Rating: 
Summary: Original romance storyline but not a keeper
Review: There were many good things about this book and I am glad I read it (the
first part was fantastic). I liked the fact that even though this book was
a sequel to a book I haven't read it wasn't bogged down with lots of boring
back story, also I loved the fact that Ashley had the compassion to look
past Emmy's affliction and see her true self as no one else did. I just
wish the book was more centered on those things than all of the crazy
outside conflicts. My main complaint is that it started out so darned good
and I truly cared about the characters and could not put it down but
towards the end I wasn't feeling much of anything, I didn't laugh, I didn't
cry, I didn't truly care and just wanted to get the book over with. I was
left feeling very disappointed. I'm sure I'm in the minority on this one,
ah well, we can't all like the same things all the time, I guess
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This book was great. I was really curious when I read the back. A Deaf heroine? I thought that the author did a wonderful job conveying the thoughts of Emmy and I thought the love between her and Ashley was beautiful! They were so in love and yet they both had such strong convictions about not being together for the sake of the other! It was such a touching story! I also love the way the other characters, such as Luke and Anna, were brought in. I plan on reading many more books by Mary Balogh!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This book was great. I was really curious when I read the back. A Deaf heroine? I thought that the author did a wonderful job conveying the thoughts of Emmy and I thought the love between her and Ashley was beautiful! They were so in love and yet they both had such strong convictions about not being together for the sake of the other! It was such a touching story! I also love the way the other characters, such as Luke and Anna, were brought in. I plan on reading many more books by Mary Balogh!
Rating:
Summary: A TOUCHING LOVE STORY
Review: THIS HAS BEEN A DRAMATIC STORY ABOUT A DEAF MUTE HEROINE. I HAD NEVER READ ANY EXCEPTIONAL NOVELS BEFORE LIKE THIS. YET, MARY BALOGH HAS PROVEN TO BE AN EXCEPTIONAL WRITER! WAY TO GO! I THINK THIS HAS BEEN A POWERFUL FICTION STORY SHE EVER WRITTEN!
Rating:
Summary: When two tortured hearts find healing in each other
Review: This sequel to the already outstanding Heartless tells us the story of Lord Ashley Kendrick and Lady Emily Marlowe. The premise of their relationship was already hinted at in Heartless, but this book takes off seven years later and explores it in earnest.As a tortured hero, Ashley truly takes after his brother Luke. The seven years he spent away from home didn't bring him the happiness he was looking for, and it's alone and heartbroken that he arrives at Bowden Abbey. His family has changed drastically: his brother, still happily married to Anna Marlowe, is now the father of four children; his sister has settled and gained a lot of maturity. And Emily, the child he used to call his "little fawn", has grown into a woman. A very beautiful and desirable woman, in fact. And the realisation of his blooming feelings for Emily mingles with his jealousy when he sees her being courted by several gentlemen thinking of her as a potential bride. Emily has continued to observe the world from her own silent world. Heartless already gave us a few glimpses of her life as a deaf mute and the inner world she had built for herself, but Silent Melody explores it much more thoroughly, and the atmosphere enveloping the entire story is rendered more fascinating by the frequent introspection from Emily's point of view. She opens her world to Ashley - and to the reader - even though she knows that whatever happened to him in India to make him so sombre will always keep them apart. They can be friends but nothing more, since Ashley never saw in her what she sees in him. He thinks of her as a child still, not as a lover, doesn't he? Silent Melody takes us in a very original and captivating world, where both heroes feel frightened by their feelings. More than in any other romance novel, the misunderstandings never look artificial, thanks to the absence of wordy communication between Ashley and Emily. Mary Balogh does a masterful job of describing each of their private thoughts. The characters' emotions are thrust onto the reader without artifice, and the resulting story is both powerful and heartwrenching. One of the very best!
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