Mary’s Musings about Cathy Maxwell and The Seduction of Scandal

Mary’s Musings about reading, reviewing, and random passing thoughts that come at me every day while I contemplate books and life. 

Cathy Maxwell is someone I have so much to say about - it is difficult to know where to start.  Her books always blow me away and the latest book The Seduction of Scandal (review below) is so fresh because it touches on a profession not written about much in historical romance – the clergy.  This is not in a controversial manner, but a weighing of passion and faith intertwined by a man of the cloth who of course has a secret!

But I decided to talk about how I met Cathy and how she inspired my new mantra, “What Would Cathy Do”?

We met through Kim Lowe of SOS Aloha (of course) at RWA this year in New York.  Kim and Cathy have been friends for years and I was delighted to be introduced to her.   I had a few minutes here and there to talk about her interesting life, books, and general thoughts.

While I am not an outgoing person, I am a talker when I get to know you and have found that I can hit on a subject with everyone that we have in common.   In the case of Cathy and me, it was our children, our expectations for them, and the difficulty as mothers to say no, regardless of what age they are.  But after a few of these conversations, the one thing that inspired me about Cathy is her ability to just not sweat the details.  She mentioned that you just have to let life move at its own pace and work through issues one at a time.  But really she got it into my head that you have to look inside to find your strength to see your own strengths and not have someone else fill in the blanks for you.

After I came home I started writing WWCD on everything and even on a piece of paper at work.   At times, work is a challenge to see my worth but Cathy has reminded me that I am, indeed, special.

So today I am proud to announce that Avon Books Harper Collins Publishing is giving away one copy of this book (review below) along with a surprise gift from Kim that she won't tell me anything about besides to say "it's awesome, do you trust me" - of course.   

To be eligible to win please leave a comment on “who inspires you?” Come back on Sunday – September 4^th to see if you have won.  Please remember if you do not come back, you will not know if you won because I am going to need your address. 

REVIEW from Mary Gramlich "The Reading Reviewer"

THE SEDUCTION OF SCANDAL by Cathy Maxwell

08/11 - HarperCollins Publishers - Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Are we all divided personalities – the one we show and the one we really are?

You might convince Lady Corinne to do any number of things she might not like but no one was going to make her marry that horrid man regardless of his title or incredible lineage, the man was a nightmare.  Both fathers have big plans for this merger, I mean marriage and Corinne pleading to beg off is soundly rejected.  So Corinne decides to step out of the comfort zone she lives in and moves to a place no one could find her, at least until after the wedding date passes.  What she never expected on this journey was to be shot, saved and figures out whom the notorious highway the Black Thorn was.  When you go past safe and straight into reckless behavior, you never know what is going to happen.

Corinne is having trouble digesting all this information because the Black Thorn may be a noble thief that steals to provide for the poor but he is also the Reverend Mr. William Norwich who just happens to be the foster son of her potential future father-in-law and the man that owns the property the Black Thorn is stealing.  Never one to let any situation not be used to her advantage, Corinne decides to hide out at Will’s parsonage.  Now this is only until the wedding date passes and in exchange for she will keep Will’s secret, this is a win-win right?  Will is not so sure her pretending to be his cousin is going to work out and while she believes God brought her to Will, he is sure the deity came from hell, the direction he is now setting a course for. 

Upholding the word of the Lord and finding answers that lead him on a righteous path has been at times a test for Will’s moral compass.  Will knows that at some point, he is going to have to answer for his sins but will the judgment come from a higher power or his foster father a man Will owes his existence to or so the story goes.  But turning Corinne out is not going to happen because her belief that he is his salvation is stronger than his doubts and his ability to resist her is weakening.  The religious life has taught Will strength and control but he is not sure there is enough of it in him to stop him from taking the love and tenderness that Corinne is offering even though the last thing he feels he deserves is her love.

When the dark secrets come out about everyone’s misdeed it is going to take more than faith and good will to get through this sea of deception.  But Will and Corinne are meant to be together, work for the good of his church, and start a life together enjoying the passion of a religious life and some good spiritual awakening after the lights go out!

Cathy Maxwell always delivers on an original storyline, fresh characters, incredible twists, and fascinating turns reader do not expect.  This book hits on every one of those ideas and adds in a few feisty women, some heart wrenching moments of sadness, startling revelations and in the end you know there is some higher source at work here to great such a work of romantic literature.