Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful characters and plot, BUT....
Review: Didn't anybody else have a problem with the heroine's ability to "read lips" when she only vaguely remembered sounds (from her early childhood) and couldn't read or write? (which she only learned to do at 16). Unfortunately this bothered me so much, I couldn't get into the book - and this one has a great deal to offer otherwise. Mary Balogh's strongly developed characters and wonderful plot couldn't quite rescue this one for me.
Rating:
Summary: Passable read!
Review: Having read Balogh's novels previously, I thought this was quite formulaic! I skipped a number of pages since Balogh always has some sort of pre-marital sexual situations somewhere before the characters fall in love. Emmy had a strong character though and complex enough for a Romance heroine! Ashley was not too well developed and neither was the villain in this piece. In fact, he was the most disappointing villain ever... He had no strong motive, no insanity, not even ruthless passion to destruct. A very unsatisfactory ending. And in all, a passable read..
Rating: 
Summary: A compelling romance!
Review: I enjoyed Silent Melody by Mary Balough. When I read the premise of a deaf-mute heroine, I was curious how an author would covey the character's words. Mary Balough does a splendid job of it in this compelling romance.
Rating: 
Summary: More silence would have been appreciated
Review: I've read some of Mary Balogh's other books and enjoyed them a great deal. Unfortunately, as previous reviewers have mentioned, the "action" parts of this book felt like a formula Balogh had pasted into place. Evil villain? Check. Incomprehensible motivation for said villain? Check. An assortment of characters with seemingly no role but to keep hero and heroine apart for five precious minutes during the book who are given disproportionate "screen time"? Check. More bothersome, from my point of view, was Emily's deafness. Emily is able to lip-read easily, even in ball situations, where the lighting was not so good and people were probably not looking straight at her every time she spoke. And her lip-reading was pretty much flawless, which is something that doesn't happen, even now, even under ideal situations (good lighting, speaker facing listener and enunciating clearly). As my ASL teacher put it, look into a mirror and say, "Pleased to meet you." Then say, "Elephant juice." Can you tell the difference simply by sight? Emily's lip-reading ability was taken beyond the realm of plausibility, and the same is true for most of her communications with others. It's as though the deafness became a plot hindrance most of the time, so what the hell, we're just going to pretend that it isn't really that much of a problem. I just had difficulty suspending my disbelief there-- or my annoyance, since Balogh did choose to write a deaf heroine. It's a shame, because I'd been hoping to find a really interesting element of what it was like to be deaf in regency England... but I came away with the sense that not much research had been done, either on what it was like to be deaf then OR what it's like to be deaf now. This sort of sloppiness irritates me. I did read the first book in this "grouping," and enjoyed it, and understand how "Silent Melody" grew from that. Still, Emily was a deaf heroine, and the way Balogh dealt with her deafness struck me as sloppy. She's written better books. The hook for this one was a hindrance rather than a help to the book's quality. Read something else she's written first.
Rating: 
Summary: A tumultuous, emotional romance . . .
Review: If emotion is the hallmark of romance, this is without doubt, one of the most romantic novels ever written. Every page, every word is imbued with emotion that will not soon leave you. The hero, Lord Ashley Kendrick, and the heroine, Lady Emily Marlowe, made their first appearance in HEARTLESS (Berkley, September, 1995), and it is easy to see why they demanded their own book. Ashley, twenty-two, bored and restless in England, sets off to make his fortune in the East India Company, leaving behind the fifteen-year-old Emmy. The loss is more severe for the young woman; Ashley is the only person who really understands her. He cared enough to help devise a special sign language for easier communication with Emmy, who was rendered deaf and mute by a fever when she was barely more than a toddler. While in India, Ashley marries and has a son. His arrival back in England, on the night of a ball--to perhaps celebrate the betrothal of Emmy to the eligible Lord Powell--sets in motion a tale of love and intrigue. Ashley, now a widower, finds himself drawn more and more to the young woman who has indeed grown-up during his absence. Only after Emmy has accepted the offer of Lord Powell, does Ashley reveal the deaths of his wife and child. The betrothal is broken, but still the two lovers cannot easily bridge the gap of words--words that one cannot say, and the other cannot hear. If you can read only one book this year, SILENT MELODY should be that one. No exceptions, no quibbles. But--be sure to have a box of tissues handy. If you don't need them, you have no heart.
Rating:
Summary: A tumultuous, emotional romance . . .
Review: If emotion is the hallmark of romance, this is without doubt, one of the most romantic novels ever written. Every page, every word is imbued with emotion that will not soon leave you. The hero, Lord Ashley Kendrick, and the heroine, Lady Emily Marlowe, made their first appearance in HEARTLESS (Berkley, September, 1995), and it is easy to see why they demanded their own book. Ashley, twenty-two, bored and restless in England, sets off to make his fortune in the East India Company, leaving behind the fifteen-year-old Emmy. The loss is more severe for the young woman; Ashley is the only person who really understands her. He cared enough to help devise a special sign language for easier communication with Emmy, who was rendered deaf and mute by a fever when she was barely more than a toddler. While in India, Ashley marries and has a son. His arrival back in England, on the night of a ball--to perhaps celebrate the betrothal of Emmy to the eligible Lord Powell--sets in motion a tale of love and intrigue. Ashley, now a widower, finds himself drawn more and more to the young woman who has indeed grown-up during his absence. Only after Emmy has accepted the offer of Lord Powell, does Ashley reveal the deaths of his wife and child. The betrothal is broken, but still the two lovers cannot easily bridge the gap of words--words that one cannot say, and the other cannot hear. If you can read only one book this year, SILENT MELODY should be that one. No exceptions, no quibbles. But--be sure to have a box of tissues handy. If you don't need them, you have no heart.
Rating:
Summary: Highly original, and a wonderful sequel to Heartless
Review: If you finished reading Balogh's Heartless and longed to know more about Luke and Anna, and longed even more to know what would happen to Anna's deaf-mute sister Emily, you have to read Silent Melody. Here, Balogh gives Emily her own romance, and also allows us to see how Luke and Anna have grown as a couple - their relationship, while in the background, is shown to be mature and solid. Emily has been deaf and mute since a small child, and only Anna, Luke, and particularly Ashley, Luke's younger brother, really understand her when she tries to communicate and make the effort to communicate properly with her. Ashley, however, went away when she was fifteen, and although he subsequently married, she still loves him. Luke, her brother-in-law, understands that, but also wants her to have a home of her own rather than feeling that she has to be dependent on relatives for the rest of her life. Believing that he has her best interests at heart, he tries to find her a husband. But, just as she is about to accept Lord Powell, Ashley comes home... Ashley has been widowed in tragic circumstances, and is now a bitter, guilt-ridden man of thirty. None of his family can get through to him to find out what's going on inside his head... except Emmy, who always understood him years before. Except that he cannot vocalise his feelings any longer, so instead he takes comfort from her in another way. She refuses to marry him, because although she loves him she knows that he doesn't love her and only asked out of a sense of honour. The real problem here is that Ashley's image of Emily is still fixed on the fourteen-year-old child she once was; he is unable for a very long time to acknowledge that she is now a woman, and so he can't allow himself to think of her as a desirable partner instead of his little fawn. He remembers her as a child, and hates himself for adding to his own guilt over what he did to her. There are many themes in this story: inner healing, redemption, the meaning of maturity, and even more important the nature of disability. Emily is the only person who does not consider her deafness a handicap; no matter how well-meaning they are, the rest of her family all consider it an affliction they must help her overcome. Anna by teaching Emily how to behave in society, Luke by teaching her to read and write, Ashley by insisting that she learn to form words and speak. As Emily herself thinks any number of times, perhaps they should learn from her about the qualities of silence. However, Ashley does grow in this respect: he ceases assuming that he knows what's best for her and learns to appreciate her world as well. (So, to the reviewer who made that crass comment about Emily's deafness, I ask: did you read the book? Emily *never* sought special treatment or considered herself pitiful because of her deafness.) The one thing which seemed completely superfluous in this book was the villain plot. It seemed unnecessary; there was more than enough material for Balogh to write about in simply resolving Ashley and Emily's relationship. The villain brought a different dynamic into the story, and I actually would have preferred Ash and Emily to turn to each other because they realised themselves that they loved each other, not because someone else's actions gave them a shove in the right direction. That aside, this is a deeply emotional book which deserves its high rating.
Rating:
Summary: Deaf-mute finds love and happiness
Review: Remember Jane Wyman in her Oscar-winning performance in JOHNNY BELINDA? Mary Balogh's vulnerable heroine, a deaf-mute, finds herself in a similar predicament---she's been terrorized by a black-hearted villain but doesn't have the words to say who he is and what he has done. The one man who can help her---the first and only love of her life---is locked up in a bitter world of his own making, to which he doesn't have the key. Superb Georgian romance with all of the signature Balogh touches---emotional, passionate, tender---and a rousing story with more than a bit of mystery. Highly recommended.Jo Manning (drmwk@juno.com
Rating:
Summary: A sweet, well written story....(3 1/2)
Review: Silent Melody was a sweet heartfelt read...I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Mary Balogh, however it wasnt for me. I did enjoy it, but I have found that in having read a few of her other books in the past, that while they are good, they just arent for me...I would definitely not dissuade anyone from reading this book..I just personally prefer other authors.
Rating:
Summary: Ew..
Review: The hero is pathetic, so is the heroine. There were times I felt like to yell - Oh, get over it! Deafness isn't that big deal! In some way, I found this book quite offensive. I wouldn't - *ever* - recommend this to any deaf person.
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