TREASURED VOWS

Author: Cathy Maxwell ISBN: 0060762632 10/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: Avon
Time Period: Regency - 1810 England

As stubborn as she is beautiful, Phadra Abbott will not be deterred when she sets her mind on something. And now that the reckless heiress has decided to track down her spendthrift explorer father, nothing is going to stand in her way -- not even her handsome, long-suffering guardian Grant Morgan. Though strong and level-headed, Grant has watched his own life go disastrously awry since he first tried to arrange the irrepressible Miss Abbott's future. And he has no choice now but to accompany Phadra on her latest misadventure -- for it's not only his sworn duty that compels him, but a raging, newly born desire to hold his maddening, enchanting adversary in his arms .. and to love her for all time.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

When I saw that Cathy Maxwell was reprinting two of my favorite books, ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL and TREASURED VOWS, I had to ask for at least one to review, as both books are on my keeper shelf in the original print.

In the front of TREASURE VOWS, Cathy Maxwell writes that this is her favorite book that she has written. In my opinion Ms. Maxwell's first books started out wonderful and have continued be so. She has a way of drawing her readers into the lives of her characters, making the reader want to understand why they are as they are, then see each find their happiness with their soul mates. TREASURED VOWS has a very uncommon couple in Grant Morgan and Phadra Abbott, and watching their love unfold is a joy.

In TREASURED VOWS Grant Morgan is a banker with The Bank of England. His father, Jason Morgan, was known as the Lord of Love. He traded on his handsome looks, running up debt, womanizing, taking anything he wanted regardless of who it hurt. After his death from a scandalous duel, his only son, Grant, had to pick up the pieces of his family—a dying mother and his three sisters. Grant is determined to be nothing like his father, even though in looks he could easily be mistaken for him. Grant is as straight and proper as any Regency gentleman and holds his honor above all, his only goal in life to earn respect for the Morgan name and a title.

Phadra Abbott's parent's marriage was a marriage of convenience. On her father's side, Sir Julius needed money to continue his treasure hunt in Egypt, and Phadra's mother was a wealthy heiress with no kin. After a short courtship and honeymoon, her father was back to his treasure hunt, leaving his pregnant wife. After Phadra's mother's death, Phadra was shipped off to boarding school and for 16 years never saw her father.

Just before Phadra's twenty-fifth birthday, she leaves the boarding school to set up her own establishment in London, holding salons nightly trying to find any information of her father's whereabouts. Unknown to her, the Abbott emeralds that secure her income at The Bank of England are nothing but paste. One of the bank directors, Sir Cecil, and her father hatch a scheme to sell them in order to obtain more money for his exploration. Penniless and with The Bank of England as her legal guardian, she has no choice but to move in with Sir Cecil, selling off all her possessions as Grant Morgan tries to make a marriage of convenience for her to pay off her and her father's debts.

Even though Grant is betrothed to Sir Cecil's spoiled daughter, he is intrigued and irritated at the same time with the irresistible Phadra. Her unconventional dress and the bells on her toes ruffle this prim and proper banker, while Phadra can't understand why just because she is a woman, she has to wed a stranger instead of setting out on her own to find her prodigal father.

Grant is a very complex and silent man, holding his emotions at bay even though Phadra stretches them to the limit. From the first page I was again drawn into their romance, savoring each page until the wonderful ending. If you didn't read TREASURED VOWS the first time around you are in for a wondrous treat. If you do have an older copy, pull it out for a reread. You can always count on Cathy Maxwell—she always leaves her readers clamoring for more.

DeeKay