The Third Son by T.L. Vance

ISBN# 0595346049

Available from: iUniverse

August 30, 2005 Reviewed By: Char

          Kellson Berkley has just started to put his life back together after a tragic accident that took the life of the woman he loved and almost killed him, too. He was also dealing with criticism and rejection by his father because of the levels of drugs and alcohol that had been in his system at the time of the crash. Kells, with the help of his grandmother, has turned his life around and has never returned to his partying ways, but still the rest of the family refuses to see him as anything but irresponsible. One of the links to his past life is his roommate, Bryant, who is notorious for finding himself engaged, then breaking it off within months, leaving a heartbroken lady behind. Kells was in the process of leaving on a long overdue vacation when he receives the latest call from Bryant telling him he was engaged again, to a beauty queen, and that she was going to be staying in the house. Kells decides to deal with this latest bimbo after he gets back and is in a better frame of mind.

          Cydney Nash is an American with a deep conservative southern background. Her greatest dream is to go to England and apprentice to one of the prestigious architectural agencies there. She is granted the opportunity to study with the best firm for six months, but her father is opposed to her going over and being on her own. When she meets Bryant and he proposes marriage and offers her a chance to stay in his house, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. She didn’t realize though that Bryant was going to be gone for months on end and that she would be staying in the house with his roommate. The more time she spends with Kells, she starts to realize that he is more the type of man she is looking to spend the rest of her life with, but she feels that she must talk to Bryant first before letting Kells know how she feels. Cydney then learns that Bryant has gotten another girl pregnant and has already married her, thus leaving her and Kells free to explore the attraction they feel for each other.

          Kells and Cydney spend the remaining months of Cydney’s six month stay learning to love and trust each other and Kells is on the verge of asking Cydney to marry him when a tragedy sends Cydney running back home to America and her father. Kells follows suit and embarks on the difficult task of convincing Cydney and her father that he loves Cydney above all else and will do all in his power to never disappoint either of them again. This promise will take all Kells’ considerable power to keep because there is someone determined to prevent Kells and Cydney from enjoying a happily ever after.