Slightly Scandalous by Mary Balogh

Book Description:
Meet the Bedwyns…six brothers and sisters—men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality.

Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction…where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal…and where Freyja Bedwyn, the wild-hearted daughter, meets her match in a man as passionate, reckless, and scandalous as she.

Growing up with four unruly brothers has made Freyja Bedwyn far bolder than most society ladies. From feisty manner to long, tumbling hair, Lady Freyja is pure fire, a woman who seeks both adventure and freedom.

Adventure soon finds her on a visit to Bath, when a handsome stranger bursts into Freyja's room and entreats her to hide him. His name is Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, a man with a hell-raising reputation of his own who is quickly intrigued by the independent beauty. So intrigued, in fact, that he makes her a surprising request: to pose as his fiancée and help thwart his family's matchmaking schemes. For two people determined to be free, it's the perfect plan…until passion blindsides them both. For as Joshua sets out to achieve his complete seduction of Freyja, a woman who has sworn off love is in danger of losing the one thing she never expected to give again: her heart…

Quickie Review: 
I didn't think I was going to like this book all that much.  In the previous Bedwyn books, Freyja is hard to like because she's so prickly, but this was terrific! How wrong I was! I loved Freyja's story! I am so pleased that Balogh gave her such a good HEA. Irony of ironies, Lady Freyja Bedwyn winds up in a make believe betrothal, engaged to Josh, the Marquess of Hallmere, a devil-may-care rogue she meets en route to Bath.  Their paths meet again in Bath, and, as only Freyja Bedwyn can do, she renews their acquaintance in front of everyone by accusing him of being a seducer of young housemaids!

Of course, she proves to be irresistible to him, she's so haughty and full of herself at first, he's dying to take her down a peg.  The two are made for one another, but it takes the entire book for them to realize it.  Freyja has a major chip on her shoulder ever since her engagement to her neighbor Kit (from A Summer to Remember) was broken and she was thrown over by another, his present wife, Lauren.  Now that Lauren is expecting their first baby and presumed heir, Freyja doesn't want to be anywhere near the vicinity of the happy event - hence her trip to Bath.  While staying at an inn on her way there, a strange (but gentlemanly looking) man enters her room and asks her to keep his secret as he hides in her wardrobe.  Too astonished to say anything she keeps her mouth shut as a troupe of angry individuals come looking for him.  The man turns out to be Josh who is hiding to evade being roped into a marriage by a devious father.  Much complications ensue, but once resolved, Josh thanks and kisses Freyja in her nightgown and climbs out the window.  All this to the great Freyja Bedwyn, the sister of the Duke of Bewcastle!

When Freyja and Josh meet again a few days later, she is at loggerheads with him initially, but then they become friends.  To avoid having to marry (again!) she agrees to pretend they are engaged.  It will be fun, a lark! But it goes on longer than expected, her brother (the duke) gets wind of it and suddenly it's not as easy to back out of it as they originally thought.  Wedding plans are set in motion and then Josh is accused of murdering his cousin, and nearly the entire Bedwyn family accompanies him to his Cornwall estate to put the matter to rest and see that his name is cleared.  There are lots of delicious moments throughout the book and particularly between Freyja and Josh.  Freyja is actually growing on me!  Suddenly - I like her!  Over the course of this book we learn to sympathize with Freyja and unearth her many layers of insecurities.  As she realizes she's falling in love with Josh, she realizes she's gotten over Kit too, and maybe never really loved him to begin with.  But, she's afraid Josh doesn't feel the same way.  Josh is just what she needs and by the end,  I was so happy for both of them!
   
This was so good and I was sorry to finish it.  I'm leaving tons out, but this was a great book.  Fifth in the Bedwyn series (if you count the first two prequels), this is my favorite of all the books so far.

4.5/5 

P.S.  Another water-logged love scene in this book - a definite trend in this series. What is it about Balogh and water?  Whether it's an island, a pond or the the infamous gamekeeper's hut at Kit Butler's estate, watery sex scenes sure get a lot of mileage in this series! 

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Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh

Book Description from Goodreads:
Meet the Bedwyns…six brothers and sisters - men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality…Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction…where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal…and where Rannulf Bedwyn, the rebellious third son, enters into a liaison that is rather risqué, somewhat naughty, and…Slightly Wicked.

With his laughing eyes and wild, rakish good looks, Lord Rannulf Bedwyn is a hard man to resist. To Judith Law, a woman in need of rescue when her stagecoach overturns, Rannulf is simply her savior, a heroic stranger she will reward with one night of reckless passion before she must become a companion to her wealthy aunt. Imagine Judith's shock when the same stranger turns out to be among England's most eligible bachelors…and when he arrives at Harewood Grange to woo her cousin. Certainly, they had made no vows, no promises, but Rannulf never did forget his uninhibited lover…nor did she forget that one delicious night. And as scandal sets the household abuzz, Rannulf proposes a solution…but when Judith refuses to have him--in love or wedlock - Rannulf has only one choice: to wage a campaign of pure pleasure to capture the heart of the woman who has already won his.
 
Slightly Wicked is an ugly duckling story of a young woman, Judith Law, who, by posing as an actress, has one last fling with a handsome stranger before facing a life of drudgery living with her wealthy aunt and uncle as a virtual unpaid servant. Unexpectedly, the handsome stranger turns out to be Rannulf Bedwyn, whom Judith's vain and self absorbed cousin targets as her chief matrimonial prospect. When Judith and Rannulf meet again, all is revealed.  They both have to own up to the fact that neither one of them had been honest with each other during their brief but idyllic interlude. Can they forget their blissful two days together or get on with their lives as if it never happened?

I liked the book overall, but I was distracted by the many Austen similarities in the plot, plus the story line itself was far fetched.  Judith is a poor relation en route to live with her aunt and uncle (shades of Mansfield Park).   She knows exactly what her life is going to be like living with them.  She will be ignored by most, except her grandmother who is elderly and needs a companion and "servant" to do any number of trivial chores and favors for her.  All Judith's life, she has been led to believe that she was unattractive with her red hair and overly curvy body.  Little does she know...

On the way to her relatives, the hackney carriage she's riding in breaks down in the mud.  By happenstance, a handsome young rider comes along and offers help.  He scoops Judith up onto his horse to take her to an inn where they can send someone back for help.  One thing leads to another and Judith thinks of this as her last chance to do something daring and memorable.  A night of passion that she can live on for the rest of her dreary life.  She pretends she is an actress and Rannulf Bedwyn (the handsome young rider) takes the bait and propositions her in so many words.  Bliss and passion take place.  Rannulf winds up falling for her hard, having no idea that she's a gentlewoman who he has just deflowered!  Thinking she's an actress, he considers making her his mistress, but Judith flees - she knows she cannot continue with him and she has to get to her cousins.  Rannulf is furious at her and goes on to his destination... his grandmother's house which is right next to Judith's aunt and uncle!

Once Judith is ensconced at her uncle's estate, life is just as she suspected it would be.  Forced to wear an ugly cap that completely hides her hair and frumpy loose fitting clothing to hide her figure, she becomes the invisible poor relation (except to her obnoxious cousin).  Poor Judith, I felt so sorry for her!  I just wanted to tear those ugly things off her!  Her aunt, Mrs. Effingham, is just awful, channeling Fanny Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility.  There is no way in hell she is going to let Judith's luscious curves take away from her own fair daughter's beauty and chances for making a sparkling match with none other than the Duke of Bewcastle's younger brother, Rannulf Bedwyn who is coming to stay with his grandmother for a number of weeks!

Well, you can imagine what happens once Judith and Rannulf see each other again.  At first he doesn't recognize her, and then once he does he figures everything out.  He's still annoyed that she disappeared on him, but he understands and now is irate to see what kind of life she has to look forward to.  Plus, he is racked with guilt that he took her innocence!  A gentleman just does not do that sort of thing!  He keeps trying to get Judith to speak with him, but she is determined to keep her distance and try to forget him - fat chance!  All he can do is try to get her to reveal herself  to the rest of world.  There is a beautiful, talented young woman under those dowdy clothes and cap and he wants to see her shine.

There are plenty of bumps in the road on the way to love between these two and it takes a long way for them to resolve their differences.  Judith's brother comes for a visit and he is later accused of stealing his grandmother's jewels.  The whole thing is a mess on the same night of a big ball in which Judith has her chance to shine.  Poor Judith is accused of being in on it and helping him as well.  She runs away to try and find him - all right before Rannulf plans to propose to her - again!  (She turned him down the first time - a nod to Pride and Prejudice and the tragedy that befalls the Bennet's when Lydia runs off with Wickham just before Darcy is about to declare himself to Elizabeth again in Lambton?)  I was biting my nails in aggravation, but loved every minute of it!  Rannulf with the aid of his brother, the Duke, saves the day and it was so good!  I love it when the Duke steps in and makes everything all right with a wave of his hand (I can't wait to get to his story.)

I am enjoying this series.  Rannulf and Judith made a good couple, albeit their differences and unorthodox first meeting. ;)   I'm glad to see Judith get her happy ending, though I do wonder at how she'll enjoy life as mistress some day of the estate next door to her hateful aunt!  Much of the story was a bit hard to swallow, for the whole scenario would so never happen in real life, but it made for an entertaining read.  But of course, anything can happen in romance-land.

3.5/5

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Slightly Married by Mary Balogh

Book Description:

Meet the Bedwyns… six brothers and sisters - men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality… Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction… where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal… and where Aidan Bedwyn, the marriage-shy second son, discovers that matrimony may be the most seductive act of all.

Like all the Bedwyn men, Aidan has a reputation for cool arrogance. But this proud nobleman also possesses a loyal, passionate heart - and it is this fierce loyalty that has brought Colonel Lord Aidan to Ringwood Manor to honor a dying soldier's request. Having promised to comfort and protect the man's sister, Aidan never expected to find a headstrong, fiercely independent woman who wants no part of his protection… nor did he expect the feelings this beguiling creature would ignite in his guarded heart. And when a relative threatens to turn Eve out of her home, Aidan gallantly makes her an offer she can't refuse: marry him… if only to save her home. And now, as all of London breathlessly awaits the transformation of the new Lady Aidan Bedwyn, the strangest thing happens: With one touch, one searing embrace, Aidan and Eve's “business arrangement” is about to be transformed… into something slightly surprising.

Forced marriages are some of my favorites, though this was a different take on the scenario. Honoring the last wishes of one of his men, Aidan Bedwyn marries Eve Morris to save her from losing her home and those that depend upon her. He is a military man, a dour colonel in the British army who first meets Eve upon telling her of the death of her brother, the man who's dying wish was to ask Aidan to protect his sister, no matter what. Another thoughtful, moving and poignant love story and first entry into the Bedwyn family.

The theme is reminiscent of the first of the Bedwyn prequels, One Night for Love, in which a dying soldier's last plea is to protect his loved one, forcing two people who don't know one another to marry, although that is where the similarities cease.  Eve is no shrinking violet.  She is used to being her own woman, running an estate and taking care of those around her.   Although not of the aristocracy, she has been raised and schooled as a lady.  In her neighborhood she is all that is good and kind, taking on servants no else will hire, and even raising two orphans as if they are her own children.  Everyone goes to Eve for help - she is someone that can be counted on.

Little does anyone know she has a secret love (or rather, she thinks she is in love) with a young man, her neighbor, who's family has forbidden him to marry her.  In their eyes Eve is beneath them because her father, once a common Welsh coal minor, made his fortune in trade (and married the coal mine owner's daughter to boot). Not good enough for their bloodlines, they hurried their son off to the diplomatic corp in Russia.  Secretly engaged to Eve, he is unaware of the change in her fortune once her father and then brother's deaths cripple her.  It doesn't help she hasn't heard from him in ages either!

Now she is about to lose her house and estate to her odious and social climbing cousin - a dead ringer for Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice - unless she can marry someone within a few days.  She must marry within a year of her father's death, and that anniversary is coming up in less than a week!  What is she going to do?

To save her from her impending fate, Aidan,  as the brother of a duke, comes to the conclusion that there is nothing else he can do but to marry her himself - in name only.  They will formally marry in London, a private low key ceremony, but then go their separate ways never to see one another again.  By doing this, she will never be able to marry her diplomat fiance nor will he ever be able to marry a general's daughter he had his eye on at one point.  The marriage will be recorded in the marriage registry and no one will be able to refute it.  Aidan intends to keep the wee secret from his family as well.  It is the honorable thing to marry her, and it will carry out the promise he made to her brother as his last dying wish.  To protect her - no matter what.  There is no need for his family to know anything about it.  It's his private business - ha!

Of course nothing goes as it should and once they are married, one thing after another comes up that prevents Aidan from leaving her and getting on with his life.  The biggest impediment to his problem is when his brother, Wulfric, the Duke of Bewcastle, learns of the marriage.  As the head of the Bedwyn family, there is no way in hell he is going to allow Aidan to have a secret wife ignominiously hidden away as if there is something scandalously wrong with her!  She must be acknowledged by the entire family and welcomed as one of their own - no matter what her pedigree.  As a Bedwyn no one will dare to snub her due to her lesser origins.

Usually I don't picture an actor in my mind when I read a romance, but I couldn't help it with Aidan.  To me, he looked like Ciaràn Hinds as Captain Wentworth in the 1995 film adaptation of Persuasion.  Although Aidan is military rather than naval - you get the general idea!  Tall and handsome with a somewhat taciturn and commanding bearing, Aidan is all composure and honor - a true Bedwyn.  What he didn't count on was falling in love.  Little did he know how his life would change upon meeting Eve!  Quiet and unassuming Eve surprises him throughout the book!

Then, once his brother, Wulfric, comes to visit Eve after their marriage, and informs her that she must go to London and be presented to the Queen, well, everything changes in their marriage.  She meets the rest of his family - who she pretty much hates on first sight  - and all hell breaks loose!  I loved it!  She must be launched for the London Season and she makes quite the first impression!

Aidan is not a little put out by the whole thing.  He is torn, he has come to care for Eve, against his own better judgment, and he hates to see her forced to act as if their marriage is a real one.  Not that he minds it himself, but he keeps thinking that she will resent it.  It's not part of their original agreement.  He's thinking mostly from her point of view and resents the way his brother is forcing his family down her throat.  To makes matter even more sticky, Eve had to be presented to the Queen and then attend a dinner dance with the Prince Regent - and guess who she bumps into while in London?  Her fiance!  Who didn't even let her know he's been back from Russia for the past several months!  He's not at all happy to see she's now married into the Bedwyns, but by this point she warming up to Aidan - and his bed.  That old fiance of hers doesn't seem to be as important to her anymore.  Eve is full of surprises. 

Thus, why the book is called Slightly Married.  They're married, yet they're not married.  Even though Eve and Aidan share a bed (from time to time), both are under the wrong impression that neither of them wants to make their marriage real.  How wrong they are!  As time passes, they become closer and Aidan is realizing he no longer wants to be a military man with no wife or children in his future.  He wants Eve, her two adopted children and all her misfit servants.  Before long, he realizes - they already are his family!  How can he say good bye to them forever?  He can't.  Yet, does he tell this to Eve?  No!  So she runs off to her home in the country, convinced she'll never see him again - only to find he comes after her, ready to change his life and live there with her!  He's made his choice.  *sigh*  It really was wonderful! 

This story grew on me.   What started out as a simple forced marriage storyline became more about choices and deciding what's really important in life to make one happy.  Eve and Aidan keep each other at arms length most of the time, except during a few combustible moments when they can't help but fall into bed together!  It was so out of character for both of them - and sexy too!  Yet it also worked and was understandable in their circumstances.  While still in the country before London, their feelings for one another grow and grow.  We see through both their eyes how their marriage of convenience becomes a true love, yet neither is aware of it yet. They care for one another, they become important to each other until soon they realize they can no longer live without each other.  It comes on so gradually - before they know it - they're in love!

I thoroughly enjoyed this romance and am eager to read the rest of the Bedwyn's stories - primarily Wulfric's.  He's such a cold character - I can't imagine who will be the woman that can warm him up!  Of course his book is the last in the series!  I've heard about this series so much, I'm glad I've finally met the Bedwyns.  I even sort of grew to like Freyja (she came across as a real pill in the last book, A Summer to Remember!)  Balogh is a first rate romance author, her stories are more than just romance, they are thoughtful and tender.  This is no exception.  A fun read and I'm ready for more!

4/5

P.S. On a side note, now that I've read three romances by Mary Balogh, I've noticed she always has a sex scene involving swimming - do all her books have this??

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A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh

Book Description:

Kit Butler is cool, dangerous, one of London's most infamous bachelors - marriage is the last thing on his mind. But Kit's family has other plans. Desperate to thwart his father's matchmaking, Kit needs a bride . . . fast. Enter Miss Lauren Edgeworth.

A year after being abandoned at the altar, Lauren has determined that marriage is not for her. When these two fiercely independent souls meet, sparks fly-and a deal is hatched. Lauren will masquerade as Kit's intended if he agrees to provide a passionate, adventurous, unforgettable summer. When summer ends, she will break off the engagement, rendering herself unmarriageable and leaving them both free. Everything is going perfectly - until Kit does the unthinkable: He begins to fall in love. A summer to remember is not enough for him. But how can he convince Lauren to be his . . . for better, for worse, for the rest of their lives?

I really loved the prequel to this book, One Night for Love which I read about a year ago.  That was a story about the Earl of Kilbourne.  Right before he is about to marry his childhood friend, Lauren Edgeworth, he finds out his long lost love - the wife who he has believed to be dead - is alive!  The wedding is dramatically interrupted with her appearance and after much ado, they live happily ever after.

A Summer to Remember is the jilted Lauren's story.  A year after being left at the altar she meets up with Kit Butler a man about town.  Kit's complicated and has alot of family baggage to deal with.  Due to the unexpected death of his older brother, Kit is the heir to the family title and he's hiding a mountain of guilt and anguish beneath a carefree, rakish facade.  When we first see Kit he is bare chested, fighting with two rough and common men in the park.  This is a regency, so to say the least this is a pretty amazing sight in broad daylight.  The prim and proper Lauren Edgeworth witnesses the scene, but she is too ladylike to comment upon it, best to act as if she never saw anything.  Yet she can't forget his bare chest - or the way their eyes meet as he kisses a grateful milkmaid who thanks him for defending her - the reason for the brawl.

Eventually, they meet again at a ball and Kit, who's in the market for a wife, sets his sights (due to a wager) on Lauren.  She is the epitome of the pure, demure and oh so respectable young lady - despite the embarrassment of her near-marriage the year before.  Lauren has her troubles as well, though it takes her a long time to realize them.  She and Kit become friends and there's an attraction there, both are handsome and beautiful people. They make a bargain to pretend they are getting married so that she can "break off" the engagement at the end of the summer and then go off and have a house of her own in Bath and he can appease his family for a while by appearing responsible by marrying a respectable girl of his own choosing, rather than an arranged marriage with the daughter of a neighboring estate.

Now, right off the bat, you know this is all going to lead to a lot of heartache and trouble.  Lauren wants to have a little excitement and passion in her life (which it has been sorely lacking in) and Kit is the man to help her do it.  It became extremely frustrating for the more time they spent together, the more Kit fell in love - and his family loved her too!  Yet despite all of this,  Lauren kept insisting that they should stick to their bargain and not marry - even after they've had sex!  How wanton! ;) What is she thinking?  She's under the wrong impression that he's still in love with the wild and charismatic daughter next door, Freyja Bedwyn, no matter how much Kit tries to prove otherwise.  She thinks they would be perfect together.  Coincidence how Freyja's name sounds like "Free", she represents all that Lauren wants to be - free.  I did not like Freyja at all by the way.

I wasn't overly won over by Lauren either, primarily because it bothered me that she insisted on not marrying Kit throughout the entire book, even though she had her reasons which were obviously misguided.  I understood where she was coming from, but it still irked me; frustrating.  She was somewhat of an ice queen that melts.  I loved Kit and Lauren's frolicking and romantic bantering together and Kit really works on bringing the real Lauren up to the surface.  He teaches her how to enjoy the simple things in life: swimming, riding, climbing trees - and making love.   Balogh is wonderful at this kind of writing, creating relationships and emotions, which made it all the more frustrating to me, for I really sided with Kit and felt like kicking Lauren for what she put him through!  Plus, I couldn't exactly condone the sexual relationship because I knew Lauren wouldn't marry him - I'm a stickler in that respect.

In addition to the up front romantic storyline between Kit and Lauren, there's also a nice symmetry to the book as both hero and heroine fight their own private demons and win.   Kit has his cathartic moment patching up the difficulties with his brother, Syd, and coming to terms with the loss of Syd's arm and almost dying.  Kit has been carrying around a huge burden of guilt needlessly for years feeling he was responsible for Syd's loss.  Finally, Kit can let go of it.   Lauren has her cathartic moment as well by finding out her mother did not abandon her as a child by just disappearing.  It turns out that it's an entirely different kind of story that brings closure to Lauren and her need for acceptance which was the reason for why she had always been such a good and perfect little girl and eventually - young lady.  Good but boring.  Each were instrumental in helping the other, it created a bond between them and it made their relationship more meaningful - yet still Lauren could not admit she wanted to marry Kit!  And still Kit could not tell her he loved her.  After all that!  They were both at fault here since they couldn't speak up and say how they felt!  Grr!  As it's mentioned in the book, communication is key and that is what eventually sets them "free."  It's a great moment when they finally get there!

It's a wonderful ending, though I did find it a bit jarring that they enacted almost the same exact scene between Lauren's ex-fiance Kilbourne and his wife, Lily that Lauren accidentally witnessed in the first book - a little weird. I would have preferred that they had their own new scenes. Same thing with Lauren and Kit's wedding at Newbury, the scene of her first "almost" wedding.   I know,  I know, banish those old bad memories with new good ones, but still!  I wanted Kit and Lauren to have their own fresh and different memories!

All in all, this was a good romance with a lot of emotional complexity and angst to it.  But, I felt the daring deeds that Lauren agrees to with Kit unrealistic, particularly in giving up her virginity to him with no intention of marrying him.  I see how it's all part of the way we see Lauren completely blossom in the story and by the end I liked her, but I still couldn't help holding it against her the way she wouldn't marry Kit after all they'd gone through together.  She just refused to believe he really wanted her and not Freyja!  Sometimes Lauren was so dense, plus she had almost no sense of humor.

This book sets the reader up for the Slightly Series which features the unusual Bedwyn family next door (and the awful Freyja!)  Also, one of Lauren's friends, Gwen, Lady Muir deserves a book of her own and I hear Ms. Balogh will be writing it soon - I'm so pleased to hear it! I really liked Gwen, I hope she winds up with that tall Viking of a Bedwyn - or at least one of them, yet I suspect it will be someone totally new!

To sum it up, it's not as good as the first book in the series, but it was an enjoyable read. It was frustrating that the heroine kept insisting on not marrying the hero, but it was a well thought out, beautiful story of how both come to terms with their painful family histories and how they help each other become whole again.

3.5/5

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One Night for Love by Mary Balogh

Book Description:
One reckless man . . . One passionate woman.

Enter the world of Mary Balogh--the glittering ballrooms and vast country estates of Regency-era England, where romance, with all its mystery, magic, and surprises, comes vibrantly alive.

It was a perfect morning in May . . .

Neville Wyatt, Earl of Kilbourne, awaited his bride at the altar--when a ragged beggar woman raced down the aisle instead. The cream of the ton saw him stare, shocked, then declare that this was his wife! One night of passion was all he remembered as he beheld Lily, the woman he'd wed, loved, and lost on the battlefield in Portugal. Now he said he'd honor his commitment to her--regardless of the gulf that lay between them.

Then Lily spoke her mind . . .

She said she wanted only to start a new life--wanted only a husband who truly loved her. She had to leave him to learn how to meet his world on her terms. So Lily agreed to earn her keep as his aunt's companion and study the genteel arts. Soon she was the toast of the ton, every inch a countess fit for the earl, who vowed to prove to his remarkable wife that what he felt for her was far more than desire, that what he wanted from her was much more than . . . One Night for Love.

I really enjoyed this romance. An oldie but goodie, but new for me, my first romance by Mary Balogh - a name I've certainly heard of, but had never read anything by her yet. It was very well done, slow developing, the plotline has a massive condundrum and just when you think it's a hopeless case, the story changes gears and gets even more interesting!

This is the story of Lily Doyle, a young woman, obviously down on her luck that is determined to see someone. It's a mystery, we don't know exactly what is happening with her, or her story, but she must see her Neville. She has some friends, the Harris', who have obviously taken care of her recently and are worried for her, but they see her off in a public carriage (this is during Regency England times) so that Lily can go on this mission of duty. We follow Lily to an estate in England, an Abbey, this is her final destination to meet the man she has been thinking of, searching for, the man she has been trying to make her way to for almost two long, harrowing years. Yet, we don't know what this is all about...

Meanwhile, Neville is an Earl, living at the Abbey and he's about to get married to Lauren, a perfect young English woman and they will live happily ever after. The whole ton has come to see the wedding which is to be a spectacular event...

As these two scenarios come together, the scene is set and it's like watching a train wreck about to happen. It turns out Lily is Neville's long lost wife, returned from the dead. She literally arrives at the church (a la The Graduate) to stop the wedding. Neville is overcome in seeing her, admits to all she is his long lost wife and well, naturally, all hell breaks loose. The wedding is called off, apologies made, and so begins the big predicament of what do to about Lily, the daughter of a dead sergeant soldier that Neville had been in the Peninsular Wars with and hastily married, bedded and lost all in the period of 24 hours two years earlier in order to save her in case she was captured. Having papers saying she was an officer's wife would protect her in case of capture. As it turned out, Lily did not die, as Neville believed (he had been shot and wounded in the head as well at the time) and had been captured by Spaniard partisans, used by their leader for seven months as his woman and then finally set free to make her way back to Neville in England.

Lily is an unusual girl. Free spirited a child of nature, she is illiterate, has no idea of how to be a lady -- a countess no less -- and the mistress of a large estate. Neville immediately accepts her as his wife and wants society and all to accept her, but it's not that easy. Lily has scars and nightmares and insecurities too great to be able to deal with this new life. Although their hasty marriage was a love match - was that one night they had together enough to get them through this new beginning? Just when all seems hopeless there is a trap door for her. It turns out the minister that married them was killed shortly afterwards as well, and was not able to register their marriage so it was legal. Neville insists on their marrying again, but Lily leaves him, realizing that she cannot ruin his life this way, even though she loves him and he loves her. It sounds more simple than it was in the book, it was all very well done and thought out, it was such a dilemma and I was relieved actually that Lily refused his offer to remarry. She was like a fish out of water at his ancestral home and dealing with his hostile sister and jilted fiancee, and the constant presence of his mother, the dowager countess who is less than thrilled by this turn of events.

What happens next is she is taken under the wing of Neville's aunt Elizabeth who takes her to London and teaches her how to be a lady. Not in a Pygmalion sort of way, but Lily grows, learns and becomes confident in society. Neville loves her, but now she has the opportunity to meet him on a more equal footing, to let him love her for herself and not out of a so-called duty. It's complicated, but it all works. Meanwhile, there is the mystery of who Lily's real parents are -- and who is trying to kill her.

I found it a great read and look forward to reading more of Mary Balogh. Lily was sweet and innocent at first, sort of strange, but after she starts to become more comfortable in society I grew to like her even more, she did not seem to be so otherworldly once she is in London. You can't help feel sorry for her and for Neville, who I liked as well. He had such a shock in seeing her again and then wanting to have her as his wife, yet knowing deep down, she was overwhelmed at the Abbey and everything. He was noble to the core, and I liked him for that. Their love scenes were sweet and tender, nothing overtly graphic or steamy though, if that's what you're after. There are a lot of thoughts and imaginings in this book, quite a bit of analysis, as a situation like this deserves.

The book ended very well, albeit predicatably, coming full circle with a perfect happily ever after ending - a real keeper! I guessed who was who and her real parentage, it's not that difficult to figure out, but the best part of this book was the development of the characters and how they deal with their predicament and life. It doesn't hurt that everything works out with a fairy tale ending either! I highly recommend it for a quick read and distraction on the beach or in front of a cozy fire!

4/5

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