Tarnished Hearts
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
The national-bestselling romance author and "one of the superstars of western romance" spins a lush tale of fate and desire at the start of the Civil War (Affaire de Coeur).
Tormented by his past and denied his dream of becoming a doctor, Southern aristocrat Trevor Shelby has little in his life to live for, until he meets the beautiful overseer's daughter, Leah Reese.
Unused to the warmth and kindness Leah shows him, Trevor learns to love from the young woman, while his intensity teaches her the value of passion. Despite the difference in their social classes, they dare to dream of a future together . . . until that fantasy is shattered by lies, betrayal, and the outbreak of war.
And even as Leah is wed to a man she does not love, Trevor refuses to give up on her, following her into the new frontier of the American West—where danger and destiny will bring them together once more . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1860 Trevor Shelby and Leah Reese are lovers who are thwarted both individually and as a couple. Trevor's sadistic father refuses to allow him to become a doctor; Leah's parents want her to wed, in spite of her own wishes for an education. Class also separates the two: Trevor's family owns a plantation; Leah's father is an overseer for Trevor's friend, Robert De Moise. Trevor must go away in order to set right the destiny of his sister, Bella, whom he has not seen for nine years; in his absence, the jealous Robert lies and tells Leah that Trevor has no plans to return and later fails to deliver a letter from Trevor in which he asks her to wait for him. Meanwhile, Leah's parents marry her off to a crude farmer, and before long she starts showing with Trevor's child. The Civil War adds to the torment of the separated lovers. Some elements, such as Trevor's father's decay from syphilis, have impact, and the initial chemistry between the lovers is sweetly convincing, but Cantrell ( Calico ) draws out her plot with artificial complications. Leah's interest in Tennyson and her affection for Trevor raise interesting questions about class, which are then avoided by positing that Leah is an exception in her family.
