evening when he hears her weeping from his cruel words.

Marion discovers she is going to have a babe. Afraid of Tristan’s reaction to the news, she keeps it from him. Will her secret tear them further apart, or will her husband allow the blinders to come off and embrace the woman he has always loved? 

Tristan is my favorite kind of male character, a tortured soul, filled with angst and denial of what is clearly in front of him, a hero to hate yet love at the same time. At times, I wanted to shake his pig-headedness out of him. His determination to deny Marion’s love and refusal to accept that she does not care that he is blind throve me a bit crazy at times. Although part of me wanted to despise him, my compassionate side would not allow it.

Marion is a saint to put up with his attitude. She is determined to get her husband back and refuses to allow him to turn her away, which he does repeatedly. Personally, I would have given up on the man, but she never does. Talk about a loyal woman, Marion takes it to the extreme, but I am glad she does.  It makes for an engaging read fraught with deep emotion and passion.


I loved the pacing of this emotionally-charged story. It kept me flipped the pages on my Kindle wanting to know if Marion would succeed and get her stubborn, extremely bull-headed husband to accept that it does not matter that he is blind, she loves him regardless. I promise that if you like a tale of deep devotion and determination against all odds, then this is a book you will enjoy. Happy reading!

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