ISBN: 978-0-440-24424-0
Publisher: Dell Historical
Release: April 28, 2009
Source: I purchased this book to read and review
Margaret Huxtable is thirty years old and has finally decided to do the sensible thing and get married. She arrives in London during the Season full of hope. But first she meets the widowed Crispin Dew, who years ago had betrayed their secret betrothal and married someone else, and next she learns that the man she had hoped to marry is engaged to another woman. Then she runs (literally) into the Earl of Sheringford, who is in such total disgrace with the ton that he has not dared show his face in town for five years and would not be there now if he were not in such desperate need of a bride.
At Last Comes Love is the third book in Mary Balogh’s latest series about the lives and loves of the Huxtable family. Written in Regency England, the Huxtables are trying to survive in a world that thrives on gossip and every misstep is scrutinized and commented on. If you have read the first two books of this series, you will realize that this family is comprised of 3 girls and a boy. The girls, Margaret, Katherine and Vanessa and the boy being Stephen. Stephen unexpectedly came into a title at the age of 17 and this threw the family into disarray! They had been living in gentile poverty in the small village of Throckbridge with Margaret, the eldest taking care of her siblings after the passing of their parents. She had already given up one chance for marriage with her childhood sweetheart because of her promise to care for her siblings. At this point in the series, Vanessa is happily married to Elliot, ad Katherine is happily married to Jasper. We now know that Margaret’s childhood love married another woman while serving in the army in Spain.
This story starts with Margaret (Meg) running into Crispin Dew for the first time since she has found out that he married. He is now a widow with a young daughter and is ready to marry her. She is angry and doesn’t want him to know that she was waiting for him to marry her after he left the service so she announces that she is secretly engaged to someone else. She then needs to get a “someone else”! With this lie weighing heavily on her, she decides to accept an offer from a stranger.
Duncan Pennethorne, the Earl of Sheringford, has been cut off by his grandfather and is in London to convince him to re-instate his income. Several years before, Duncan ran off with the married sister of his intended, creating an unbelievable scandal. Laura is now dead and Duncan is responsible for the support of several servants and needs his funds re-instated. Duncan’s grandfather, a crusty old grump, has decided to leave all his fortune to Duncan’s cousin, Norm, who stepped in and married Duncan’s intended after he abandoned her. The Grandfather has agreed to change his mind if Duncan can find an acceptable bride before the grandfather’s 80th birthday. Duncan and Meg literally run into each other at a ball the next evening and and agreement is made. Meg gets to save face and Duncan satisfies his grandfather’s demands.
They marry before they really have a chance for a courtship. The truth comes out about Duncan’s actions and what takes place is a wonderfully sweet romance between the two of them. With all the ton against their relationship, the Huxtable family members gather round and help the fragile relationship succeed. I’ll leave the details for you to read!
I have read many of Mary Blogh’s books over the years, and really haven’t found one yet that I feel is awful. Of this series, it is my least favorite so far. I think mostly because I don’t really like Duncan until well into the story. Since Margaret has given up so much for her family, I felt that she need a knight on a white charger to make up for all her sacrifice……and she got Duncan. Don’t get me wrong, this book is beautifully written and the story is carefully crafted, combining the primary characters of Duncan and Margaret as well as a whole host of secondary characters. I guess I have let my dislike of Duncan color my enjoyment of the book. Not everyone agrees with me! I’ve included other reviews for you to have a look at!
I’ve read ahead, and the last two books are well worth the read!!
Gwen at The Good, The Bad and The Unread gave this book an A+ and had the following to say: “I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a romance that just makes you want to go “Awwww!” at the end. Frankly I smiled throughout and had tears on several occasions. It’s a wonderful story.”
RTBookReveiws give this book 4.5 stars and a Top Pick rating, saying: “Not only does Balogh create remarkable characters and unique situations that are intelligent, realistic and memorable, the emotional depth of her novels is unsurpassed.”
That sounds like a book I might like. I haven’t read many Regency Romances lately but I used to love them.
New follower from the blog hops.
http://www.wyrdings.blogspot.com
Hi Elle!
Thanks for the visit and the follow!
This comment form doesn’t seem to be working. That or it just isn’t showing up for me.
New follower from the blog hops.
http://www.wyrdings.blogspot.com
Regency books seem to be becoming more popular these days. Years ago everyone read Georgette Heyer.
Ann
Hi Ann!
Thanks for the visit!
Oh yea that was the name that I couldn’t remember. I read a bunch of her books. The library had two shelves of them and I read every one. They were good. Her characters seemed like real people..people that I would actually like to sit down and visit with. Many romances seem to be too heavy into the romance itself for me..the people seem too one sides.
Hi Elle!
I agree with you – Mary Balogh’s characters seem to just jump off the page! Glad to have helped solve the problem 🙂