The Return of the Stranger (Mills & Boon Modern) [Paperback]

If you love a tortured and brooding hero, one that comes from a "dark" place, then you are going to fall in love with Heath Montanha in Kate Walker's The Return of the Stranger. This book is part of Powerful and Pure series and as you will read in the "Behind the Book" post by the author, she received her inspiration from Wuthering Heights.

Revenge played such a large part in this beautifully crafted romance. Heath's mother, one learned, abandoned him in London as a child. He was found one cold and rainy evening by Kat Charlton's father. Mr. Nicholls decided he could not leave this child behind. So he brought him home to High Farm. His daughter Kat and Heath became friends, but not his son, Joe. It was Jo who in the end had banned Heath from their home after their father died. He threw Heath out and he had to survive the cold English weather living outside in a shed.

Heath was now back at the Grange with more wealth than a man could expect with nothing but revenge on his mind because now he had it all, he owned everything. He knew Kat's brother was an alcoholic and that the man Kat had married was dead. He also knew that Arthur Charlton had been a sick and twisted man. The same man who had taken away Kat from him, with the help of her brother. He would make them all pay for the way they had treated them. In the end he would throw them all out, because he had a plan. But not before he could see for himself their faces, one last time.

As a teenage boy he had loved Kat, they had been good friends. However, as Heath grew to adulthood, he realized he really loved her. An then one fateful night when they were outside at the manor, everything changed. Kat was taken inside the manor due to receiving a dog bite. She was mesmerized by their wealth and in the end was persuaded to marry Arthur Charlton. They called Heath all sorts of names, like "gypsy" boy, they made fun of him and Kat in the end "denied" him. Now ten years later, he was back and he would make them pay.

What could I say about Kat? How could she have treated Heath that way and was it worth it?. In a way she had sold her soul and for what? However, she did suffered thanks to her husband and the way he had treated her. Now the Manor was in jeopardy of being taken away from her and she was frightened others in the village would learn about Arthur's "nasty" secrets. What she didn't know was that Heath would make her feel like a woman, something she had never felt before. He would have her yearning for him. Secretly, I wondered what would happen when she learned everything.

This romance is definitely not for those romantics who want a tender and sweet ending. Sometimes one has to suffer in order to get that happy ever after. Add to the mix a bordering "dark" romance, Kat's alcoholic brother, his neglected son, and Kat's deceased husband's twisted and dark secrets. I honestly, wondered if Kate Walker would give The Return of the Stranger an ending like Bronte did in Wuthering Heights? And what would Heath do to Kat who had betrayed his heart and soul? Would he make her come to him and then cast her off?

The Return of the Stranger was absolutely breathtaking. Heath and Kat's story was forceful and very dark at times. There was heart pounding love for both of them. It was one of those love stories that will stand out in my mind, just like another Kate Walker story, The Italian's Forced Bride. The word, perfection doesn't even describe it!

Behind the Book:

"I have another new title coming out very soon. That is The Return of The Stranger which is the fourth and final book in a miniseries called The Powerful and the Pure. The stories in these books were inspired by some of the greatest classics of romantic fiction - Jane Eyre, Emma, Pride and Prejudice and the one that I have had as my inspiration - Wuthering Heights. It has been both a delight and a challenge to work on this - and over the next few weeks I'll be talking about how I came to write Return of the Stranger and the way I went about it - plus my love for the original great novel Wuthering Heights itself. The Return of The Stranger appears in September in M&B Modern in the UK and in October in Presents Extra in America - and M&B Sexy in Australia, but it will be available on the Mills & Boon website a month earlier if you can't wait." K. Walker

The Return of the Stranger (Mills & Boon Modern)

THE RETURN OF THE STRANGER is the latest enthralling presentation by author Kate Walker for Mills & Boon Modern and Harlequin Presents line.

Heath is back. But why? To take revenge on Kat's brother who had thrown him out to live in the shed, and her husband who had always derided him? He is more powerful and wealthier than any of them now.

But coming back, he also comes face to face with his childhood friend and teenage love, Kat. Would he be able to walk away again?

Lady Katherine Charlton, now a widow, missed her childhood friend. But can she welcome back this dark, brooding stranger he has turned into?

His very nearness entrances as well as terrifies Kat. Is she frightened of him or of herself and her own feelings?

Author Kate Walker's own unique take on the classic story of Wuthering Heights makes this into a happily ever after love story. It is a gripping tale of past secrets, scandal, and is full of sizzle and mesmerizing emotion.

A wonderfully written and richly layered love story from one of Harlequin Presents' most popular authors, THE RETURN OF THE STRANGER is another keeper from the always fabulous Kate Walker!