Secrets

by Heather Cullman

Second in a new trilogy from the beloved author of Scandal. When Harwood rescues his countryman from a brutal Indian mogul, it turns out his new friend has amnesia-and cannot remember his name or his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451210913
• ISBN13: 9780451210913
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Well Done Sequel

Setting - Algiers and Regency England ---- In this second book of Heather Cullman's trilogy (definitely can stand alone), you are reintroduced to Christian English, the extremely handsome man without a past who had been rescued by the former book's hero, Gideon Harwood. Right from the start the book grabs you with its graphic description of the Algerian slave market, the humiliation and the atrocities heaped upon those slaves considered to be prime for the more depraved buyers. After Christian was rescued by Gideon, they stayed on the continent long enough to amass a fortune and return to England as very wealthy men. With no memories of who he was, Christian was welcomed into Gideons home, and falls in loves with Gideon's beautiful sister Bethany, but is frustrated in his inability to declare himself with no memory and the possibility that he might already be wed. At Gideon's Christmas celebration, invited members from the ton recognize Christian as being the eldest son and heir to the Duke of Amberley. As thrilled as Bethany is for Christian's good fortune, and loving him as much as she did, she was more than aware that, with this disclosure, her status was far below what would be acceptable as the proper wife to the heir of a dukedom! Bethany, on the other hand, has her own secrets. Bethany had, before her brother returned home triumphant, in order to save her younger sister been compelled to become the mistress to a member of the ton. Becoming pregnant, she was abandoned and her child stillborn. In order to cover up the truth and provide a way for her to make a suitable marriage, her family had Bethany posing as the widow of wealthy sea captain. For Christian, the circumstances of Bethany's past did not make any difference to him as he was totally in love with her goodness, kindness and gentle ways and now the way was clear for him to declare himself properly. In the meantime, strange accidents began to occur to Christian as he was fast discovering that the person he had been in the past was not the person who had emerged after his experiences as a slave. The plotline here was really quite good, and the character development of Christian and Bethany was extremely well done. I especially liked the way Christian came to realize that he was now a better person after having the life altering experiences as a slave rather than the privileged life as heir to a Duke. The secondary characters were warm and engaging, especially Christians brother and sisters. While I felt that the villain could have been developed more, it was easy to figure out who it was. The romance angle and the warm familial affection was very well done and certainly engages your emotions so that, as a whole, I feel confident in recommending this both as a very nice sequel or stand alone regency romance for lovers of the genre. *** Marilyn, Official Reviewer for www.historicalromancewriters.com

The second in a trilogy...

He had been enslaved by an Indian mogul and had no memory except that his name was Christian. He was rescued by fellow Englishman Gideon Harwood. Christian returned to England with his new found friend in hope of learning who he was. He fell in love with Gideon's sister, Bethany. Yet without knowing who he was or if he had a wife somewhere, Christian could do nothing.Then a miracle happened during a party. Someone recognized him. Not only was Christian unmarried, but he was also Marquess of Northwick, believed to have been killed by pirates at sea. But finding out he had a title and was unattached did not solve all his problems. Christian's memory was still mostly blank. Bits and pieces popped up at strange times. In addition, his family did not want him to marry Bethany, a commoner. They had another deb picked out for him. And if things could not get worse, he kept having "accidents" that nearly kill him!As much as Bethany loved Christian and was happy that he found his family, she knew she could not marry him. Her past was marred and her family kept her secret quiet. Christian knew the truth of her past, well as much as her own family knew, and did not care. But Bethany withheld a vital name from her past. A name that could easily get Christian killed and her family shamed.**** This is the second in Heather Cullman's Regency trilogy. Fans of this author get to see how Gideon and his family are doing since the previous book. It began with such a bang that I was enthralled from the first page. Readers see just a bit of what poor Christian went through while he was being sold as a slave.This is a provocative tale that I was hard pressed to set aside when my reality intruded, and I could hardly wait to get back to the story. Recommended! ****Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.