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A review by jackiehorne
Remember Love by Mary Balogh
3.0
2.5
The story is broken down into two halves, six years apart
Very slow and digressive opening, focused more on the community than on the characters in it.
Innocent, immature, not all that interesting romance between a Devlin, (ugh, another completely ahistorical name), a 22 year old earl's heir, and Gwyneth, his 18 year old neighbor, both of whom have been quietly in love with one another for years. The two have one perfect day after Gwyneth is brave enough to admit her feelings before the climactic first half scene, where everything falls apart for Devlin. This scene was very well done; strong emotions, lots at stake, hurt feelings leading to actions people will later deeply regret, moral nuances to the actions of both the "villain" and the one who reveals the villainy. I loved how the appalling behavior of his once-beloved father sends Devlin careening off into unmitigated moral outrage; he's so disillusioned and angry, he simply cannot contain himself, even while the reader sees that his righteousness is only making a bad situation all the worse, especially for the innocent. One of the most compelling scenes Balogh has written in some time.
The first section ends with Devlin's banishment from his family; the second half of the story takes place six years later, after his father's death, when Devlin returns from war to try and find his place in a family his actions have torn apart. I felt sympathy for Devlin, despite being one of Balogh's "I've been emotionally scarred and can't/won't feel" protagonists, a familiar and conventional figure. Gwyneth is more unusual; she is more direct, more willing to speak her mind, more self-confident, far more able to take action to achieve what she wants than repressed Devlin is.
This second section of the book felt far too short—Devlin and Gwyneth rekindle their romance over the course of only one week, without either of them having spent much time together and with each acknowledging that neither really knows the other all that well. But Gwyneth is certain that she loves Devlin, and that she will marry him not because she wants to change or fix him, but because his actions demonstrate his ability to love, even if he cannot see his way to bringing himself to admit to himself that he is still capable of love.
Did not like the way that moral ambiguities surrounding the big family scene mid-book become far less ambiguous by story's end. Even if one person is less wrong than another, that first person's actions can still be problematic and cause pain.
Also did not like the strange explanation for why Dev's mother sent him away, an explanation that did not seem to match her behavior.
Worst: the blatant fatphobia in the depiction of Devlin's youngest sister; am not looking forward to reading her future story...
The story is broken down into two halves, six years apart
Very slow and digressive opening, focused more on the community than on the characters in it.
Innocent, immature, not all that interesting romance between a Devlin, (ugh, another completely ahistorical name), a 22 year old earl's heir, and Gwyneth, his 18 year old neighbor, both of whom have been quietly in love with one another for years. The two have one perfect day after Gwyneth is brave enough to admit her feelings before the climactic first half scene, where everything falls apart for Devlin. This scene was very well done; strong emotions, lots at stake, hurt feelings leading to actions people will later deeply regret, moral nuances to the actions of both the "villain" and the one who reveals the villainy. I loved how the appalling behavior of his once-beloved father sends Devlin careening off into unmitigated moral outrage; he's so disillusioned and angry, he simply cannot contain himself, even while the reader sees that his righteousness is only making a bad situation all the worse, especially for the innocent. One of the most compelling scenes Balogh has written in some time.
The first section ends with Devlin's banishment from his family; the second half of the story takes place six years later, after his father's death, when Devlin returns from war to try and find his place in a family his actions have torn apart. I felt sympathy for Devlin, despite being one of Balogh's "I've been emotionally scarred and can't/won't feel" protagonists, a familiar and conventional figure. Gwyneth is more unusual; she is more direct, more willing to speak her mind, more self-confident, far more able to take action to achieve what she wants than repressed Devlin is.
This second section of the book felt far too short—Devlin and Gwyneth rekindle their romance over the course of only one week, without either of them having spent much time together and with each acknowledging that neither really knows the other all that well. But Gwyneth is certain that she loves Devlin, and that she will marry him not because she wants to change or fix him, but because his actions demonstrate his ability to love, even if he cannot see his way to bringing himself to admit to himself that he is still capable of love.
Did not like the way that moral ambiguities surrounding the big family scene mid-book become far less ambiguous by story's end. Even if one person is less wrong than another, that first person's actions can still be problematic and cause pain.
Also did not like the strange explanation for why Dev's mother sent him away, an explanation that did not seem to match her behavior.
Worst: the blatant fatphobia in the depiction of Devlin's youngest sister; am not looking forward to reading her future story...