Forbidden Love

Lisa Bradley is a very smart and strong woman. Her father has just died, leaving the family’s financial responsibility on her shoulders, because Lisa’s mother is not the kind of woman who can handle money, except to spend it. Now, facing a mountain of debts Lisa is determined to keep her and her mother’s heads above the financial flood.

One way for Lisa to accomplish this is to make sure they spend less and maybe for her to open a small shop. But, her mother refuses to see reason and suggests that it is high time for Lisa to marry. If Lisa were married it would solve all their financial problems. Her mother tells her she is 21 and should be settling down with a young gentleman instead of spending so much time at the literary club. Lisa enjoys her time at the literary club. She loves to read and discuss great literature with others; who cares that the club members consist of older men and women. Lisa soon realizes her mother is not going to give in and she marries William Enright, a rich and respectable gentleman who courted her before her father died.

Marriage to William is nothing like Lisa imagined it would be at all. William has become a different man then the one who courted her. He is a man with secrets and is often away on business. William is very cool and indifferent towards her and she has no idea why, he has been this way right from the very first night as husband and wife. Lisa tries really hard to be a good wife, but she knows there is something very special missing from their marriage while talking to her best friend. Can Lisa get William to sizzle and pop like a ragging fire? Or is he going to remain as cold as a fire that will not spark? Oh, how she wished he would show her some passion, like she sees in the eyes of Owen Cardiff. Each time Lisa sees Owen she recognizes a passion that is all consuming.

Owen Cardiff is a steelworker. He toils and sweats in the heat of the mill every day, in order to save money to fulfill his dream of going to college and becoming a civil engineer. He has no business day dreaming of Lisa Bradley. But, each time he sees her at the literary club his heart aches for her. He needs to concentrate on the mill and all the unrest between the union and Carnegie Steel Company. Owen knows that Lisa is married and very much out of his reach. Or is she? Will Owen and Lisa let the flames of passion consume them?

In Forbidden Love, Shirley Martin takes us to Pittsburgh in 1891 and gives us a whirlwind of politics and romance. Once again Ms. Martin gives us nothing short of a masterpiece. You will feel the heat of molten steel bursting from the pages of this sizzling book! You will become immersed in Lisa and Owen’s lives right from the start. They truly are a pair who deserves to find happiness. But, do they? You will be on the edge of your seat to find out!

No matter what genre of romance Ms. Martin writes you are sure to pick up a winner every time you read one of her books! I am looking forward to seeing where her muse will take us next and what new, exciting, and passionate adventures are in store for us in the future!

Reviewed by: Janean