Saturday, August 25, 2012

YOU AND NO OTHER by Cathy Maxwell

Publisher: Avon
Date published: September 1, 1996
ISBN 978-0380787166
Historical Romance
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained via Publisher


Relatively comfortable with her widowhood, Lady Caroline Pearson has arranged her life just so.She has a home that she enjoys, lives with her aunt and has her teaching position. Despite the constraints of her times and expectations of those around her she is contented with her life. When her brother-in-law Freddie shows up to tell her he has gambled away her home her world begins to fall apart. Not one to be daunted for long, however, Caroline approaches James Ferrington, the man who won her home in a card game and asks that he return the deed to her home to her.

Handsome, wealthy beyond any man’s expectations and relatively new to town, James has done quite well avoiding the debutants and their mothers. He plans to marry—and has accepted that he needs to do so to further his business interests. A marriage of convenience is of no consequence to him until he meets Caroline. He quickly decides she will make the perfect mistress however Caroline is having none of it. She wants her deed back but she will not compromise herself to do so.

Meanwhile her aunt Minerva is determined to help her as are Minerva’s dear friends. What Minerva doesn’t know is that a long ago grudge could cost Caroline and James any happiness they might find with each other.

Not long ago I received one of Cathy Maxwell’s books for review. It looked interesting and me, being me, I like to read everything an author writes in the order it was written. With that in mind I looked up Ms. Maxwell’s earlier books and picked up YOU AND NO OTHER. Boy, am I glad I did! YOU AND NO OTHER is a wonderful, well told story with some twists and turns I just did not see coming. As the story unfolded and some of the past mysteries were revealed I began to wonder if Caroline and James would have their happily ever after. Society and events dog them at every turn and in a heart wrenching moment James knows there is nothing left for him to do but to lose the love of his life.

Minerva and her friends are fabulous secondary characters. They are some of the best ones I’ve read. Ms. Maxwell writes multi-dimensional characters, almost all you would want to know. Those that you wouldn’t want to meet are the bad guys in the tale and they are the kind you love to hate. It is going to take me a bit to read through all Ms. Maxwell’s books to her more recent ones but given how much I enjoyed YOU AND NO OTHER it is going to be an enjoyable journey.

If you haven’t tried a Maxwell book you don’t know what you are missing.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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