In the Garden of Temptation (The Garden Series Book 1) [Kindle Edition]
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Editorial Reviews
Special LOW PRICE for a LIMITED TIME! Lose yourself IN THE GARDEN OF TEMPTATION.
HONOR – Adam Stanford, Earl of Ashworth, has always done the right thing.
DESIRE – Lady Catherine Bourgeault, lonely and rejected, longs to experience passion, to love just once in her life.
TREACHERY – The Baron Bourgeault, to what extremes will an obsessive, unstable man go to achieve his own dark ends?
SEDUCTION – In the face of a love that will not be denied, Adam and Catherine risk everything to be together.
BETRAYAL – What price must Catherine and Adam pay for a forbidden love in a time when honor meant everything?
EXCERPT:
Catherine didn’t know if she wanted to tell Lord Ashworth about her retreat. She had come upon it not long after her marriage to Edgar, and it had offered her the only peace she was to know for a long time.
It was dangerous to share the only thing that belonged to one. Yet the thought of spending an afternoon with the earl in her most treasured place, sharing a leisurely meal, beckoned her. She glanced shyly over her shoulder to see if he still followed.
Lord Ashworth rode only a few yards behind her horse, and he grinned when their eyes met. He had a lazy, sensual smile and, when he looked at her like that, she felt an odd breathless catch in her throat. She wondered how it would feel if he were to place those warm lips to hers instead of the back of her hand.
Oh dear! There went that catch again.
Within moments they entered a clearing. Catherine dismounted without waiting for the earl’s assistance and swung her arms wide as she turned in a circle about the shaded copse.
“What do you think?” she asked.
The earl, still astride, cast his gaze slowly around the tiny glen as he studied the scenery. He then turned his attention to Catherine but did not speak. A suggestive grin broke the calm of his expression as he continued to watch her.
“More beautiful than I could have imagined,” he murmured.
Simple statement that, but it held a wealth of meaning. Catherine dropped her arms while staring back in fascination. Her mouth fell open and her breathing quickened. The air vibrated with unspoken words as they shared a moment of absolute understanding. The specter of desire had been brought into the open and was acknowledged.
Experience IN THE GARDEN OF TEMPTATION today. Meet characters you'll visit again in the other books in this series.
Bonus Material:
Excerpt from JUST ONE LOOK, Romantic Comedy by JOAN REEVES, now available on Amazon.
Excerpt from DESIGNING WOMAN and VIDEO VIXEN by ELAINE RACO CHASE, now available on Amazon.
Now Available on Amazon:
IN THE GARDEN OF SEDUCTION, Book 2 of The Garden Series.
IN THE GARDEN OF DISGRACE, Book 3 of The Garden Series.
IN THE GARDEN OF DECEIT, Book 4 of The Garden Series.
Just Released: THIEF OF SOULS
Dark and sensual, Thief of Souls is one man's battle with evil for the fate of his humanity. It is a modern vampire-esque romance, gothic in tone, with a twist on the "Beauty and the Beast" theme, for the beast's ugliness resides on the inside rather than the outside, and his hope for redemption comes not from being loved by another but from discovering his own ability to love.
- Format: Kindle Edition
- File Size: 457 KB
- Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
- Language: English
- ASIN: B004A8ZT9A
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
A quite original & well-written, intricate story,
By Aly-oops! (NM, USA) -
Amazon Verified Purchase(
This review is from: In the Garden of Temptation (The Garden Series Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
A friend recommended this book to me, so although I wasn't completely sold on the story-line, I bought the book & read it in one day. I simply couldn't bring myself to put it down.
The summary is straight-forward enough. The Earl of Ashworth, Adam Stanford, is a good & honorable man who is enticed, by the promise of exceedingly well-bred twin horses, to the castle of the suspicious Baron Bourgeault. Instead of purchasing the outrageously priced pair, the Earl instead falls in love with the young & beautiful Baron's wife, Lady Catherine Bourgeault. A brief but impactful affair follows. The affair is resumed later when the Baron & his wife take up residency in London. But is this really a case of star-crossed love, or is there something...or someone...more sinister playing as puppet master?
I won't spoil it by telling anymore. Any reader will be able to piece things together pretty quickly. Despite a couple of cheesy exchanges between the lovers, the story is amazingly well-written & held me riveted for hours. I came to love the main characters, & despite my loathing for the villain, I couldn't outright hate him, even before the end. Suffice it to say, Wicklund's efforts at character development are grade A.
Though I wouldn't say this book is flawless, the originality of the story coupled with the steady character development earned 5 stars from me. Though there is sex in this title, it lacks the raunchiness found in many others. What is offered, instead, is a picture of two people who fall in love & are unable to find a way out while being hopelessly manipulated for another's gain.
Don't worry, though. Justice is always served.
In the Garden of Temptation: Emotional Keeper,
By Joan Reeves "It's never too late to live happ... (TX USA) -
Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: In the Garden of Temptation (The Garden Series Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
In the Garden of Temptation by Cynthia Wicklund
Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cynthia Wicklund on [..] and subsequently reviewed her first published novel Lord of Always on that blog and my other one [...]. I bemoaned the fact that she didn't have another book coming out any time soon. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who wanted more from her, and as soon as possible! Cynthia listened to the pleas of her eager new fans and has made her books of The Garden Series available as eBooks.
HARD TO BELIEVE
Readers, you'll find it hard to believe, but these evocative, emotional romance novels made the rounds of editors and agents for years without capturing a contract. They came close many times, and Cynthia finaled in Romance Writers of America's annual Golden Heart contest for unpublished writers, but the end result was a stack of "glowing" rejection letters. Their loss is our gain because we can buy these wonderful romance novels at such low prices.
STRONG BELIEF
Writers sometimes believe so strongly in the worth of a story that they don't give up, and that's a very good thing for readers because In the Garden of Temptation is a gem worthy of a place on your keeper shelf. Thankfully, eBook reader devices, like my Kindle on which I downloaded In the Garden of Temptation, Book 1 of The Garden Series, make the size of a keeper shelf immense. Let me tell you about this story.
NO SPOILERS
It's hard to tell what this story is about without revealing some neat twists, but I'll try.
Adam Stanford, Earl of Ashworth, is a man who is honorable and above reproach. He's always done the right thing. Then he meets the beautiful -- and married -- Lady Catherine Bourgeault, the beautiful, young wife of one of the most disreputable men in England.
Stunned by a passion and a love that no amount of conscience can deny, Catherine and Adam risk everything for a few moments of stolen bliss. Unknown to them, every event from their introduction to the consummation of their love has been orchestrated by Catherine's evil, demented husband for his own dark purpose.
When Baron Bourgeault finally springs his trap, Catherine is forced to break Adam's heart in order to save him. The baron whisks her away to his crumbling castle in the country. As he sinks deeper and deeper into his psychosis, Catherine knows that her life, and all she holds dear, may be forfeit unless the power of redeeming love can save her.
CHARGED EMOTION
I read this book while I sat in the surgical waiting room last week. My daughter was having her third surgery in 18 months, and I was a basket case who could hardly take the slow movement of the hands of the clock. A two hour surgery turned into four and continued. If I hadn't had this book to read, I don't know what I'd have done. I can hardly believe that Catherine and Adam's emotional journey captured my attention sufficiently as to calm my nerves and give me brief respite from worry, but it did. I devoured the book.
BOTTOM LINE
This is the second novel I've read by Cynthia Wicklund, and it's truly another winner. I can't recommend her books highly enough. She has a way with women characters and the knack for presenting them as likable and honorable even when they may not be engaged in honorable actions. I understand these women, and I like them.
Her talent with characters extends to men. In Lord of Always, she took an evil man and made him the kind of man we'd all want in our lives. In Temptation, she takes an honorable man and makes him behave dishonorably, but we don't care! We still like him. We understand how he is in the grip of a love he never expected to feel. We see his battle with his conscience. Despite what he does, he's heroic.
I'm off to purchase the next books in the series. Book 2 is In the Garden of Seduction, and Book 3 is In the Garden of Disgrace.
Of course, I'm going to buy the Kindle Editions, but you can get them in other formats or in Kindle for other apps, not just for the Kindle Reader. However you read; get this book, and make a place on your keeper shelf.
