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A review by abbythompson
First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh
2.0
Let me preface this review with a brief bit of background.
I was home from work with a terrible headcold. I had just finished my latest batch of library books and the next batch hadn't come in yet. Not in the mood or with brain space to tackle any non-fiction that was sitting on my shelf, I braved the outdoors and headed to the library. I found this book on a rack of paperbacks. I have liked other books by Mary Balogh so this seemed a safe bet.
It was not.
From page one, I was annoyed by the heroine, who we are told is a cheerful individual, but seems to badger the hero unmercifully and in ways that would be totally insupportable in Regency England. Rather than come off as enlightened and challenging, she comes off as shrewish and annoying. But in the end, she was the least of my concerns.
The hero is an utter douche canoe (to quote The Bloggess).
I wish I had kept count of all the times when he thought how unattractive and annoying the heroine was (and dude, I'm not disagreeing with you), but it's to the extent that his eventual turnaround isn't believable. He's downright cruel to her on some occasions and especially in his thoughts, when we're gifted with his point of view.
The other thing that drove me nuts was that someone was obsessed with italics. They were everywhere, and in nearly everysentence. It got annoying very quickly and I felt frustrated that someone was telling me how to read. It rhead like J.R. Whard and her ahnnoyhing H's.
So while it wasn't the entertainment I was hoping for (no delirious "lost in a good book" time here), it was diverting if only because I disliked so much of it.
I was home from work with a terrible headcold. I had just finished my latest batch of library books and the next batch hadn't come in yet. Not in the mood or with brain space to tackle any non-fiction that was sitting on my shelf, I braved the outdoors and headed to the library. I found this book on a rack of paperbacks. I have liked other books by Mary Balogh so this seemed a safe bet.
It was not.
From page one, I was annoyed by the heroine, who we are told is a cheerful individual, but seems to badger the hero unmercifully and in ways that would be totally insupportable in Regency England. Rather than come off as enlightened and challenging, she comes off as shrewish and annoying. But in the end, she was the least of my concerns.
The hero is an utter douche canoe (to quote The Bloggess).
I wish I had kept count of all the times when he thought how unattractive and annoying the heroine was (and dude, I'm not disagreeing with you), but it's to the extent that his eventual turnaround isn't believable. He's downright cruel to her on some occasions and especially in his thoughts, when we're gifted with his point of view.
The other thing that drove me nuts was that someone was obsessed with italics. They were everywhere, and in nearly everysentence. It got annoying very quickly and I felt frustrated that someone was telling me how to read. It rhead like J.R. Whard and her ahnnoyhing H's.
So while it wasn't the entertainment I was hoping for (no delirious "lost in a good book" time here), it was diverting if only because I disliked so much of it.