Review: The Stranger She Married by Donna Hatch

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

When her parents and twin brother die within weeks of each other, Alicia and her younger sister are left in the hands of an uncle who has brought them all to financial and social ruin. Desperate to save her family from debtor's prison, Alicia vows to marry the first wealthy man to propose. She meets the dashing Lord Amesbury, and her heart whispers that this is the man she is destined to love, but his tainted past may forever stand in their way. Her choices in potential husbands narrow to either a scarred cripple with the heart of a poet, or a handsome rake with a deadly secret. Cole Amesbury is tormented by his own ghosts, and believes he is beyond redemption, yet he cannot deny his attraction for the girl whose genuine goodness touches the heart he'd thought long dead. He fears the scars in his soul cut so deeply that he may never be able to offer Alicia a love that is true. When yet another bizarre mishap threatens her life, Alicia suspects the seemingly unrelated accidents that have plagued her loved ones are actually a killer's attempt to exterminate every member of her family. Despite the threat looming over her, learning to love the stranger she married may pose the greatest danger to her heart. And Cole must protect Alicia from the killer who has been exterminating her family before she is the next target.

My Review

Wow. The Rogue Hearts series came highly recommended and this first book did not disappoint! There are vibrant characters who are flawed enough to be realistic but not unlikeable. The difficult circumstances provide impetus to push the action forward in unpredictable ways. I had my suspicions about the mysteries unfolding, but was uncertain enough to be kept guessing. I felt like Cole and Alicia fell rather quickly for each other in the beginning which made their attraction seem superficial or based on physicality, but as the story progresses they are able to appreciate each other for deeper reasons. I thoroughly enjoyed this clean but passionate romance and can't wait to read the next brother's story!

(Thank you to Loving The Book for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review)