To Love, Honor and Betray

A daughter's forthcoming marriage forces a divorced British couple to revisit old secrets in this muddled, talky romance by the author of Power Play. When 23-year-old Tara Wallace announces that she's going to marry her American boyfriend, and that his wealthy aunt will scrutinize her family tree, her mother, Claudia, and father, Garth, must face painful truths they've hidden from their daughter. After setting up a potentially interesting situation, Jordan takes the reader through a series of extended flashbacks as well as frequent digressions into the lives of minor characters. One implausible plot twist is piled atop another; long-awaited confrontations fizzle (for example, the rich aunt dies suddenly before meeting Tara), and the main characters mull their feelings and conflicts at tiresome length. Some masochistic sex scenes may put off romance readers. (Sept.)