A review by jackiehorne
Only Beloved by Mary Balogh

2.0

A big old disappointment. About a third of the novel is explaining about the Survivors Club, and about the six couples featured in previous books. There is little to no plot; the senior member of the club, the kindly Duke of Stanbrook, takes it into his head after the marriage of the last Survivor but himself that perhaps he might alleviate his own deep loneliness by marrying. And for some reason, his the idea is coupled with a particular lady, the sister of the wife of one of the Survivors. Though they've spent hardly any time together, off he trots to propose. And though surprised, she says yes. And they marry. That's it, for the whole first half of the book.

The second half is about the "secret" Stanbrook is keeping from his new wife, a secret about his past. And of course that secret comes back to haunt him, by placing his new wife in danger. Which, of course, forces him to see that he actually does love her. But this plotline is predictable, and dull, since the threat does not threaten until the very end of the book, and the villain quickly defeated.

I appreciated having an older couple featured in a romance, but the story makes them sound ancient, when they are only 39 and 48. It is difficult to differentiate between affection and love here; for Balogh, they seem to be one and same, with a little sex thrown in to tell them apart. All in all, a dull plod of a book.

Hope Balogh's new series livens things up a bit. Her writing always had a lulling style, but this one practically put me to sleep.