mary balogh

ISBN: 978-0-385-34330-5
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release: Jan 25, 2011
Source: I purchased this book to read and review

Book 5 of the Huxtable quintet. Constantine Huxtable, who takes a new mistress in London every spring, meets his match in the notorious Hannah, widowed Duchess of Dunbarton, who refuses to take no for an answer when she decides that he will be her lover for the Season. But both harbor secrets, and in the uncovering of them they begin to fall in love.

Finally we come to the end of the Huxtable series by Mary Balogh. I am so happy to report that the last book in her latest best selling series features Con Huxtable.  We see many glimpse of Con throughout the other books in this series.  He seems to have many faces.  His father married his mother two days too late, making Con illegitimate.  His mother dies early; his father also dies early, and is no winner!  His younger brother, Jonathan Huxtable was born with what was probably Down’s Syndrome and only lived for 16 years.  He had an incredible effect on those lives that he touched during his short life.  When Elliot came into his title at an early age, he was suddenly Jonathan’s guardian and his former childhood compatriot, Con, did everything he could to make that job difficult.  The end result was some wrong assumptions and a divide was created between Elliot and Con that lasted for years.

Hannah Reid was born a commoner, but married a duke after a 5 day acquaintance, when she was 19 years old.  He was many years her senior, and many assumed that she married him for his money.  She expected to be a widow in a few short years, but instead, had 10 years with him to learn from him.  Many rumors had floated around through the years about her life with the duke and her supposed infidelities.  She is now coming out of her year of mourning determined to take a lover.  She sets her sights on Con because  she considers him “safe”.  Con is well known for taking a different lover every season and then gracefully ending the affair when he heads back to the country at the end of the season.

These two characters are so unlikeable on the surface.  Hannah is the quintessential “Ice Princess” only showing the world what she wants to show them.  Maintaining control and playing games.  Con has apparently done many things that make him to be a very unlikable person.  He supposedly stole from his disabled brother, he is an unrepentant rake, and he seems to have a secret life in the off season.

Frankly, when this book started, I had no interest in learning about Con.  I thought Mary Balogh should have stopped this series at 4 books.  That idea was reinforced when we started to learn about Hannah and her superficiality.  I was about to put the book down until suddenly the layers started peeling off of both of these seemingly unlikeable characters.  The story grew from that point.  I’m a rather sentimental type of person, and it is not unusual for me to end a particularly moving book with a kleenex in one hand, book in the other.  I’m not shy to admit that I found this book to be so moving that I was in tears for the last hour of reading.  My husband would come in and check on me periodically, and still I read on.  I can’t say that I have read a more moving or more appropriate ending to a series of books.  This book has to be one of my all time favorite novels!  I think it is certainly one of the best written books that I have read!  Get ready your box of kleenex and prepare to finish the story of the Huxtable family in grand form! Enjoy!

RTBookReviews has given A Secret Affair 4.5 stars, labelled it a Top Pick and nominated it for the 2010 Regency-Set Historical Romance.  They had the following to say: “The Huxtables, that scandalous, delicious family, return as the black sheep finds a woman more notorious than he. Balogh has taken a classic plot and infused it with maturity of character and content. It’s a love story about grown-ups for grown-ups; those who appreciate the nuances of relationships, full of passion, trust, friendship and love.”

“Mary Balogh has masterfully woven a romantic tale of the importance of family, of compassion, and of love and forgiveness in this fifth book in her series about the Huxtable family. A Secret Affair will not disappoint, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the “secrets.” Viki Ferrell, Fresh Fiction

“Balogh has saved the best for last; Constantine-dark, wicked, and cryptic-has a perfect foil in Hannah, and their encounters are steamy, their romance believable. Though series fans will be disappointed to see it come to a close, they couldn’t ask for a better way to go out.” Publisher’s Weekly

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.”