“It being not quite the thing to advertise in the London papers for a wife, Anthony Earheart, Marquess of Staunton, eldest son and heir of the Duke of Withingsby, advertised instead for a governess.”
What a great way to start a book about a marriage of convenience! And the book continues to deliver from there.
The heroine, Charity, is a meek mouse – well at least that is what Anthony believes her to be, but he soon realises his mistake AFTER he has married her. Though maybe when she bargains for a higher annual allowance that should have been a clue there was more to this woman than meets the eye?
By the way I should mention – this is not exactly a traditional Regency romance. There is sex (after the wedding ceremony) and it is described. However I believe it adheres closely enough to the intent of Traditional Regency Romances to be included here.
What did I like
Ms Balogh’s writing style – I adore the way she paces her writing, the sentence structures and the very mannered way people talk at times. This book has all of that in spades.
It also has an interesting commentary on arranged marriages and the burdens children bear when marriages go wrong – subtly done and perfectly in tune with the over all story but there nonetheless.
What did I dislike
To be honest I have only one small niggle with the book – there was a lot of resentment and hostility in this family, which was all very easily cured in a couple of days by one woman being loving and kind. Now, I get that this is a romance and a fairy tale but to go from one extreme to the other in only a couple of days did seem a bit too pat. I, personally, felt a little let down by how easily everything was resolved.
But, as I said that was the only thing I disliked – otherwise I highly, highly recommend this story!
[…] mentioned before how much I love Mary Balogh’s writing style, particularly when it comes to Regency Romances […]