"a twisting ride of plots and subplots"
Kate Quinn hasn't lived a normal life. As a child, her
abusive father finally pushed her mother to the point where
she couldn't take it anymore, so the woman bundled Kate and
her brother into the car and ended up in an accident,
killing herself and Kate's brother. Her father blamed her
for surviving when her brother didn't. After all, a male
child is more important than a girl to a rich man with
quite a bit to leave for his offspring. So Kate's future
husband was hand picked when she was still young. The only
time in Kate's life when she was not under her father's
thumb was when she went to college in Arizona. There, she
met and fell in love with a man, Ryan Cooper, and she
secretly married him never telling him of her background.
When Kate's father discovers what Kate has been up to, he
has his "bodyguards" bring her back to the ranch. Faced
with being pregnant, Kate decides to marry the man her
father has chosen for her to protect her unborn child.
Since she's already married to Ryan, Kate knows the
marriage won't be legal. Kate's marriage is not a happy one. Her husband openly has
affairs, not that it bothers Kate. At least she knows he
won't bother her as long as he has someone else to keep him
satisfied. On Christmas Eve when Austin, her daughter, now
six years old, runs and hide, Kates finds Austin hiding in
her husband's closet. Waiting for her husband to finish
with his latest mistress, Kate overhears her husband's
plans to sabotage one of the company's joint projects with
the Navy. Terrified now, Kate manages to grab Austin and
escape the ranch. Her plans are to drive to Mexico,
however, she decides to go through Arizona to get there. Of
course, being in Arizona brings back a lot of old and happy
memories. Even though Kate knows she should stop and get
some sleep, she pushes on and ends up crashing into a tree. When Kate comes to, she finds herself on a winery owned by
none other than her legal husband, Ryan Cooper. Will Kate and Ryan finally have a chance at marriage and
happiness? Will Ryan be able to keep Kate safe from the man
her father chose for Kate to marry? And what of the
sabotage? Will Kate be able to somehow use that knowledge
to get away from the monster her father chose for her? Is
Ryan hiding something from Kate? Something that could have
a profound effect on their future? THE SWEET POISONED WINE is a twisting ride of plots and
subplots, and love and betrayal. E.A. Petrick does a
wonderful job of keeping everything straight so I didn't
become lost with everything going on. And there's even a
case of mistaken identity in this one too. All Kate wants
is a normal life with the man she loves—Ryan. Except
everyone else thinks they can run her life and tell her
what to do. This is a heartwarming story of one woman
coming into her own as a woman and finally taking control
of her life and you don't want to miss it.
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted April 27, 2008
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