A Hidden Ruby (A Marsden Romance Book 4)

Rubina Leone St. John has returned from the dead just in time for the wedding of her husband Noah St. John, Duke of Huntly, to another woman. She must keep the secret of her mysterious disappearance from the one man she loves above others, or lose him at the hands of a madman.

At first Noah is ecstatic to see the woman he loves alive and well, but she refuses to reveal her whereabouts over the last three years. Indeed, she claims to no longer love him and has demanded a divorce.  Will he be able to find out the secret she keeps hidden before their love is destroyed forever?

Dawn Brower is a particularly talented writer.  Her prose is insightful, articulate, descriptive and a pleasure to read. However, the story of “A Hidden Ruby” is predictable and plot driven.  Ruby keeps the secret of her disappearance from her husband to protect him as if he were a child without the sense or resources to defend himself.  Noah is unable to believe anything good of the woman he swore to love forever.  Add to this an on-again off-again passion and what should have been an engrossing read quickly becomes a slog through a quagmire of false emotions and artificial plot devices.

The only hidden ruby that needs to be revealed is the creativity of this author in a story worthy of her talent.

Gwenellen Tarbet