A review by una_macchia
Christmas Belle by Mary Balogh

3.0

Interesting set-up but for me the hero's "reformation" comes too late to totally buy the HEA. Years ago the actress heroine was his mistress and he treated her very badly (I would say he was emotionally abusive) due to his jealousy. She retaliated by playing into his fears and letting him believe she was sleeping with other men even though she was actually faithful. Eventually she left him, moved to France and married a count and he's been furious at her "betrayal" ever since. The story kicks off when they meet again now that she's widowed and back in England, performing for his huge family's holiday house party, and he treats her badly again. There are some really good scenes between the hero and the heroine's two children, especially her daughter. I always appreciate when child characters in romance have their own fleshed-out personalities and don't just exist as props, and Balogh did a great job with the children in this book. The hero comes to his senses after realizing that

Spoiler

he's the father of her daughter

and having an honest conversation with the heroine. The basic idea of the book is that the first time around, their love was unhealthy (he was paranoid and cruel, she stayed with him even though he made her feel worthless and flung his jealousy in his face) but now that they've matured they can be together without hurting each other. It's interesting but ultimately I'm just not sure the hero is actually capable of being with the heroine in a healthy way, whether she's his wife or his mistress.