The Infidelity Curse (Perilous Secrets Book 3)

Lady Lucretia Tifton, beautiful and pregnant, is trapped in a horrible marriage to Sir Matthew Tifton. Lucretia runs away trying to escape from Matthew but is stopped by a judgmental furniture-maker, Mr. Giles Morecambe, who brings her back home. Matthew, on his deathbed, shows his hatred. After Matthew dies, the will is read and Lucretia learns the horrible truth that the baby’s guardian is the Earl of Netherbroke. Unfortunately, Giles is proclaimed the new Earl of Netherbroke and does not want to be Earl, so he continues making furniture. When Lucretia asks Giles to sell old furnishings, she assumes Giles is a tradesman, not an Earl. As Giles gets to know Lucretia, he slowly falls for her, yet feels he is unworthy of her. And Lucretia doesn’t really know who Giles is.

This truly tragic Regency tale will tug at readers’ sympathies. The story has an abundance of unlucky occurrences, from affairs, single parents, orphans and, lastly, death, which is a lot to take in. Unfortunately, there are many plot holes that never get resolved and loose ends that leave too much to the imagination. So many things happen that it is hard to keep track. Side characters appear then disappear from the book altogether without much explanation. That the story drags in spots and gets a little boring despite how eloquently it is written. Lucretia, the childbearing, sorrowful heroine, is hard to feel sorry for, and Giles, the biased, cursed hero, is hard to connect with. Luckily, the book does have children, which helps offset all the calamitous happenings; plus, there is some contentment and a happy ending.

Roslynn Ernst