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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Finally a romance writer who can WRITE. See this blog post to see why I picked her up. I agree with the blogger completely.
http://bookriot.com/2014/07/24/fling-romance/#
http://bookriot.com/2014/07/24/fling-romance/#
i've read one novel by mary balogh at some point and liked it but never felt an urge to pick another, but thankfully a friend sold me on this one, and this one was wonderful. it's a sequel to some other book and a prequel to a bunch of more books i'm still not particularly interested in, but you don't need (as i didn't) to know anything about them.
so. lauren is an extremely proper and fastidious lady who was abandoned by her fiancee (who's apparently a hero of the first book) practically at the altar, and it's her first time in london after the fact - she's trying to get over the social humiliation and have a last unremarkable summer in london before beginning a dignified spinster existence in bath. kit is a mildly annoying rake who runs around london indulging in recklessly wild behavior, but he's called back to heel to his family estate to step into the heir's shoes after his older brother's death and marry said dead brother's fiancee, because why not. instead kit makes a drunk wager that he'll court and engage lauren before going home, to present her to his parents as his bride fait accompli, and unleashes a campany of ~seduction.
at this point it's all kind of ridiculous and sordid and the reader gets kinda like... why, BUT THEN, when kit pops the question, lauren, who's never anybody's fool, directly asks him why is he insulting her with obvious lies, and kit suddenly comes back to himself and realizes he is in fact being insulting and dishonorable, and tells her the truth. and at this point lauren, who feels increasingly stilted and unhappy by her entire prim, well-organized existence, proposes a deal for him: she'll go to his home as his fiancee to save him from the the unpleasant engagement, and he, in turn, will give her a summer to remember and teach her to feel joy.
from there on they kind of (well, mostly, it being a romance novel after all) stop seeing each other as romance novel cliches and instead allow themselves a slow, careful exploration of each other as real people - damaged and hurt and complicated people, too, who can and will learn from each other. it's very gentle and very kind and achingly sweet, and deals surprisingly fine with a lot complicated issues, and is so very warm.
so. lauren is an extremely proper and fastidious lady who was abandoned by her fiancee (who's apparently a hero of the first book) practically at the altar, and it's her first time in london after the fact - she's trying to get over the social humiliation and have a last unremarkable summer in london before beginning a dignified spinster existence in bath. kit is a mildly annoying rake who runs around london indulging in recklessly wild behavior, but he's called back to heel to his family estate to step into the heir's shoes after his older brother's death and marry said dead brother's fiancee, because why not. instead kit makes a drunk wager that he'll court and engage lauren before going home, to present her to his parents as his bride fait accompli, and unleashes a campany of ~seduction.
at this point it's all kind of ridiculous and sordid and the reader gets kinda like... why, BUT THEN, when kit pops the question, lauren, who's never anybody's fool, directly asks him why is he insulting her with obvious lies, and kit suddenly comes back to himself and realizes he is in fact being insulting and dishonorable, and tells her the truth. and at this point lauren, who feels increasingly stilted and unhappy by her entire prim, well-organized existence, proposes a deal for him: she'll go to his home as his fiancee to save him from the the unpleasant engagement, and he, in turn, will give her a summer to remember and teach her to feel joy.
from there on they kind of (well, mostly, it being a romance novel after all) stop seeing each other as romance novel cliches and instead allow themselves a slow, careful exploration of each other as real people - damaged and hurt and complicated people, too, who can and will learn from each other. it's very gentle and very kind and achingly sweet, and deals surprisingly fine with a lot complicated issues, and is so very warm.
So close to a four star read, but I just couldn’t do it. I loved the heroine. She was so much fun to read, but I felt that her character lost herself a bit towards the end. I get that she was intended on changing and needed to, but it felt almost too much. Conversations and thoughts felt too out of place for her. I didn’t enjoy that.
And the ending, of course it should be happy, but does every book need to be this sickly positive and happy. Not every little thing needs to be tied up with a bright pink sparkly bow to be good.
Finally, I just never found myself liking the hero. Maybe it’s the way the romance started. He wasn’t as charming or as fun to read as other heroes in the Bedwyn series.
And the ending, of course it should be happy, but does every book need to be this sickly positive and happy. Not every little thing needs to be tied up with a bright pink sparkly bow to be good.
Finally, I just never found myself liking the hero. Maybe it’s the way the romance started. He wasn’t as charming or as fun to read as other heroes in the Bedwyn series.
There is something that doesn't let me appreciate Mary Balogh at all, and I think that this is also the last chance I gave her because I found her books terribly slow and her character without any chemistry. It is just my opinion of course but I tries do hard because it seems that she is one of the best author around, just not my cup of tea.
C'é qualcosa in Mary Balogh che mi impedisce di apprezzarla, eppure a furor di popolo é considerata una delle migliori scrittrici di regency romance in giro, eppure io trovo sempre i suoi libri terribilmente noioso e i suoi personaggi privi di qualsiasi chimica tra loro (e con me ovviamente). Questa é chiaramente solo la mia opinione, ma decisamente lei non fa al caso mio.
C'é qualcosa in Mary Balogh che mi impedisce di apprezzarla, eppure a furor di popolo é considerata una delle migliori scrittrici di regency romance in giro, eppure io trovo sempre i suoi libri terribilmente noioso e i suoi personaggi privi di qualsiasi chimica tra loro (e con me ovviamente). Questa é chiaramente solo la mia opinione, ma decisamente lei non fa al caso mio.
It is easier to be hurt than to watch the ones you love be hurt. I enjoyed watching Lauren grow. I enjoyed watching Kit and Lauren help each other heal the relationships with their family. I also enjoyed the portrayal of "free" love between equals.
"I am free, you see," she said, "to love or to withhold love. Love and dependence need no longer be the same thing to me. I am free to love. That is why I love you, and it is the way I love you. If you have come here, Kit, because you think you owe me something, because you believe I might crumble without your protection, then go away again with my blessing and find happiness with someone else.
"I am free, you see," she said, "to love or to withhold love. Love and dependence need no longer be the same thing to me. I am free to love. That is why I love you, and it is the way I love you. If you have come here, Kit, because you think you owe me something, because you believe I might crumble without your protection, then go away again with my blessing and find happiness with someone else.
4/4.5 stars. Really adorable. Though heroines with violet eyes are starting to perplex me.
I really wanted to read another book by Balogh my library did not have anything that I had not read, on the shelf, other than this one.
I don't know, maybe if I had read this one in the order that it was written I may have enjoyed it more?
I don't know. I could not like Lauren or Kit. I found Lauren to be too self-possessed and cool for my liking. I also really liked Freya, in her book in the "Slightly" series and somehow, that kept me from really being pleased with Kit and Lauren.
I also found most of Kit's behavior to be just silly and not angst ridden at all. He was not troubled in the way that I expect from heroes that have real issues.
I understood why Kit abandoned his brother during the war, but it still felt pretty reprehensible to me. I have children and I would expect their first loyalty to be to their family more so than even to their country. I know that probably is not a popular opinion, but it's mine and it kept me from enjoying the novel.
Lauren was so intent on going off to Bath to be alone and I felt that was a perfectly acceptable choice for her to make. I did not buy the rejection of an offer of marriage after she and Kit had sex. Even if she planned to live alone and put herself beyond any future hopes of marriage, a child born out of wedlock, at this time in history would have been devastating.
Lauren was able to get everyone to talk about all of their feelings and resolve all of the family's angst. A bit too far fetched for me. What was she an angel or a psychologist? Too much.
I didn't believe in the love story and unfortunately, I just could not bring myself to care.
I really liked seeing so many of the other characters that I loved so much, such as Freya and Sydnam (his book is one of my all-time favorites of Balogh's).
I am sure that many people will really enjoy this book but it just left me cold.
I don't know, maybe if I had read this one in the order that it was written I may have enjoyed it more?
I don't know. I could not like Lauren or Kit. I found Lauren to be too self-possessed and cool for my liking. I also really liked Freya, in her book in the "Slightly" series and somehow, that kept me from really being pleased with Kit and Lauren.
I also found most of Kit's behavior to be just silly and not angst ridden at all. He was not troubled in the way that I expect from heroes that have real issues.
I understood why Kit abandoned his brother during the war, but it still felt pretty reprehensible to me. I have children and I would expect their first loyalty to be to their family more so than even to their country. I know that probably is not a popular opinion, but it's mine and it kept me from enjoying the novel.
Lauren was so intent on going off to Bath to be alone and I felt that was a perfectly acceptable choice for her to make. I did not buy the rejection of an offer of marriage after she and Kit had sex. Even if she planned to live alone and put herself beyond any future hopes of marriage, a child born out of wedlock, at this time in history would have been devastating.
Lauren was able to get everyone to talk about all of their feelings and resolve all of the family's angst. A bit too far fetched for me. What was she an angel or a psychologist? Too much.
I didn't believe in the love story and unfortunately, I just could not bring myself to care.
I really liked seeing so many of the other characters that I loved so much, such as Freya and Sydnam (his book is one of my all-time favorites of Balogh's).
I am sure that many people will really enjoy this book but it just left me cold.
I absolutely loved this. I was caught up in Kit and Lauren's story from the very first page and couldn't wait to see how it all played out. This is an opposites attract, enemies to friends to lovers story and it is beautifully written.
I had read a little about Kit in the first two Bedwyn books (I hadn't realized there were prequels), so I was kind of biased against this pairing based on Freyja's take on the situation, but oh man. I'm team Kit and Lauren all the way. Buy me the t-shirt. I'll wear it proudly.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest in this series. Its always so wonderful to have a huge world to dive into and from what I've read so far, it will not disappoint!
I had read a little about Kit in the first two Bedwyn books (I hadn't realized there were prequels), so I was kind of biased against this pairing based on Freyja's take on the situation, but oh man. I'm team Kit and Lauren all the way. Buy me the t-shirt. I'll wear it proudly.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest in this series. Its always so wonderful to have a huge world to dive into and from what I've read so far, it will not disappoint!
Moves a little slow despite it being a shorter book. Lily was really going through it. I felt so bad for Lauren tho. This book made me cry at least 3 times.
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated