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The Stolen Marriage
The Stolen Marriage
Author: Diane Chamberlain
One mistake, one fateful night, and Tess DeMello’s life is changed forever. — It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Inst...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781250756039
ISBN-10: 1250756030
Publication Date: 3/31/2020
Pages: 496
Rating:
  • Currently 4.8/5 Stars.
 3

4.8 stars, based on 3 ratings
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Other Versions: Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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eadieburke avatar reviewed The Stolen Marriage on + 1609 more book reviews
It's 1944 and Tess DeMallo is pregnant with Henry Kraft's baby but she is engaged to Vincent Russo. She is riddled with guilt and decides to break her engagement and marry Henry. She moves to the rural town of Hickory, N.C. She leaves Vincent a note and doesn't tell him anything. Vincent is working as a doctor and hasn't been home in months. Tess goes to Washington D.C. with her friend, Gina, and she goes out to dinner with two guys who are staying in Gina's aunt's house. They have some martinis at dinner and Tess gets drunk and Henry takes her home, kisses her and they have sex. Tess wakes up next morning and can't believe that she just had sex with a man she just met. Next, she discovers that she is pregnant. She confronts Henry and he suggests that they get married to make things better for the baby. Tess quickly realizes that she is trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out. The people in Hickory see Tess as an outsider and treat her with suspicion and disdain. Henry is secretive and everyone seems to know something about him that Tess does not. When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a hospital. Tess decides to work at the hospital as a nurse much to her husband's dislike. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband's mysterious behavior and find the love and the life she was meant to have?
The Stolen Marriage is an emotionally captivating novel of secrets, betrayals, prejudice, and forgiveness. It is Diane Chamberlain at her best. I read this book in one sitting and really enjoyed it. The characters were very real to me and the plot was one that kept the pages turning until the very end. There were shocking twists that kept the story moving and Henry's secret was unbelievable. I am now looking forward to my next Diane Chamberlain novel.
aprillynn avatar reviewed The Stolen Marriage on + 73 more book reviews
An entertaining listen (another great narration by Susan Bennett), but at 14 hours it spun in way too many directions with an unrealistic ending. Was this about infidelity and marriages of convenience in the 40's? Was it about the war? The polio epidemic? (Don't forget Tess is an RN!) Hickory, NC? Illegal interracial marriage laws in NC? Also, so many characters with irrelevance and tragic and sudden deaths. There's Sam, who talks to the spirits. Gina, the best friend who is the recipient of random letters from Tess about how everyone hates her. Ruth, the stereotypical evil MIL. Byron & Violet Dare, no relevance whatsoever. Grace, the new best friend (who's also a nurse!) and Lucy; was her ending necessary to the storyline? My rambling review sums the plot up well.


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