THE FALL OF A SAINT by CHRISTINE MERRILL

Miss Madeline Cranston appears at his doorstep carrying Michael Poole, the Duke of St Aldric's child. The man who to the ton is known as The Saint has a secret to hide from all. She wanted to be a governess but when the Duke is accused of forcing himself upon her the only remedy is to make Madeline his Duchess for he has little chance of another heir since an illness has rendered him unable to produce one. Or has it?

Once the future is secured for Madeline and her unborn child, she sets out to make Michael's life as miserable as possible. Michael made a terrible mistake and he is prepared to pay for it every single day of his life if necessary. Try as he might to distance himself from the woman he took to wife is almost impossible when  his awakening feelings for the woman he hurt so badly begin to make his life clear. Will it be possible for Michael to melt the ice that has taken over Madeline's heart and make her see that he is no longer that man who hurt her, but the Saint he is known to be to his friends and the like?

THE FALL OF A SAINT by Christine Merrill is the first book I have read by this author and I find that it is well written and a good story. I have taken a peek a some of the reviews that pan the book for the "rape", but I do not agree. Occasionally that type of scene is necessary for the story to portray a state of mind and set the scene. That scene was in no way glamorized and the author didn't give us every little detail that could have made it hard to handle. I actually applaud Christine Merrill for daring to go where some fear to tread. I There were times when I would have liked to have throttled both characters but the resolution made up for those instances. I found THE FALL OF A SAINT an enjoyable read though not for the faint of heart. In the very least, this book will bring up debate and I always think debate is a great thing. 

~KIMBERLY~