The Plumed Bonnet - Mary Balogh

DECEIVING THE DUKE

There was no reason for a lord as handsome and high and mighty as the Duke of Bridgewater even to glance at a humble vicar's daughter like Miss Stephanie Gray. No reason except the Duke was in need of amorous amusement, and the he was mistakenly convinced that Stephanie was precisely the kind of woman that she was decidedly not.

It was one thing for Stephanie to be grateful to the Duke for rescuing her from a horrific highway mishap. It was quite another, however, to repay him by accepting what she long had been told was a fate worse than death. So when the Duke stooped to conquer, Stephanie rose to defend her virtue - only to find that even the most proper young lady on the brink of the deepest of dangers could nonetheless fall in love . . .

The Plumed Bonnet is part of a series that starts with Dark Angel. I have read the previous books some time ago and I never wrote the reviews but reading this one actually made me want to go back and revisit those soon.

In the beginning of this story we find Stephanie Gray walking along the road in a very colourful hat and destitute. When the Duke of Bridgewater's carriage comes along he sees a lady of easy virtue who might help him pass a few comfortable hours and he offers her a ride. Stephanie is naturally grateful and tells him the story of how she ended up like that and who she is. The story sounds so fantastic that Bridgewater believes it to be made up just to gain his interest. Amused he plays along and they both spend a night in an Inn albeit in separate rooms. When Bridgewater realises she was telling the truth he feels duty bound to offer for her because he knows he has compromised her.

Stephanie accepts as she feels she has no option (she has to marry to receive her inheritance) and she does admire the Duke very much for what she feels was a good deed towards her. But the easy communication between the two is now at an end. Stephanie feels like a country bumpkin next to Bridgewater's family and despite being coached in her new duties by the dowager Duchess she feels she may never be sophisticated enough to fulfill her new duties, and Bridgewater realises he wants a true marriage between them but seems unable to express his feelings in a way she understands them.

On their wedding day he decides to be truthful and tell her what he really thought about her when they met. This makes Stephanie realise that he also has flaws; the man she thought had been so kind to her simply thought she was a trollop. While this causes her some pain it was also a much needed conversation to clear the air between them. After the initial big misunderstanding (which I usually don't like) that was quite funny and then the smaller ones that contributed to make this a very angsty read during their engagement. Bridgewater and Stephanie will have to build their relationship on who they really are.

I found this a lovely, entertaining story with very funny moments in the first half and then some poignant ones in the second. It covers the dangers to women alone on the road, the insecurity of meeting one's in laws and how difficult it is sometimes to understand others, be it words or looks, when you don't actually know them. Another winner!

Grade: 4.5/5

Gentle Conquest - Mary Balogh

THE BASHFUL BRIDEGROOM

It should have been the perfect marriage for beautiful Georgiana Burton. The husband her parents had picked for her, Lord Ralph Chartleigh, was wealthy, handsome, noble, and kind. Unfortunately, he did not measure up to Georgiana's firm notions of what a man should be. He was uninterested in society, impervious to fashions, had the worst of tailors, knew little of women -- and was wary of the little he knew. Clearly Georgiana had to teach him a great deal about life and even more about love...forgetting until it was almost too late how much she had to learn herself.

Another Balogh oldie (yes I read quite a few last month) and one that I started worrying about once I was introduced to the heroine. She seemed the ultimate shallow girl, marrying because her parents so decided but determined to make fun of her husband. The husband was intelligent, honourable, charming even although a bit shy with his bride. He fell head over heels in love with at first sight and seemed unable to utter more than a couple of words in her presence. Georgiana pretends to also be shy and delicate while she is being courted but while Ralph never even kissed a girl she has already been kissed by a couple of her friends and sees nothing wrong with a light flirtation.

Ralph's inexperience and Georgiana’s behaviour lead them to an awkward situation on their wedding night and they do not consummate it. Instead Ralph decided to wait till they get to know each other better. He is quite surprised by the vivacious girl she becomes after the wedding and feels even more enchanted by her. Although seems as shallow as in the beginning we can see that she doesn't have a bad heart and would like to make a go of her marriage. She is a bit impulsive and sometimes her actions really are a bit too much but she is the kind who learns from her mistakes.

They eventually return to London and the ton's social life. Georgiana meets her old friends and makes the acquaintance of one of Ralph's cousins. The more she gets to know her husband the more she wants their marriage to be consummated, you can see her growing up, appreciating her husband as she should and he deserves. But Ralph doesn't seem in any hurry to do the deed. With the help of her husband's cousin she eventually comes up with a plan to seduce him, but since he feels intimidated by her she pretends to be someone else.

I must admit that Georgiana's crazy plan was quite funny. Because of that I could suspend my disbelief regarding the fact that Ralph slept with his wife believing her to be a stranger and never realising it. But I could see a mile away that someone would eventually believe Georgiana to be carrying on an affair and that might have some trouble explaining what she had been up to. How she was found out and how Ralph dealt with the situation was also quite funny.

Despite what I would think to be a crazy plot if I had just read about it I think the story worked very well, showing two young people (18 and 21) getting to know each other and falling in love while still showing some adolescent behaviour. While this isn't one of my favourite Balogh's it was still a very nice read.

The secondary romance was also a nice touch.

Grade: 4/5

The Discarded Duke - Nancy Butler

Nearly destitute, Ursula Roarke agrees to sell her late husband's bloodstock to the Duke of Ardsley. But the wily widow has an ulterior motive in visiting the peer's property in Devon: She hopes to entice him into marriage. Never does she imagine that a handsome sheepherder will jeopardize her plan--and win her heart.

William Ridd has spent years breeding the best woolbearing sheep in England for Ardsley. And he blames Ursula alone for the duke's decision to replace the flocks with horses. Still, Ridd cannot long deny the redhead's tempting charms. But the love of a beautiful woman may not be enough to conquer his fear that a secret from long ago will destroy any future happiness.

When I started reading this book I got the feeling that it was going to be a real keeper. The beginning was really promising with our nearly destitute widowed heroine, Ursula, Lady Roarke, trying to sell some of her horses to the Duke of Ardsley, who also happens to be young, good-looking, rich, and a nice guy. All in all very eligible, and Ursula, feels quite confident she can get him to offer for her. They visit together Myrmion, his property in Devon to see if it will be suitable for the horses the Duke will buy from Ursula. William Ridd is the Duke’s bailiff at Myrmion and he has been breeding and raising sheep there, which also produce a superior quality of wool, and the people in the area depend in the wool industry, which in turn depends on William’s sheep. The competing plans of Ursula and the Ardsley (horses), and William’s (sheep) for Myrmion make them adversaries. However Ursula, soon comes to see the advantages to the people of the area in keeping the sheep, so she proposes to have the horses in a nearby unused property. However the Duke is unconvinced.

All characters are very nicely fleshed out, William, Ursula, Ardsley as well as a neighbour, Miss Coltrane who provides a romantic interest for Ardsley (because obviously our heroine is going to end up with William). However parts of the plot where somewhat unrealistic and far-fetched. William seems to have had a troubled childhood, of which he does not remember much. From the hints and clues we are given early on in the book, the reader knows that William is the real Duke of Ardsley, the older brother of the ‘current’ Duke. This is not a spoiler. Even if the reader was not 100% sure, the title of the book “The Discarded Duke” gives it away. How William lost his rightful place as a Duke was a bit far-fetched for me, and the resolution was not realistic either, featuring a very eeevil grandmother. This is my only complaint about the book. All the characters are delightful (apart from the grandmother obviously), William and Ursula are a really great couple, and Ardsley and Miss Coltrane were also very likeable and their romance quite enjoyable.

If I did not find the story of William’s childhood unconvincing, its resolution far-fetched and the grandmother way too evil, this would have been absolutely perfect. As it is, I am deducting 1 mark for this aspect of the plot. Everything else was spot on, and I can highly recommend this book. I really enjoyed it, and if you have no problem suspending disbelief here and there in a romance, you will absolutely love it.

Grade 4/5.

DARING MASQUERADE - MARY BALOGH

BETWEEN TWO FIRES

Beautiful young widow Katherine Mannering vowed that no man would ever possess her. Her brief but brutal forced marriage left her with profound distaste for what went by the name of love.

But that was before she met Nicholas Seyton, a devilishly dashing highwayman who kidnapped her person and stole her heart. And that was before she met the infuriating yet attractive Sir Harry Tate, whose manner made her blood boil yet whose touch lit flames of passion.

The outlaw and the lord... Katherine knew so little about either, except that each taught her a different lesson in love -- and presented her with a more and more difficult choice....

Who could have been the author to tempt me to finish my break in reading traditional romances?! Mary Balogh, of course… I don’t know why, but I was never tempted to read this book, and I had it for quite a while… I think it was the suggestion of masquerade in the title and the fact that the hero passes himself for 2 different persons that put me off…

Anyway, I read it and I’m glad of it. Something about the plot: well, you have the heroine, who works as a companion for the daughter of an earl who is terrified of highwaymen (the daughter, that is). The heroine, Kate, has been married to a somewhat nasty character who choked on a bone and died (yes, I don’t know why that’s funny, but it is) and she claims that she doesn’t want nothing from men from now on! On the road to the family’s estate, she, her employer and her brother, are held up by a highwayman, who abducts Kate believing she is the daughter of the earl.

The highwayman is of course the hero. Nicholas Seyton, wearing a mask and a wig. He has been wronged by the earl and asks for some answers – hence the kidnapping. He doesn’t get too fierce in his role and somehow manages to tell Kate all about his life and sufferings, she believes him and offers her help. They meet now and then, he is always using his mask, and they start and affair and concludes in a one memorable night of smuggling and making love!!! That’s fine of course, it could happen in romances , but exactly the next day the hero arrives at the earl’s estate as a different man, Sir Harry Tate. A very interesting character, actually the best in the book, and my personal opinion is that for him only it’s worth reading it. The heroine doesn’t recognize him and every time they meet, sparks start flying. He is quite obnoxious, really . Anyway, the rest is for you to discover…

It was an entertaining read, sometimes funny characters, not such a clever plot, but the strongest point were the nice dialogues. As a proof of that, I really have to show here, one of my favorite scenes, with Kate and Harry:

“G-go away then!” Kate said crossly on a shuddering inward breath. “I am not looking for your sympathy. And I would not be crying now, sir, but that I had a sleepless night and have not been feeling quite the thing today. I never cry.” She blew her nose loudly in the handkerchief and glared at him out of reddened eyes.
“Hm,” he said. “Quite disgusting. Your nose and your eyes vie over which are the redder. I do believe the nose wins because it also shines”
“Oh!” Kate stamped her foot crossly. “I might have known you would not have an ounce of gallantry for a poor female in trouble.”
“Now, think a moment, Mrs. Mannering,” he said on a sigh. “If I had taken you in my arms and held your head against my shoulder and crooned soothing inanities into your ear, do you not think you would still be bawling? As it is, your emotion has been converted to anger, and your chin and cheeks have perhaps been saved from the same fate as your eyes and nose”

In the end, it is worth reading for fans of the genre, but only if you’re willing to ignore the big white elephant in the room – the fact that the heroine has an affair with 2 different men, never knowing it is actually one single person.

Grade: 3.5/5

The Wood Nymph - Mary Balogh

One of Mary Balogh's older titles and one I knew little about before starting and I'll admit I was a bit worried after reading a few chapters.

Heartbroken at the loss of Elizabeth in A Chance Encounter, William Mainwaring retreats to his country estate and meets the unworldly Helen Wade in the woods one day. She soothes his soul until he flees in panic after seducing her. He then faces the almost impossible task of redeeming himself in her eyes.

Lady Helen Wade and William Mainwaring came together in the woods and forge a relationship without knowing much about each other. Helen, or Nell as she tells him, is attracted to a man who seems to understand her and share her love for poetry. William finds her refreshing and is warmed by her interest in him while he tries to mend his broken heart.

They end up being intimate without really talking about who they really are and William, upset with his feelings for someone whose innocence he used and he doesn't feel he can give a whole heart to (not to mention that he believes her to be a village girl), leaves for his scottish estate. Helen, totally in love with him and planning to tell him the truth of who she really is, is left alone without understanding exactly what happened except that the man she idolized has abandoned her after using her.

In Scotland William can't forget Nell and decides to go back and offer for her but first he goes to London to meet old friends. That's when he finds Nell again, in town with her family for the season. He is shocked when he finds out who she is and wants to do the right thing and marry her but Nell is too hurt by his betrayal and behaves atrociously towards him and his friends.

While their behaviour and problems is certainly a proof of their lack of maturity when Nell finally has a revealing conversation with William's friend I was almost in tears because of how she must be suffering knowing he could be the solution to her problems but unable to accept him because of what she felt was his despicable behaviour.

It couldn't have been an easy choice to know that to restore your honor you must marry the man who ruined you and disappointed you in the first place and I think Balogh shows that inner struggle of Nell very well. If you love intense and poignant reads I think this one fits in that genre very nicely.

Grade: 4/5

The Abducted Bride - Dorothy Mack

Mistaken Identity

Amy Cole wants the freedom to take care of herself while her brother, Robert, is away from home. But he has left her under the care of a friend—and she cannot even leave the estate without being followed!

Then, one day in town, she manages to escape her escort— and runs into a former soldier in search of his missing bride. Sir Jason Archer is convinced that Amy is his beloved Désirée —and drugs her so he can take her home with him. When she awakens, Amy finds herself in a foreign manor, surrounded by strangers, all of whom believe she is Désirée.

No matter how much she protests, Jason refuses to accept her story. So she resigns herself to playing along until she can manage an escape. But much to her surprise, Amy starts to grow fond of this insistent, enigmatic man. She can only hope that when he finally discovers she is truly not his Desiree that he will love her just the same...

---

Dorothy Mack is a favourite author of mine since she has written many books I really enjoyed. However, I am in the unhappy position to report that this is not one of them.

Sir Jason Archer is looking for his wife Desiree, who shortly after their marriage run away with an another man. Encountering Miss Amy Cole he mistakes her for his wife and he abducts her. Yes, you read that right! He mistook Amy for Desiree, apparently because both have amazingly green eyes. Even though Amy protests and thinks him a lunatic, it seems the resemblance is uncanny and it is not just the eyes. Amy and Desiree are apparently each other’s double. Mistaken identity plots are not my thing really, but particularly here where the mistake is based on the most feeble of excuses, ie their very unrealistic likeness (rather eg than a disguise, or not having met before), I was out of patience with this book very early on. The resemblance makes this sound like a child’s fairy tale, or a paranormal novel. And I like neither.

Sir Jason thought he had fallen in love with Desiree, but he quickly found out after the marriage she is was a selfish, conniving, money-grasping liar. He wants to come to some agreement with her to either continue in this farce of a marriage or get a divorce. Poor Amy becomes convinced that Sir Jason is not a bad guy after all, it is just that he believes she is his wife, so pretty quickly she forgives the abduction, and just hopes that she can convince him eventually that she is not Desiree. Amy of course is much nicer than Desiree, but does this make Sir Jason think that he maybe got the wrong woman after all and Amy is telling the truth ? No.

Also, the romance did not work at all for me. It is conceivable for Amy to start to like her abductor, once she realises he is not a lunatic and that she and Desiree must be identical. For Sir Jason however, who has come to despise Desiree it is not possible to start liking her now! Since Amy is nicer than Desiree was, Sir Jason thinks that Desiree is playacting or putting a show of amiability to get something. How is it possible to start to like a person you thoroughly dislike, and the reasons for the dislike are still there, ie the person has not changed ? (at least that is what Sir Jason thinks). This gave the book the deathblow for me, and I skimmed over the last third having no interest at all for how their complicated situation would be resolved so they can live happily ever after. Which I am sure they manage to do, but I could not care less about how this happy end would come about.

If you would like to try Dorothy Mack ,skip this. You would be much better off trying one of her other books, like: The General’s Granddaughter, An Unconventional Courtship, A Prior Attachment, The Unlikely Chaperone, The Courtship of Chloe, or The Counterfeit Widow.

Grade 1.5/5