Title: Cardinal Sin

Author: Margaret Tanner

Genre: Contemporary

Page Length: 198 pages

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

196 pages Sensual

Release 8/15/2008

ISBN 1-60154-288-7

Blurb:

One bloody night Bryce Harrington thought savagely, and this happens. He had committed the cardinal sin of getting his secretary pregnant, and now he had to pay the price—offer marriage. Caroline Dennison had committed the cardinal sin of falling in love with her boss. While her brother risks his life in the jungles of Vietnam, and her friend, a draft dodger, is on the run from the authorities and needs her help, Caroline has another desperate battle on her hands.  How to win Bryce's love.

Review:

Caroline Dennison has the dream job in a way, yet it is pure torture.  She has it bad for her boss, and only her roommate, Kerry knows what she has been going through.  When Bryce Harrington’s secretary goes out sick, then quits, it leaves Caroline in a position she has coveted ever since she started working for Harrington and Son Construction.  Her overblown nerves are not enough to allow her to back out of the arrangement, even though her unrequited love for her boss keeps her on edge. Oh yeah, he is a real piece of work, is her Mr. Bryce A. Harrington.  Cranky on the best of days, he always played the playboy with one woman or another demanding his time during work.  At times Caroline feels as though she would love to scratch their eyes out, she knows it is not her place.  She is desperately in love with him, her brother Andy knows, her best friend Kerry knows and disapproves, as does her boyfriend Trevor, but Bryce doesn’t know she is alive.  Not even in her new position as his personal secretary seems to change that until the fateful night of the company Christmas party….

There is a lot going on around Bryce, and the pique he feels at his personal secretary’s illness is not making his day any better.  Finding and training a replacement is going to be a pain, but it should be only temporary.  He knows what faces him in the typing pool, yet that will have to do for now.  The girl released to him is a quiet mouse, shy, plain, but he soon finds out she is quite good and very efficient.  Her quiet manner, dulcet tones and pleasant attitude in spite of her nervousness have him looking twice at the gem he found.  When he finds out that his former secretary has quit, he soon promotes Caroline to the spot without hesitation.  Bryce has more than just business problems on his mind.  His father is having heart trouble, he has had several setbacks with project deadlines, workers striking on sites, and one project in particular that is way behind.  If that is not enough, his snobbish mother keeps pushing him to marry and shoving any number of what she considers to be “eligible females” in his path.  He guesses it might not be too bad if any of them had a brain, could carry on an intelligent conversation, and not looking only at the size of his pocket book.

Margaret Tanner has written a very memorable book in Cardinal Sin.  Set in Australian in the days of the Viet Nam war, and around the political unrest of the very unpopular conscription of young Australians to fight, it brings back memories of that day and age in the mid 1960’s.  The demonstrations around the draft echoed and were occurring in both Australia and the US.  Faced with her beloved brother’s graduation from the Military Academy and possible assignment to a warzone, Caroline is fit to be tied.  Along with her roommate Kerry’s anti-war bent and her boyfriend being a conscientious objector to the war, AND Caroline’s budding relationship with her boss, the fears she harbours for the safety of all involved add unwanted stress to an already overstressed life.  She knows Andy is headed for war, and feels helpless in the face of what he considers his duty.  Kerry and Trevor’s vehement disavowal of the war is also giving her anxiety.  The stressors around her are only increased by her feelings for Bryce.  Neither she nor Bryce are ready for the events occurring after the company Christmas Barbeque, nor the resulting problems.  Cardinal Sin is a poignant and memorable look back, and also a delicious story written about and around strong characters you won’t soon forget.  This is definitely a book you will go back to again, a keeper you shouldn’t miss.

Yours in good reading,

Reviewed by Rose!~

WRDF Review