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A review by ikepauh
Remember Love by Mary Balogh
5.0
Oh My God, when Mary Balogh is at her best, she knocks it out of the park. Remember Love is full of sweetness and tenderness. We witness a sheltered boy whose innocence is shattered when he learns the ways of the ton, of the oftentimes depressing nature of aristocratic marriages which foolishly compels him to enlist as a soldier and return to the greatly changed flock years later, a hardened man. Hardened but not jaded, not too far gone to feel love and to love. We witness a girl whose love was responded to and crushed within the span of several days. She told herself to move on, she did move on but when he came back; those old feelings resurfaced and could they be one again someday? I greatly enjoyed Remember Love and was fully immersed in all the feels, so to speak, of every character.
The first two chapters of the book though are classic Mary Balogh in that we get told, we are info dumped about the Wares, their neighbours and the grand estate that is Ravenswood. Ugh, one of the few aspects of Remember Love that could turn a new reader away. PULL THROUGH! The description of every Ware family member was necessary and I could still digest it but I found myself skipping past the pages that described Ravenswood in great, great detail that I didn't think I needed to know. Well, now I know!
BUT PLEASE, DEAR READER, GET PAST THOSE DESCRIPTIONS and YOU MIGHT ENJOY THE REST OF THE BOOK MORE. For then, we are in the heads of our dear hero and heroine, Devlin and Gwyneth. It was probably a balance of both POVs though I often felt Devlin stood out to me more. Probably because this book is the start of a series and the author needs to establish the cast of characters we'll see in the future. There's
(a) the mother countess whose shattered perfect illusion reveals a woman who will weather the storm for the sake of children but now with her children grown...what about herself,
(b) Ben the natural son of the earl and his darling Joy,
(c) Nicholas Ware the enlisted soldier who pre-enlistment was said to be similar in sunny disposition with dear old flawed dad,
(d) Phillipa Ware the retiring soul who needs a good hug and cuddle, and
(e) Owen Ware the boy-man with brothers who were away from him for most of his adolescence.
I cannot wait to read each and every one of their stories. I'm speculating the mother gets a story because there is so much the author could do with her, given that Mary Balogh has written romances involving those in their 40's and 50's before with considerable success in her Westcott series - [b:Someone to Care|35927208|Someone to Care (Westcott, #4)|Mary Balogh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1502145677l/35927208._SY75_.jpg|57462759] and [b:Someone to Remember|45321614|Someone to Remember (Westcott #6.5)|Mary Balogh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561962613l/45321614._SY75_.jpg|70061806]. (translation: I enjoyed those stories)
There are reviewers who voiced that the second half of the book felt rushed. I can see it now, what I wouldn't give to read 100 more pages of Dev and Gwyn courting, going ever so slowly? Or even post marital bliss and woes? Gimme, gimme! I would like it very much. I think because I was wrapped up in all the emotions and tension, I didn't mind the rushed this and that.
After the drudgery that is the first two chapters and the loveliness of our two main characters nursing their hidden affections for one another...Ah, I didn't know what to expect by that time as I'd forgotten all about the book blurb. It is slow and steady until THE BIG THING happens, in which we see how truly principled Devlin is and how messed up everything became. There is a time jump and then, we have our second chance rekindling of luv and patching up of family scars (probably more in later books?). Even from the first moment they set eyes upon each other after a time, I knew there would be no other women or other men to add drama and fuel to their fire. They (Devlin and Gwyn, were enough to light themselves up.
Remember Love threatens to unseat A Summer to Remember and A Matter of Class in my list of best Mary Balogh books ever. Perhaps they can all have a equal spot?
The first two chapters of the book though are classic Mary Balogh in that we get told, we are info dumped about the Wares, their neighbours and the grand estate that is Ravenswood. Ugh, one of the few aspects of Remember Love that could turn a new reader away. PULL THROUGH! The description of every Ware family member was necessary and I could still digest it but I found myself skipping past the pages that described Ravenswood in great, great detail that I didn't think I needed to know. Well, now I know!
BUT PLEASE, DEAR READER, GET PAST THOSE DESCRIPTIONS and YOU MIGHT ENJOY THE REST OF THE BOOK MORE. For then, we are in the heads of our dear hero and heroine, Devlin and Gwyneth. It was probably a balance of both POVs though I often felt Devlin stood out to me more. Probably because this book is the start of a series and the author needs to establish the cast of characters we'll see in the future. There's
(a) the mother countess whose shattered perfect illusion reveals a woman who will weather the storm for the sake of children but now with her children grown...what about herself,
(b) Ben the natural son of the earl and his darling Joy,
(c) Nicholas Ware the enlisted soldier who pre-enlistment was said to be similar in sunny disposition with dear old flawed dad,
(d) Phillipa Ware the retiring soul who needs a good hug and cuddle, and
(e) Owen Ware the boy-man with brothers who were away from him for most of his adolescence.
I cannot wait to read each and every one of their stories. I'm speculating the mother gets a story because there is so much the author could do with her, given that Mary Balogh has written romances involving those in their 40's and 50's before with considerable success in her Westcott series - [b:Someone to Care|35927208|Someone to Care (Westcott, #4)|Mary Balogh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1502145677l/35927208._SY75_.jpg|57462759] and [b:Someone to Remember|45321614|Someone to Remember (Westcott #6.5)|Mary Balogh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561962613l/45321614._SY75_.jpg|70061806]. (translation: I enjoyed those stories)
There are reviewers who voiced that the second half of the book felt rushed. I can see it now, what I wouldn't give to read 100 more pages of Dev and Gwyn courting, going ever so slowly? Or even post marital bliss and woes? Gimme, gimme! I would like it very much. I think because I was wrapped up in all the emotions and tension, I didn't mind the rushed this and that.
After the drudgery that is the first two chapters and the loveliness of our two main characters nursing their hidden affections for one another...Ah, I didn't know what to expect by that time as I'd forgotten all about the book blurb. It is slow and steady until THE BIG THING happens, in which we see how truly principled Devlin is and how messed up everything became. There is a time jump and then, we have our second chance rekindling of luv and patching up of family scars (probably more in later books?). Even from the first moment they set eyes upon each other after a time, I knew there would be no other women or other men to add drama and fuel to their fire. They (Devlin and Gwyn, were enough to light themselves up.
Remember Love threatens to unseat A Summer to Remember and A Matter of Class in my list of best Mary Balogh books ever. Perhaps they can all have a equal spot?