Hidden Affections by Delia Parr

May 1st 2011 by Bethany House

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.

Review

Being a divorcee was frowned on in the society Annabelle lived in, being twice divorced is a call to social pariah and doom to the fool who marries her. That really was never Annabelle’s intention, after the scandal of her first marriage (which lasted a week) she finds her community unforgiving and travels to find work. Her first husband who used her for her mothers inheritance, left her with nothing and no word to his whereabouts, penniless, alone and frightened, moving away is her only hope to start over. During her travels on a coach ride, she and another passenger are robbed, handcuffed and left to fend for themselves. When the two are discovered together (alone, handcuffed and asleep in each others arms) the sheriff can only assume misconduct. The two are forced into marriage to safe guard Annabelle’s reputation and due to the mans well-known life style its payback.


Harrison is the wealthiest bachelor in Philadelphia and has no intentions to marry…ever…so after the ordeal with Annabelle a swift and speedy annulment of the marriage is the only solution. However due to state laws an annulment cannot be granted and Harrison must seek a divorce, without knowing anything about Annabelle’s past, he has no idea that this will destroy her chances at marriage or children in the future. The divorce will take a few months and in the meantime, the two must fake being a happy couple. Annabelle moves into his luxurious cottage and attends all the things that wealthy society need to be a part of. This isn't Annabelle though, she would much rather use her talents, voice her opinions and be a part of the working class, then attend glamorous balls, deal with snotty women and be waited upon every minute. Harrison soon sees the difference about her compared to all the leeches that always use him for his money. After a month with Annabelle he begins to soften his heart and change his mind, wondering if he had the idea of marriage all wrong...

I was completely joyed to read Harrison and Annabelle’s love story. Of course what started as an inconvenience, slowly develops into love. Annabelle cant resist her feelings for Harrison and he feels the same for her. Harrison is scared from his childhood though and over all the loss he has endured, he cant seem to let his guard down to allow Annabelle in and with a swelling heart, a cousin who is giving her way to much attention and the threat that almost comes between them, Harrison realizes that maybe this woman was brought into his life for certain reasons. Letting go of a lifetime of habits though proves to be hard on him as Harrison struggles with pride and stubbornness. All the while Annabelle deals with her past in secret, she faces blackmail, outcast status and losing the one man she’s ever loved.

Overall Hidden Affections was a very pleasant read, the characters and the storyline had that wholesome good things are going to happen feel. I think my favorite aspect besides all the loveable characters was the story’s predictability. While Parr shared drama, tragedy and iffy romance to keep readers interests piqued she also made the story one that you wanted to see end with happiness. Its everything in wholesome romance that makes a gal swoon.


Rating

Hidden Affections is recommended to adult readers and can be enjoyed by mature teens as well. Contains: romance, divorce scandal, blackmail, mild violence and friendship/family drama.

4/5- Inspy Romance

Thanks to Bethany House and the CFBA for review copy