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bettybumpkins's review
3.0
I found the second chance romance to be better than the young couple. As another reviewer mentioned, what was with all the vomiting over sex?
catebutler's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shms's review
4.0
2 tales in 1, young love and second chances intertwined. I enjoyed this for its deceptive simplicity yet its laced with angst and introspection on the part of the older lovers and playful bickering on the part of the young lovers.
It's been a while since I've enjoyed and been absorbed in a good book such as this.
It's been a while since I've enjoyed and been absorbed in a good book such as this.
shmsy's review
4.0
2 tales in 1, young love and second chances intertwined. I enjoyed this for its deceptive simplicity yet its laced with angst and introspection on the part of the older lovers and playful bickering on the part of the young lovers.
It's been a while since I've enjoyed and been absorbed in a good book such as this.
It's been a while since I've enjoyed and been absorbed in a good book such as this.
haewilya's review
3.0
I love all the banter between Sophia and Francis. All the misunderstandings were annoying though realistic I guess. I did like that the point to all of it is that you shouldn't put anyone on a pedestal.
squishies's review
2.0
Sophia is an air-head, but at least not too annoyingly so, while Francis is amusing (him teasing Soph is kind of fun to read).
Olivia and Marc are so unnecessarily cruel to each other that I get a bit cross at them both.
Olivia and Marc are so unnecessarily cruel to each other that I get a bit cross at them both.
writer595's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
amyiw's review
2.0
I hate to give anything but a stellar review to Mary Balogh as she is one of my favorite historical romance writers but it seems the ones with overly miscommunication are mostly a miss for me in the hit or miss reissues.
This one really had two romances going on, the counterfeit betrothal of the daughter and her suitor and the broken romance of the parents that she is trying to get together with this betrothal. The main younger couple took back stage to the older couple IMO because the younger couple was constantly bickering and putting one another down. This was a hold over from childhood but didn't make the romance seem happening at all. The few kisses that they have are very innocent and if not, complained about afterward. He pushes her buttons and she over reacts with hateful comments, as in "I hate you" yeap even that or "I'd rather kiss a toad". So it is hard to become enamored of the couple though their working together, supposedly scheming to get the parents together, makes for a good friendship, a romance it doesn't even come close. A very low 2 star for the first couple.
So then there are the parents. Them having gone their separate ways after happens, can be believed. They now have grown into different people yet still the same. After being together for a couple of weeks and working together, both are sure they still feel the same way as they did in the beginning and still love one another. The only problem neither knows how the other might react and instead they react poorly. Their miscommunication just went too far for me in the end here. It started to annoy. The ending was sweet but the length it went to had me angry at both characters but more so at the wife. So almost a 3 star but not quite.
This one really had two romances going on, the counterfeit betrothal of the daughter and her suitor and the broken romance of the parents that she is trying to get together with this betrothal. The main younger couple took back stage to the older couple IMO because the younger couple was constantly bickering and putting one another down. This was a hold over from childhood but didn't make the romance seem happening at all. The few kisses that they have are very innocent and if not, complained about afterward. He pushes her buttons and she over reacts with hateful comments, as in "I hate you" yeap even that or "I'd rather kiss a toad". So it is hard to become enamored of the couple though their working together, supposedly scheming to get the parents together, makes for a good friendship, a romance it doesn't even come close. A very low 2 star for the first couple.
So then there are the parents. Them having gone their separate ways after
Spoiler
an infidelitytita_noir's review
4.0
When reading the blurb of this book, I was led to believe that the hero and heroine of the story are Sophia and Francis. And indeed the story starts off with the lovely young Sophia claiming that she has no plans to marry, ever, with the gorgeous young Francis looking on.
However, as the story goes on, Sophia and Francis are relegated to the background as the B-story. The main couple in the book, and indeed the most compelling and interesting story, is that of Sophia's parents, Marcus and Olivia.
Marcus and Olivia married young (she was only 17 and he not much older). They were both virgins and they were madly, passionately, devotedly in love. But as the story begins, they have been estranged for 14 years, having not seen each other in that time and only sharing time with their young daughter very much as modern day divorced couples do. The reason for their estrangement is revealed in the course of the story. But it is clear that neither one of them is very happy.
Sophia's proclamation about never marrying is all because of the state of her parents' marriage. They are her example of how marriage is and she is loathe to enter into such a relationship herself. At the goading of her friends she comes upon a scheme to throw her parents into each other's company in the hopes they will reconcile. To that effect, she and Francis enter into a fake betrothal with the hopes that the ensuing house party and arrangements will force her parents into close proximity for an extended time where they will realize they really should be together again.
Of course things don't work out exactly as planned. Sophia and Frances, who have planned this largely as a lark and who assure themselves they can extricate themselves from this fake engagement whenever they need do, completely underestimate how quickly and totally things can spiral out of their control.
And Olivia and Marcus don't easily fall into Sophia's plans either. These are two people who are nursing hurts (and a very deep and overwhelming love) who simply can't communicate with each other.
I must say I found the story of Olivia and Marcus compulsively readable. It is a testament to Balogh's skill that she takes my most hated of all story cliche's, the Grand Misunderstanding, and makes it work somehow. Although to be fair, with Olivia and Marcus it isn't really a misunderstanding. In their case each is exactly aware of why the other feels as he/she does. Their problem is they simply don't know how to communicate. And as Balogh so wonderfully illustrates, they didn't know how to be married. They were so much in love and had placed each other on such high pedestals that they were unprepared for coping with any adversity. Their struggle to come back together is the meat of the book.
And if Olivia and Marcus are the meat, then Sophia and Francis are the sweet trifle. They too have a romance though they don't really realize it or recognize it. They are played for much needed comic relief with their bickering and constant harassment of each other. Sophia is sweet in her concern for her parents, but I must admit I really liked Francis. He was very witty and had some really fun, laugh-out-loud lines.
Great book.
However, as the story goes on, Sophia and Francis are relegated to the background as the B-story. The main couple in the book, and indeed the most compelling and interesting story, is that of Sophia's parents, Marcus and Olivia.
Marcus and Olivia married young (she was only 17 and he not much older). They were both virgins and they were madly, passionately, devotedly in love. But as the story begins, they have been estranged for 14 years, having not seen each other in that time and only sharing time with their young daughter very much as modern day divorced couples do. The reason for their estrangement is revealed in the course of the story. But it is clear that neither one of them is very happy.
Sophia's proclamation about never marrying is all because of the state of her parents' marriage. They are her example of how marriage is and she is loathe to enter into such a relationship herself. At the goading of her friends she comes upon a scheme to throw her parents into each other's company in the hopes they will reconcile. To that effect, she and Francis enter into a fake betrothal with the hopes that the ensuing house party and arrangements will force her parents into close proximity for an extended time where they will realize they really should be together again.
Of course things don't work out exactly as planned. Sophia and Frances, who have planned this largely as a lark and who assure themselves they can extricate themselves from this fake engagement whenever they need do, completely underestimate how quickly and totally things can spiral out of their control.
And Olivia and Marcus don't easily fall into Sophia's plans either. These are two people who are nursing hurts (and a very deep and overwhelming love) who simply can't communicate with each other.
I must say I found the story of Olivia and Marcus compulsively readable. It is a testament to Balogh's skill that she takes my most hated of all story cliche's, the Grand Misunderstanding, and makes it work somehow. Although to be fair, with Olivia and Marcus it isn't really a misunderstanding. In their case each is exactly aware of why the other feels as he/she does. Their problem is they simply don't know how to communicate. And as Balogh so wonderfully illustrates, they didn't know how to be married. They were so much in love and had placed each other on such high pedestals that they were unprepared for coping with any adversity. Their struggle to come back together is the meat of the book.
And if Olivia and Marcus are the meat, then Sophia and Francis are the sweet trifle. They too have a romance though they don't really realize it or recognize it. They are played for much needed comic relief with their bickering and constant harassment of each other. Sophia is sweet in her concern for her parents, but I must admit I really liked Francis. He was very witty and had some really fun, laugh-out-loud lines.
Great book.