Customer Reviews

Shattered Trust (Favourites)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Shattered Trust by Jacqueline Baird
Harlequin Presents # 1359 - May 1991

Four years before, Abby's life had been destroyed when she and her unborn son had been cruelly rejected by her husband. Now divorced, she's finding success running her own art gallery in a small town. Only Nick seems to be back in her life, and when he takes one look at three year-old Jonathan he sees that there can be no doubt that the child is his son, something he had not believed for one second years before. He wants his son. Knowing Abby's loyal heart, he threatens to financially ruin her friends and community, unless she remarry him. Abby knows that Nick needs an heir as his grandfather is ailing and instead of turning control of the family empire rightfully to Nick, he would turn it over to Nick's sister and her children. So she agrees to the marriage making it clear that when the old man dies, she will be free to take her son and move on. Nick spells it out clearly that their marriage, however long it is, will be a full and normal one.

Ms. Baird grabs your attention and quickly your heart right from the beginning pages. This is a very powerful story of a deep love that should never have been broken. Nick's behaviour to Abby is quite ruthless, but we get very real glimpses of the immense pain he feels. Abby is a woman to admire, and through her reflections of their fairytale marriage and it's sudden demise, we can see how strong Abby has become. Both are incredibly passionate people who feel so deeply, yet allow their pride to keep those deep feelings from the other. Nick's regret and guilt for the years before, and Abby's fear that she will this time not be able to survive, make this a very intense and powerful story. Bravo to Ms. Baird! This one will be read over and over again!

This was the first book I had read by Jacqueline Baird, and I have to say it was an absolute pleasure. I have to disagree with the other reviewer, I didn't find anything melodramatic about the couple's past.

Nick is an Alpha male who gets what he wants. He wants his son and his exwife Abby back, and will stop at nothing to get them back.

This book is a wonderful way to spend a lazy Sunday!

Perhaps it's because it's my third Jacqueline Baird book in a week, but this book was fairly disappointing.

Abby and Nick were married and when they finally got to the stage of trying to have a baby, Nick stopped sleeping with her and openly started seeing other women. Eventually Abby left him but not before she got pregnant. Nick denies all claims to the child and divorces Abby charging her with abandonment.

Four years later Nick is back in her life claiming that he was stupid to have lost her all those years ago and wanting his son and to be married to her again. According to his secretary/girlfriend who he'd been sleeping with before during and after their marriage, Nick needed a son in order to inherit his father's controlling shares in the company. He needed one before the old man died, a near event, and what better than a ready-made one?

Abby winds up blackmailed into marrying him again but despite the fact that Nick couldn't remain faithful, was it possible for them to have a relationship?

The answer is yes, because even though Nick is the dregs of the male species, she loves him and she wants it to work.

I wanted to like Nick, I liked all the heroes in Jacqueline Baird's previous books, but I just couldn't like him. His reasons for the other women were so stupid. He found out he couldn't have children so stops sleeping with his wife and pretends that he's sleeping with other women so she'd hate him and leave him? All because he knew how much she wanted children? It's more believable that he stopped sleeping with her and went out sleeping with all the women he could just to prove he was still a man. He then has the nerve to call her out about sleeping with all sorts of men, and is pissed at her for not trusting him.

There is really no insight as to why Abby would stay with him or why she would try to make it work, and there was nothing about Nick that really made you believe that what he says happened is what really happened.

When she thinks that he might remain faithful to her because it was becoming too dangerous *see STDs* to be sleeping around all the time, it went from maybe it'll have some redemption to nothing will help this book.

I gave it three stars because the beginning of the book had a lot of potential and Jacqueline Baird has a really good writing style.

Nick divorced Abby and disowned her child believing that he is sterile and that the child is not his. Now he knows differently and blakmails her into marraige. How they resolve their differences is rest of the story.
It is an interesting book with storng chemistry between lead characters. But the hero seemed callous in his attempt to distance the heroine. And the reason for the earlier divorce seemed too melodramatic. However it was an overall good read.

Actually, I liked this book except for the treatment of the secretary. If not the heroine of a book, secretaries are always painted to be after the boss. No exception here. I wished the secretary's lies (when Nick gave her the gold bracelet) to Abby in the ladies' restroom would've came out. The woman should've been fired, not promoted to a job in NY.