Format: E-book
Read with: Stanza
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Dynasties: The Ashtons, Book 3
Publisher: Silhouette
Hero: Simon Pearce
Heroine: Megan Ashton
Date of Publication: March 1, 2005
Started On: November 23, 2009
Finished On: November 26, 2009

After reading the last book that I reviewed, Condition of Marriage by Emilie Rose I found myself interested in knowing more about the Ashton family which according to the series tag line says “The Ashtons — A family built on lies…brought together by dark, passionate secrets.”

Condition of Marriage  being the first book of this series that I read was actually the 9th book in this 12 book series. The story of Simon Pearce and Megan Ashton is the 3rd book in the series, and this was the book in which all the ugly secrets of Spencer Ashton, the father whose cruelty, lies and deception which is the underlying theme of this series, all start to unravel.

Spencer is married to Megan’s mother which as I mentioned in my previous review, turns out not to be a valid marriage since Spencer never really divorced his first wife. All these secrets and more start to come out of the closet in Megan and Simon’s story.

All her life, all Megan had wanted was her father’s approval, though he never had a word of encouragement or praise for either of his children. Megan works as a wedding planner and this is how she meets Simon Pearce, whilst planning his wedding to a bride who jilts him on the day of their wedding. Simon who was marrying for practical purposes, no mushy emotions involved thank-you very much, quickly proposes that Megan goes through the marriage with him, for a period of one year in order for him to expand his business with those whom seem to think that an unmarried man is not one to be trusted in the business world.

Megan, having her own reasons, which includes the fact her father is readying to marry her off to the Senator’s son, so that he would gain more power over government channels when running his business, decides to marry him on the spur and thus begins Megan’s and Simon’s story. Although this story wasn’t as sweet and beautiful as Jared and Mercede’s story, there was enough depth to the characters and plot line to make this an interesting read.

I guess most probably I would end up reading the stories in The Ashton’s series with the most interesting plot lines. Right now I am dead set on reading Name Your Price By Barbara McCauley and Just a Taste by Brownyn Jameson. And who knows, I might just end up reading the whole 12 books in the series, to quench my curiosity on who was ballsy enough  to kill Spencer Ashton!

Purchase Links: Amazon