The Obedient Bride - Mary Balogh

LOVE WAS NOT PART OF HER MARRIAGE BARGAIN

Miss Arabella Wilson knew perfectly well that the handsome, dashing Lord Geoffrey Astor was marrying her only out of a sense of duty. She knew she could be only grateful to this man who so generously offered her a life of aristocratic privilege. Surely she could not imagine she could ever claim his heart as well as his hand. Surely she could not object to his mistress, the ravishingly sensual Ginny Cox.

Surely she should be content with the attentions of the gentlemen of the ton who swarmed around her.

But Arabella had committed the most scandalous of sins. She had fallen in love with her own husband...

After a few less than wonderful Baloghs here's one that I truly enjoyed. The Obedient Bride is a "MOC" story; both the hero and the heroine marry out of a sense of duty. Him because he is helping the last Viscount's family and she because she will be able to help her family if she does.

The way they approach the marriage however is very different. The hero sees it has something he has to do but that it won't disrupt his private life, he will continue to keep his usual mistress and doing his usual activities with the exception that now he will accompany his wife to social functions and will present her sisters to society. The heroine, however, is determined to make the best of her marriage and be the perfect wife. In part because she feel he is entering a bad bargain as she is not as beautiful as her sister.

They do adjust well to married life and in fact Bella, the heroine, likes her new social life so much that she becomes a vibrant young woman always surrounded by friends and admirers. However, one evening she hears that her husband is keeping a mistress and decides to confront him about it.

I loved how Bella was so very hurt and disappointed but managed to hold on to her her dignity while making it very clear how mad she was. Geoffrey really couldn't see how his actions could be seen as wrong (which I suppose was accurate for the time and type of marriage) but he felt her displeasure and decided to change. He ended things with the mistress and worked on gaining Bella's trust again. Mind you he did not change overnight, in fact his first reaction was to get very angry that Bella should think and speak in such a way with him. But when he decided to reform he did his best to please her and I felt he actually won her over.

There's a subplot with Bella's sister and a rake that I felt was a bit unnecessary unless it was to show how noble Geoffrey was in contrast. In the end I found this a very nice little story although readers with strong feelings about adultery should probably stay away. I always feel Balogh has more original/outrageous plots in her earlier titles than in the more recent ones and this is the perfect example!

Grade: 4/5

The Counterfeit Betrothal - Mary Balogh

The Tender Trap


Lady Sophia Bryant had no intention of ever marrying. However, her own parents had been estranged for some fourteen years, and her one desire was to bring them together again in love. Surely, if she were to announce her betrothal -- even a false one -- they would be forced to see each other at last.

Lord Francis Sutton was perfect for such deceit. Devilishly handsome and a notorious rake, he was always agreeable to games of passion, especially those in which he had nothing to fear and nothing to lose. The trap was set... if only Lady Sophia could keep her foolish heart from falling prey to her brilliant snares...

After reading The Trysting Place I wasn't sure that I wanted to read the other books in the so called  Waite trilogy, but the reviews were good and the plots were interesting so I decided to try them. Last weekend I finished the Counterfeit Betrothal and I have to say that this was a very enjoyable story.

Lady Sophia Bryant's parents separated when she was four years old. Since that time she has lived with her mother in the country and she spends her holidays one or two weeks a year with her father. This has left her with no wish to marry but one day, on an outing with friends, she concocts a mad scheme... she and her friend Lord Francis Sutton, a perfectly eligible gentleman but with a rakish reputation,  will pretend to be engaged so that her parents will be forced to meet to speak of her future and maybe that will bring about a reconciliation.

So this is a story about two couples, Sophia and Francis and her parents. Sophia's parents were madly in love with each other but when her father did something very wrong her mother was unable to continue living with him. A betrayal is not easy to forget and she felt that she would never be able to live with her husband and trust him the way she did before. While Sophia's idea might seem a bit mad at first the truth is that it works perfectly. Unable to say no to the daughter he loves but with serious misgivings about Lord Francis, Sophia's father asks for her mother's help in convincing her that the she should not go ahead with the betrothal.

I thought it all rather funny, that Sophia's parents were so concerned with her when she was equally concerned about them and determined to keep with her bogus engagement till they are brought together. And the best thing is the witty dialogue between Sophia and Francis, they met as toddlers when Sophia was always chasing Francis and he was always playing pranks on her, now that they are grownups they are both decided to remain single but this counterfeit betrothal makes them spend a lot of time in each others company and the dialogues between these two are absolutely hilarious. I loved Ms Balogh twist for these characters...

Regarding Sophia's parents I liked their storyline a bit less. It was obvious from the beginning that they still loved each other and while I could understand what had happened in the past I think they should have been much quicker in talking about their feelings and who was important to them. As it was they are only made to talk about what they feel due to an outside event. All the time they were together they were assuming wrong things about one another and I thought that was a shame as "marriage in trouble" is one of my favourite storylines in romance.

Still they were both pretty good, it takes a good author to write two such different stories in the same book. One filled with carefree moments and funny lines and the other full of angst and poignant moments, one lighter and the other a more complex relationship. I closed the book with a happy sigh!

Grade: 4.5/5

Lord Caliban - Ellen Fitzgerald

THE DREADFUL DEBT

Lord Rodger Colbourue had saved Clemency's life one terrifying day when she was trapped in a collapsing tower; and he came to her rescue.

Now he had come to claim that life he had saved, as he proposed marriage without a promise of love, and demanded she trust him even though he filled her with fear

There was no one to save her now--not Damian, who had stolen her heart and then vanished... not her beautiful cousin Beatrix, who had vanished, too, in a disquieting cloud of mystery... not her parents, who wanted only that Clemency be wed at last.

Clemency knew that debts had to be paid-- but she trembled to discover how high the price would be...

Ok, so it's not every day that I get really annoyed with the characters of a book I'm reading, so annoyed in fact that when I finished reading their story I almost wallbanged the it. I usually like Ellen Fitzgerald’s stories so this one was a very unwelcome surprise.

I don't mind stories with villains, I don't mind the characters being fooled by the bad guy but when a simple conversation would be enough for everything to be uncovered, when people tell the heroine about what a bad character the villain is and she still doesn't believe them... well, sometimes it gets a bit too much and it starts seeming like the characters are too naive to be real. And that is exactly what happened here!

I really felt the story had much potential at first. Clemency met Rodger when in saved her for falling from a tower in ruins but she was in love with her friend Damian. Unbeknownst to both he predicament was arranged by her cousin Beatrix who wanted to see her dead so that she could be the young lady of the house. In time Damian leaves to fight in the colonies and Beatrix elopes with one of his friends. When Damian is thought dead in battle Clemency and Rodger decide to marry since they are friends and could have a happy life. And so they are falling in love with each and living happily till Beatrix returns to live with them and Damian comes back from the dead.

I could accept that Rodger's uncertainty and jealousy over his wife's feelings about Damian were easy to explore by Beatrix but that they stop talking and use Beatrix to carry messages for them, thus allowing her to plant the seeds of doubt in both their minds was a bit too much. And Clemency even abandons her husband still believing her cousin was a good woman! I'm afraid that was all a bit too much for me...

Oh and the blurb above? Is completely wrong, Clemency liked Rodger, she never feared him after she met him and he definitely did not come to "claim" the life he had saved...

Grade: 2/5

The Convenient Marriage - Georgette Heyer

THE KNOWING BRIDE

When dazzling Horatia Winwood married the powerful Earl of Rule, she was saving her sister from a loveless match, rescuing her family fortune, and providing herself with a life of ease. Hers was a marriage made not in heaven but in the coolly logical mind of a very self-possessed young beauty.

Not until Horatia was deep in dangerous intrigue with her husband's vengeful rival, the dashing and arrogant Lord Lethbridge, did she suddenly find -- to her own tremulous surprise -- she had fallen deeply in love with the man she had married for money. But was it too late, now that she was but a heartbeat away from betraying both him and herself?

This was one of the first books I read by Heyer and it has remained one of my favourites ever since. I reread it recently and since I had never written a review I decided to do it this time. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed it as much as the first time.

The Earl of Rule has decided it's time to marry and for his bride chooses Miss Winwood less from inclination then from her impeccable bloodline. But Miss Winwood already has a beau and the Miss Charlotte Winwood is determined not to marry so the youngest of the family - Miss Horatia Winwood decides to take matters into her own hands and offer herself as prospective bride. It is fun to see how Rule is instantly charmed by the plain, stammering Horry and not only agrees to the change of bride as to becoming the patron of Miss Winwood's beau.

Like other Heyer novels The Convenient Marriage is full of witty dialogues and interesting conversations between the characters. Horry and Rule have a big age gap and she tries to be as adult as possible, keeping out of his way and his affairs but it is quite obvious from the beginning that Rule likes her as she is and is determined to be patient and considerate with his wife.

Horatia gets herself in various degrees of trouble, especially by befriending one of Rule's old enemies, and things aren't helped by Rule's cousin trying to make mischief between them. I was also quite amused by Horry's brother Pelham, the inveterate gambler who run through the family fortune but has a high sense of propriety and can't understand why Rule doesn't have a heavier hand when dealing with his sister. And in the end it is lovely to see Rule save Horry from herself... Although she is sometime too childish and immature he is a wonderful wise hero who totally makes up for it.

This is a fun Georgian romance that I highly recommend!

Grade: 4.5/5

A Makeshift Marriage - Sandra Heath

When lovely young Miss Laura Milbanke was asked for her hand in marriage in romantic Venice, the irresistibly handsome Sir Nicholas Grenville was at death's door. He had fought a disastrous duel to defend Laura's honor, and now he would defend her from poverty by leaving her his estate when he died.

But Sir Nicholas did not die. He lived to bring Laura home to King's Cliff manor. Waiting for him was the fabulously beautiful Augustine Townsend, whom Nicholas had long adored and who would be his - if only Laura did not stand in the way.

Should Laura try to fight this ravishing rival? Or should she give her husband his freedom by giving herself to the temptingly attractive Daniel Tregarron, who offered her all the love Sir Nicholas denied her? Never did a young bride find herself in a greater dilemma - as a marriage that broke all the rules threatened to break her heart . . .

This book had no magic, unlike my previous read by the author,  and I liked it a lot better for it. It features a marriage of convenience in which both the h/h believe he will die. They marry so the heroine can have finantial security and since he survives she decides to bring him back to England to recover.

As soon as they arrive it becomes clear that Ausgustine, Nicholas previous fiancee, is determined to separate the newlyweds and gain back her status after an annulment. She starts turning Nicholas' mind against his wife and unable to tell him the truth due to doctors orders, Laura decides to implement in the property some changes that Nicholas wanted to bring about, knowing they won't go well with Augustine and the neighbours. Feeling lonely Laura strikes a friendship with Nicholas' doctor and friend that will end up ruining her reputation and damaging her marriage.

I thought this had the potential to reach keeper status but in the end it didn't. I felt Nicholas was too easily manipulated by Augustine and Laura kept seeing the doctor (and getting into trouble) when she should have realized that that was only making things worse. And even if Laura was the wronged party it was she who ended up making the first steps to the reconciliation. Too much heart ache and not enough happy moments was my final take on the story.

Grade: 3.5/5

Play of Hearts - Corinna Cunliffe

A MISTRESS OF MAKE-BELIEVE--IN A MARRIAGE OF LET'S-PRETEND

Miss Perdita Chase had been rescued from the scandalous world of the London theater, where her father reigned as king of actors. The wealthy parents of her well-born mother took her in hand and raised her to be the most proper of young ladies.Little did the lovely Perdita dream that she would have to play a role that would daunt any actress, in a real-life drama surpassing any on the stage.

For when the handsome and gallant Sir Jeremy Dole took Perdita as a bride out of duty rather than desire, she had to pretend to the world that her marriage was as perfect as it seemed. But behind her show of wedded bliss her secret heart cried out for the happy ending that only love could provide. It was clear to Perdita that she had been cast in a play that drastically needed a change of
direction....

I have realised this past few weeks that traditional regencies are my comfort reading material. Whenever I feel down this is invariable the genre I turn too. Although there are less stories being published there are still a huge number of authors and stories for me to discover. This was my first read by this author Corinna Cunliffe and while it wasn't a favourite it had some attractive points and I want to read more by her.

Perdita Chase has been raised by her aunt since she was a little girl, her mother died when she was young and her father is an actor and so considered unsuitable to raise her. She has grown up surrounded by her cousin and 2 of the neighborhood boys, Sir Jeremy Dole and his brother. Perdita is secretly in love with Sir Jeremy and always has been but always feels overwhelmed and tongue tied in his presence.
One day, while out walking alone, she is kidnapped by mistake by ruffians who believe her to be a great heiress. Sir Jeremy proceeds to save but they end up having to spend a night at an Inn where a gossipy old Lady sees them and reaches the wrong conclusions. To protect Perdita's reputation Jeremy pretends they have married and the next day proposes to her.

It is clear from the beginning that Perdita and Jeremy do love each other. However they both believe the other loves someone else. Acting on that presumption they are cold and distant with one another and the misunderstanding just grows bigger and bigger till Jeremy, after behaving awfully towards Perdita decides to stay away.

Unable to conquer him Perdita, who has found her father, decides to join the theater company and perform in the play she herself wrote and that reproduces somehow her problems with her husband. It will take the handiwork of friends to bring Jeremy to watch the play and finally realise the truth.

While I always appreciate books full of heart ache and this one certainly has a lot of that going on I never felt immersed in the story and in the characters to the point where I was suffering along with them (which I like!). They felt believable and interesting but somewhat cold to me. There is a secondary love story that develops that I enjoyed too although we see little of it and it also contributes to the problems between Jeremy and Perdita. Their main problem was one of communication and I would certainly have liked more dialogue between them. The only thing that sounded to me a bit unrealistic was that Perdita would take to the stage so well and without fear of creating a possible scandal. Wouldn't that be odd in that period?

But I did enjoy the book as a whole and thought it well written and am now curious to read more (I have another one in the TBR pile). The ending seemed a bit rushed after all that heartache though.

Grade: 3.5/5

A Highly Respectable Marriage - Sheila Walsh

THE OFFICER’S DAUGHTER

Lovely young Pandora Carlyon was the daughter of a gallant colonel--but now her father was dead, and Pandora was left unprotected in London, far from the battlefields of Europe where she had been raised.

It was up to Pandora to map out a campaign of survival for herself and her two brothers in this strange and scandalous world of English society. It was also up to her to defend her reputation and honour with every weapon at her command when the maddeningly handsome, shockingly notorious Duke of Heron proposed a most unthinkable alliance.

Pandora was about to learn that in love as in war, all was considered fair, every move was fraught with peril, and surrender could be so very tempting...

This book features a young and outspoken heroine and an older jaded rake. It's not that I don't like these types of stories but sometimes it seems to me a bit unbelievable the love story between such different people.

Pandora is an orphan and lives with her brother in the house of her half sister. They are treated like a charity case and since her young brother is always in trouble there's talk of sending him to a severe school. To avoid that Pandora decides to find employment . After a conversation with her godmother, she decides to visit the Duke of Heron who is apparently looking for a governess for his charges. Heron has no idea what Pandora is talking about and thinks she is proposing to become his wife thus creating a misunderstanding and some harsh words are spoken. On learning the truth he finds Pandora and starts to feel attracted to her. His attraction is almost immediate and maybe that is what made it a bit unbelievable to me.

Pandora was a nice girl, very trusting, naive and wanting to help everyone around her while Heron is the consummate rake. In a way I felt he rushed her a bit towards marriage and she might need more time to adjust to marriage, to him and to her new station.

Grade: 3.5/5

Lord Dragoner's Wife - Lynn Kerstan

JUST ONE NIGHT

Six years ago, Delilah was wed to Charles Everett, Lord Dragoner, a man she'd loved from afar. But after only one night, he fled England for France, and was gone from her life... Now the handsome lord has returned, surrounded by scandalous rumors. Although he cloaks his explanation in wit and laughter, Delilah discovers her husband was forced into their marriage by cruel and manipulative parents - and soon understands why Lord Dragoner wants to cut his ties with the past...He assumes his estranged wife wants the same. But Delilah has other plans - for she truly loves her husband, and dreams of a life together, if he could give them a chance at happiness. Only two things stand in their way - Dragoner's bitter past, and his present occupation, which promises danger for them both....And when Delilah resolves to face that danger beside her husband, a fragile chance for love begins to bloom...

I had read Lord Dragoner’s Wife a few years ago but I had never reviewed it so as I found another copy I thought I should reread and write about it. Plot wise it has two of my favourite themes – it’s a marriage of convenience and a marriage in trouble story.

Six years previously Delilah, a tradesman daughter, and the present Lord Dragoner were married. He appeared on church drunk and disappeared right after the wedding night. For five years, Delilah has waited for him to come back so they can form a relationship but when he returns is to speak of a divorce.

While Dragoner believes theirs was only a marriage of convenience, trading a title for money that his parents immediately managed to spend Delilah had in fact examined several candidates and decided to choose him because she was attracted to him. It’s with considerable distress that she finds what he plans when the only thing she wants is to start a family.

It seems divorces are much easier to come by in France and that’s where Dragoner has been living so he assumes it will be as easy in England. When he sees it is not so he lets Delilah persuade him to postpone a decision. While he goes back to France where he performs undercover work for Wellington she decides to follow him and see if his bad reputation is well deserved and if she should indeed forget him and any chances of saving their wedding. But she is welcomed with open arms in Madame de Stael’s salons and given a lot of information on her husband as well as a makeover.

What follows is Dragoner still trying to do his job as a spy but finding his wife in the middle of the action. Delilah is quite a strong and determined woman in her own way and tries her best to help him even if some wrong assumptions do lead to some funny and unexpected scenes. And of course, in the end Dragoner can’t help himself and does fall in love with his wife.

A very enjoyable story where my only complaint is that Delilah was a bit too good, too kind, too intelligent, a business genious… but I still liked it very much!

Grade: 4/5

THE DEVIL'S WEB - MARY BALOGH

REKINDLED DESIRE

The last time Madeline Raine had seen James Purnell, she had been but a chit of a girl, and at his mercy. Purnell had held her helpless in his arms - but protectively above the abyss of her own dangerous hunger for him.

He had left her then, not taking her innocence but taking her heart, as he vanished from England. Since then Madeline had reigned as society's most dazzling and heartless beauty, making all men pay for one man's rebuff of her.

Now James was back, more handsome and arrogant than ever. And Madeline steeled herself not to fall under his spell again. But she soon discovered that the melting power of passion ignited by love would not easily die…

What I did not like: people who know me, also know that I love Mary Balogh, she is one of my favorite authors, most of her books are at least readable, but most of the time very enjoyable. There was one book that I truly hated (“tempting Harriet”, and no, you won't catch me writing a review on that) and I never thought I will find another one to equal it, and even surpass it! But there it is! The devil's web!
For those who don't know, this is the last book in a series of three, and we have had glimpses of Madeline and James's love affair all through the series. It's one of those love and hate relationships, that honestly, need a lot of skill to be believable.

I've seen through the series that James has all the ingredients that make a tortured hero, so of course my interest is piqued. Why do we love tortured heroes?! Most of the time they only whine about their sufferings and make everyone near them feel unhappy?! And when we finally find out the reason for their “torture” it proves to be something that could be solved very easily by a few words of the heroine! But there you have it, the torturing syndrome got me again! And here we have a very fine example of it! James is absolutely impossible! I kept reading because I could not believe it, because a jerk like that was never found by me as a hero in a Balogh book. So I could not stop and just abandon the book, I had to keep trying, and maybe, there will be some explanation, some excuse, SOMETHING to atone for all the bad behavior of the hero toward the heroine. Because his excuse was rubbish for me - he did not feel himself capable of showing love (HA! Love! What about some decency at least and common courtesy. What about just treating your wife like she is a human being!) to the heroine because in his youth he knows himself to have impregnated the girl he loved and was not allowed to wed her himself – so he feels guilty.
Shortly, the hero and heroine are very attracted to each other, but they never seem to at least be friendly. Despite this, they decide to get married – and basically the reason is love – even if not acknowledged aloud in front of the beloved. And now begins the nightmare!
I honestly don't have anything against the heroine, it's obvious that she really tries to make her marriage work. She is not the boring type of heroine, she is active, full of life and very nice and patient with the hero, tries to understand him, tries to avoid discussions, but sometimes, out of nowhere, without any apparent reason, he strikes again. This is what I disliked the most – there were no reasons for what he does to her. They seem to have a good scene, and from nothing he gets prickly like a hedgehog and tells her something hurtful. Just like that! And that was a surprise honestly, because usually marriages in Balogh world, even those of convenience, are very polite, they sort of have some rules, and the hero treats the heroine with respect. Always! So it was very difficult for me to adjust to this new type of hero, who was also very unpleasant. And on top of everything else, he is also very possessive, distrustful and gives orders without explanations!
In the end the hero finds out that the reason for his “torture” was not a valid one (of course) and he finally talks with the heroine and after one last hurtful thing to say (like: oh, are you pregnant?! And is it mine?!), although, apparently, he had come to make peace with her. But they do acknowledge their love for each other in the very last pages of the book and decide to make their marriage work. Like anyone in his right mind would believe their marriage will ever work!

What I liked: there are some little things that I liked to read, or better, that ringed true. First, the first sex scene between the hero and heroine – it is one of the few where the heroine actually finds it a not so pleasant experience. Not that I'm glad for the poor heroine, but really I'm sick of reading about orgasms on the first time, especially when it takes place outdoors, on the hard ground!
Another thing I liked was to see that the hero does not escape his heritage. With a very cold and morose father he did not turn out to be a carefree, outgoing person. That's another thing that does not ring true to me in many romances – characters that come from very troubled parents, with very troubled childhoods, always overcome anything and get to be these beautiful persons with no flaws at all. Like they are not human!
I might have disliked immensely how the hero treats the heroine, but the truth is that it kept me on my toes. I read the book all anxious to find out how everything turns out to be. And that is something I have to admit :) grudgingly...

Grade: 2/5