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klndonnelly's review against another edition
3.0
That these are early books are clear. Balough's writing has matured so much since these. Enjoyable enough, but not her best.
booksuperpower's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to Librarything and the publishers for the early review copy of this book.
This is a re-issue of two of Mary Balogh's best loved novels, together in one volume.
The first novel is The Counterfeit Betrothal. This book was originally released in 1992, I believe. This is an ageless and timeless novel.
Lady Sophia loudly and proudly proclaims to a group of her closest friends that she will never, under any circumstances, marry. When pressed about this by her friends, she gives them the example of her own parents failed marriage. This conversation leads the group to concoct a plan that would bring Lady Sophia's parents together for the first time in fourteen years.
What is the plan? Lady Sophia and her childhood tormentor, Lord Francis Sutton, a man with a wild reputation, will pretend to be madly in love and on the verge of a betrothal.
Olivia and Marc separated fourteen years ago after a betrayal on Marc's part that drove a wedge between them that could not be overcome. Eventually, they decided on a marriage in name only. Now their daughter is about to make the same mistake they made, by getting married too young. So, the parents agree to meet with their daughter together to take measure of the situation.
This is two love stories in one. The light, fun and silly young couple and the more mature couple dealing with pain and heartbreak.
Will Sophia's plan work?
A classic regency romance. The young couple are getting themselves deeper and deeper into the pretend relationship until they begin to feel trapped into actually going through with a wedding.
In the meantime, Olivia and Marc find they are still attracted to each other and are still in love, but after fourteen years they do not know if they can ever come together again.
I LOVE this story! It's sweet, emotional and funny at times. It's regency romance at it's best.
The second story is "The Notorious Rake". In this novel we meet Lady Mornington again. She plays a role in the first novel, but we never really get to know her.
Mary is mourning the loss of her close friendship with Marc. She is lonely. After accepting an invitation to a social event, she finds herself caught out in a storm with the most notorious rake there ever was, Lord Edmond Waite. As they seek shelter, Mary is overcome with her fear of storms and Lord Waite is only too happy to offer comfort.
After the storm clears and they are back in their own homes, Mary hopes that will be the end of it, but Lord Waite experienced something with Mary he had never felt before. He is determined to win her over.
Mary on the other hand longs not to be someone's mistress, but to have a stable, respectable marriage, and maybe even start a family. So, she begins a courtship with a Viscount.
But, when she is placed in a weeklong birthday celebration with Lord Waite, she learns some terrible truths about Lord Waite's past that has her thinking of him in a new way.
This is another wonderful regency period romance of a mature nature. The terrible tragedy that haunts Lord Waite is a sad and emotional story that will tug at the heart strings. Will Mary be able to help him put the past behind him and look to the future with hope and promise?
Mary Balogh is the queen of regency! No one does it better. A+ all the way!
This is a re-issue of two of Mary Balogh's best loved novels, together in one volume.
The first novel is The Counterfeit Betrothal. This book was originally released in 1992, I believe. This is an ageless and timeless novel.
Lady Sophia loudly and proudly proclaims to a group of her closest friends that she will never, under any circumstances, marry. When pressed about this by her friends, she gives them the example of her own parents failed marriage. This conversation leads the group to concoct a plan that would bring Lady Sophia's parents together for the first time in fourteen years.
What is the plan? Lady Sophia and her childhood tormentor, Lord Francis Sutton, a man with a wild reputation, will pretend to be madly in love and on the verge of a betrothal.
Olivia and Marc separated fourteen years ago after a betrayal on Marc's part that drove a wedge between them that could not be overcome. Eventually, they decided on a marriage in name only. Now their daughter is about to make the same mistake they made, by getting married too young. So, the parents agree to meet with their daughter together to take measure of the situation.
This is two love stories in one. The light, fun and silly young couple and the more mature couple dealing with pain and heartbreak.
Will Sophia's plan work?
A classic regency romance. The young couple are getting themselves deeper and deeper into the pretend relationship until they begin to feel trapped into actually going through with a wedding.
In the meantime, Olivia and Marc find they are still attracted to each other and are still in love, but after fourteen years they do not know if they can ever come together again.
I LOVE this story! It's sweet, emotional and funny at times. It's regency romance at it's best.
The second story is "The Notorious Rake". In this novel we meet Lady Mornington again. She plays a role in the first novel, but we never really get to know her.
Mary is mourning the loss of her close friendship with Marc. She is lonely. After accepting an invitation to a social event, she finds herself caught out in a storm with the most notorious rake there ever was, Lord Edmond Waite. As they seek shelter, Mary is overcome with her fear of storms and Lord Waite is only too happy to offer comfort.
After the storm clears and they are back in their own homes, Mary hopes that will be the end of it, but Lord Waite experienced something with Mary he had never felt before. He is determined to win her over.
Mary on the other hand longs not to be someone's mistress, but to have a stable, respectable marriage, and maybe even start a family. So, she begins a courtship with a Viscount.
But, when she is placed in a weeklong birthday celebration with Lord Waite, she learns some terrible truths about Lord Waite's past that has her thinking of him in a new way.
This is another wonderful regency period romance of a mature nature. The terrible tragedy that haunts Lord Waite is a sad and emotional story that will tug at the heart strings. Will Mary be able to help him put the past behind him and look to the future with hope and promise?
Mary Balogh is the queen of regency! No one does it better. A+ all the way!
cakt1991's review
4.0
In many cases, when going through early titles by an author with an extensive backlist, while the promise is there, the books aren't as good, for a variety of reasons, the chief ones being that the industry has evolved to the point where some of the popular trends don't hold up (as is the case for many Old School titles) or they have since mastered their craft more than they did in their early days. But Balogh is one of the rare exceptions. While it is true these books aren't of the same caliber as her present work, they still evoke emotion, and are stories of complex, yet sympathetic characters.
A Counterfeit Betrothal (1992)
4.5 stars
When writing two love stories within a single book, it can be hard to make them both feel complete. But Balogh accomplishes this for the most part, in a plot that feels a bit reminiscent of The Parent Trap. While I did feel the love story between Sophia and Francis felt a bit lacking, especially since the back-cover blurb focuses most on that particular facet, I found myself blown away by the way Balogh depicts the relationship between Sophie's parents.
There are tons of books out there where a single conversation could solve the characters' problems, but this one doesn't feel like that, because the assumptions Marcus and Olivia have about each other are due to the difficulties that culminated in their separation to begin with. Balogh perfectly creates the tension between them, and it makes their final reunion much more rewarding at the end.
The Notorious Rake (1992)
3.5 stars
I admit I was a bit nervous about this one, as this book is yet another one of those books about a jaded rake with a tragic past. And the beginning is more than a little bit hokey, with an inexplicable chain of events which I will refrain from spoiling..but it is super weird considering Mary's negative feelings toward him.
But I persevered, and continued on, determined to find out what made this story so intriguing, and Lord Edmond Waite such a "notorious rake." But Edmond never truly strays from the pattern from any other rake in Romancelandia, despite having purportedly been the villain of a prior book (I did not read said book, The Trysting Place, so my knowledge of the events of that book are entirely from his perspective). And when the true extent of his past was revealed, I ended up finding it all a little ridiculous and it felt like he was blowing things a bit out of proportion, especially when his family, including his father, welcomed him back. But then again, I've always found the "people's rejection made me the way I am" plot trope a bit dumb.
I did, however, like his relationship with Mary as the story progressed, and feel that this is one of those cases where they do make each other better people, despite being opposites. And after all is said and done, it is only when he decides to make something of his life that they can find happiness.
A Counterfeit Betrothal (1992)
4.5 stars
When writing two love stories within a single book, it can be hard to make them both feel complete. But Balogh accomplishes this for the most part, in a plot that feels a bit reminiscent of The Parent Trap. While I did feel the love story between Sophia and Francis felt a bit lacking, especially since the back-cover blurb focuses most on that particular facet, I found myself blown away by the way Balogh depicts the relationship between Sophie's parents.
There are tons of books out there where a single conversation could solve the characters' problems, but this one doesn't feel like that, because the assumptions Marcus and Olivia have about each other are due to the difficulties that culminated in their separation to begin with. Balogh perfectly creates the tension between them, and it makes their final reunion much more rewarding at the end.
The Notorious Rake (1992)
3.5 stars
I admit I was a bit nervous about this one, as this book is yet another one of those books about a jaded rake with a tragic past. And the beginning is more than a little bit hokey, with an inexplicable chain of events which I will refrain from spoiling..but it is super weird considering Mary's negative feelings toward him.
But I persevered, and continued on, determined to find out what made this story so intriguing, and Lord Edmond Waite such a "notorious rake." But Edmond never truly strays from the pattern from any other rake in Romancelandia, despite having purportedly been the villain of a prior book (I did not read said book, The Trysting Place, so my knowledge of the events of that book are entirely from his perspective). And when the true extent of his past was revealed, I ended up finding it all a little ridiculous and it felt like he was blowing things a bit out of proportion, especially when his family, including his father, welcomed him back. But then again, I've always found the "people's rejection made me the way I am" plot trope a bit dumb.
I did, however, like his relationship with Mary as the story progressed, and feel that this is one of those cases where they do make each other better people, despite being opposites. And after all is said and done, it is only when he decides to make something of his life that they can find happiness.
laura_sorensen's review
4.0
"A Counterfeit Betrothal" is excellent, really a pair of love stories entwined, featuring an older couple which is very nice.
superkaren's review
1.0
The writing is truly horrible--so stilted and terrible. How did this even get printed? I only attempted the first book Counterfeit Betrothal. The "heroine" is an idiot. Should I try another of her books another time? The only solace I get is that it was a library book and I didn't pay for it.
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