Wicked Promise
20-yr-old ward moves into her rakish guardian's estate in order to be protected by molestation attempts of lecherous & obssessive man. She becomes attracted to him, despite knowing about his reputation & ex-convict past. But Hero is married but estranged from his wife for 9 years. Hero tries to fight off his attraction to heroine b/c of his married status & tries to marry her off to a respectable man. Although Martin's writing is good, I did not find Hero's sudden change from an uncaring, debauched man to a guilt-ridden, humbled one convincing. Martin didn't develop the romance between Hero & heroine enough to make that kind of major personality switch realistic. Also, the final outcome of hero's estranged wife was too cliche.
Cautiously recommended.
