Balogh, Mary - assorted novels

[oyceter]

I have been binging on romance novels ever since school got difficult, and thankfully, I managed to glom onto Mary Balogh, whom I haven't read before and has an extensive backlist I can dig into. I've previously picked up her books before, but was unimpressed by the prose and dialogue, which tends to be fairly expository rather than lively. Balogh also tends to do giant series in which all the other protagonists show up, usually with lots of children.

However, she also writes non-alpha heroes and focuses a lot on the heroines, and for that, I will suffer through a lot of sequelitis. Plus, because I love many of her characters so much, I am less annoyed to see them show up happy (although the Bedwyns still grate on my nerves a bit). Balogh's heroes tend to be quiet and honor-bound, and even the rakes I've encountered have not been very rakish. They also usually fall in love, rather than lust, with the heroines, and I very much like that many of her books are about the heroines deciding if they will be able to live with the heroes, even if they are both in love. Her heroines also tend to get quiet angst and character development, as opposed to existing solely to nurse the hero through his angst, which I also approve of. I wish there would be a few more commoner heroes and titled heroines, as opposed to vice versa, but as I said, I will forgive a lot for romances that read like actual romances and make me believe the hero and the heroine are genuinely in love and will remain so.

At Last Comes Love

Third in the Huxtable family series. Margaret Huxtable has decided to get married, and the scandalous Earl of Sheringford desperately needs a wife for the money. (Many Baloghs will begin this way. Luckily, I am sneakily fond of marriages of convenience in romances.) Sheringford is actually a nice guy despite his scandalous past, which I guessed in about two seconds, and I enjoyed the negotiation between him and Margaret and the way there were very few Big Misunderstandings despite all the Big Secrets. The plot didn't fully draw me in though, and this is one of the weaker Baloghs I've read.

A Precious Jewel

Priscilla Wentworth is a prostitute when Sir Gerald Stapleton sets her up as his mistress. Eventually, he realizes he's in love with her. Although the prostitute details here are probably a little too good to be true (the woman running the house is highly protective of her girls), Balogh still doesn't shy away from the prostitution, nor does she glamorize it. Alas, because of this, I had more trouble buying the romance and Gerald falling in love with Priscilla—she is never really herself around him! However, it's a really interesting take on the prostitute-client romance.

Simply Magic

Second in the Simply quartet. Susanna Osbourne is a teacher when she meets Viscount Peter Whitleaf at a house party. The Simply series suffers from being too connected with the Bedwyns, though I did enjoy seeing Peter again (he's related to the heroine in A Summer to Remember). However, I very much like Peter and Susanna gradually becoming friends and falling in love, particularly the way Balogh has Peter gently call Susanna out on her prejudice against him without making Peter into a jerk or someone forcing his attentions on her. Susanna also gets most of the angst in this book; Peter's more of a supporting role. I enjoyed this a lot.

Slightly Dangerous

Sixth in the Bedwyn series. Wulfric Bedwyn, Duke of Bewcastle, uncharacteristically goes to a house party, where he meets the klutzy and overly enthusiastic widow Christine Derrick. I expected to dislike this, as books about the haughty head of the clan tend to underwhelm. However, Wulfric is believably straight-laced, and although he's a bit of a jerk at times, he's not a jerk in the way most alpha bastards are. And the odd-couple pairing oddly works, especially because Christine isn't nearly as flighty as she might be. The structure also reminds me a bit of Pride and Prejudice, though that may be my making things up. Cute, believable, and one of my favorites so far.

Slightly Tempted

Fourth in the Bedwyn series and My First Balogh. Gervase Ashford, Earl of Rosthorn, hates Morgan's oldest brother Wulfric Bedwyn with a passion. When he sees Morgan at a ball, he decides to seduce her. Much of what happens is rather boring, and then the Battle of Waterloo hits, and Gervase and Morgan become actual friends as they support each other during the battle and during the aftermath. This sequence is the best in the book, and it reminds me a great deal of the burning of Atlanta in Gone with the Wind. Unfortunately, after that, we go back to the revenge plot, which does not work very well. Also, I found the explanation for Gervase's hatred of Wulfric to be rather silly, with the addition of (spoiler) not quite evil but definitely ill-advised lesbians. Boo! Not one of Balogh's best, even though the interaction between Morgan and Gervase during the Battle of Waterloo convinced me to read the rest of her books.

A Summer to Remember

Technically this is the book that introduces the Bedwyns, though they are secondary characters. Lauren Edgeworth was abandoned at the altar a year ago (in another Balogh book). Kit Butler, Viscount Ravensburg, is a terrible rake who wants to go home with a fiancee so that his family doesn't end up choosing one for him. This begins with the somewhat boring "rake tries to seduce prim and proper lady" plot, but it quickly grows into something else. Lauren decides that she wants a summer to remember, and if Kit can give her that, she'll be his fake fiancee. Despite the rather contrived set ups, the best part about this book is watching Lauren grow into herself. She's beautiful, kind, gentle, and knows how to navigate society gracefully, and although that makes her sound like a Mary Sue, she has her own issues. I also love that the heroine is perfectly conventional after all the spirited and rebellious heroines out there; Balogh manages to make Lauren the perfect fiancee while also portraying her simply as a kind person. And although Kit starts out as a rake, he does a rather terrible job at it. Lauren does end up healing his angst (and everyone else's), but I just love the two of them together so much. And the book has my favorite thing of two people not wanting to trap each other and holding back out of honor. I realize everything I say about this makes it sound boring, but it is my favorite Balogh so far, and I swiped it off Bookmooch the second I returned the copy I had read to the library because I knew it was a keeper. Very much recommended.

So what Balogh books do you guys rec, and which ones should I stay away from?

Comments

[coffeeandink]

Avoid The Secret Pearl at all costs! I will have to look at my book db to figure out which to recommend, but that one is AWFUL. Just no.

[daedala]

Second the anti-rec.

Oh, my, god. NO.

[oyceter]

Oh, that is too bad! I was hoping it would be an interesting take on the prostitute thing, but clearly not.

[rilina]

Alas, I am not helpful on this front--I've read a huge stack of Baloghs, but they all blur into each other for me. I often pick up her work because it's less likely to actively annoy me than other random genre romances, but it also doesn't please me as much as my favorite genre romances. If that makes any sense?

[oyceter]

No, that totally is how I feel about her! (Well, except Summer to Remember and Slightly Dangerous, which I did like a lot.) She seems to be a good fall back when necessary but also not necessary a star.

[oracne]

I've read about a zillion Baloghs, and A SUMMER TO REMEMBER is one of my favorites overall.

My favorite of her Regency categories is THE NOTORIOUS RAKE. My second favorite is probably LORD CAREW'S BRIDE. THE TEMPORARY WIFE is the kind of marriage of convenience I like best. A CHRISTMAS PROMISE is heartwarming in a good way. You might want also to check out A CHRISTMAS BRIDE, which ties in to A PRECIOUS JEWEL. THE FAMOUS HEROINE is a lot of fun, with unusual hero and heroine, and a lot more humor than she usually uses. Other good ones are DANCING WITH CLARA and TEMPTING HARRIET.

Of the Bedwyn books, my favorite is SLIGHTLY MARRIED.

I also really liked SIMPLY LOVE - wounded hero!

I read the MISTRESS books (2 of them) when they came out, and can't remember any details...but I didn't hate them, if that helps.

I read ONE NIGHT FOR LOVE a really long time ago, and I think I liked it, but can't quite remember if it had anything annoying about it - it had a lot of class issues, which always entertains me. I should probably dig it out for a reread, if my boxed books weren't so difficult to dig through.

The "Web" books are pretty hardcore Balogh - very dense style, and they feel a little old-fashioned to me.

I didn't like HEARTLESS. I can't remember why, though!

[oyceter]

I am trying to look for Lord Carew's Bride after hearing other people's opinions of it!

Thanks for all the recs! I am so glad to have someone with a long backlist I can read when I am in a romance-y mood.

[oracne]

BTW, email me if you want a copy of FIRST COMES MARRIAGE. I accidentally ended up with two.

[meganbmoore]

Slightly Tempted surprised me by making me actually mostly like it! And mostly like Gervaise! (Significant as it's a plot that I rather loathe.) A Summer to Semember was my first Balogh, and what sent me out after her entire backlog (that I could get my hands on) though I've only read the Bedwyn books and the prequels so far. Oh, and some of her Christmas Novellas, which were decent, but not as good as her books.

[oyceter]

I know! It was my first Balogh, and even though the latter half of it wasn't great, there were enough interesting bits to make me look for more. I just wish more of the book were like Gervaise and Morgan in Brussels.

[meganbmoore]

Yeah, it's way less fun once you can't ignore "the best way to get revenge on your enemy is to deliberately target his innocent (preferably nubile) loved ones"* anymore.

*This only works if your first name is Edmund, your last name is Dantes, there's a sandwich named after you, and your creater knows that it really wouldn't be romantic at all to hook you up with one of your victims.

[quivo]

I have no recs, unfortunately. Just chiming in to say that Amazon should probably give you a cut of my Kindle sales, what with how I rely on your recs for new purchases :)

[oyceter]

Hee! Awesome! I hope at least some of the recs have worked out for you!

[fresne]

Heartless for his clothes. There should be more stories with 1700s dandys with languid fans.

Lord Carews Bride for the landscaping a la Capability Brown. Plus (apart from the obligatory angst bit), they're fairly adorable together.

Tangled, because they have to work at it. Plus, I'm a sucker for the he's always loved her trope. And for that matter, Crimean, not Peninsular war veteran, which is oddly nice.

[oyceter]

OMG I love 1700s fops and dandies. There should so be more of them. I suspect it is my secret love for Scarlet Pimpernel.

[heresluck]

Echoing several other comments: I didn't dislike The Secret Pearl as much as some other folks did, but I share the Don't Read It sentiment. I disliked The Obedient Bride much more (the heroine's lack of self-esteem annoyed me to no end), although possibly that's what I get for reading a book with that title. I very much enjoyed A Summer to Remember, and I also enjoyed No Man's Mistress and More Than A Mistress, which I am pretty sure I read based on oracne's recs.

I have a small stack of Baloghs I haven't gotten to yet (One Night For Love, Simply Unforgettable, and three of the Slightly books), largely because my feeling about Balogh is much the same as rilina's: I find Balogh reliable enough (decent prose, interesting and non-annoying characters) to pick up, but she's not enough of a favorite that when I get my hands on one it moves immediately to the top of my list (not like, say, Judith Ivory or Loretta Chase or even Connie Brockway or Laura Kinsale).

[oyceter]

Ooh, I haven't read the Mistress ones yet, will keep them when I am back in romance mood. Like you and Rilina, I find her reliable but not amazing, but really, having a large backlist of reliable romances is extremely good for when grad school is getting the best of me!

(OMG new Kinsale is out!)