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Rating: 
Summary: A huge disappointment
Review: I am a fan of Balogh, but this is below her usual high standards! The hero of the novel, Nigel "Nige" Wetherby is "slender," with perfectly curled and powdered hair tied in a satin bow. Following this description is the prompt assurance that he is not effete! Despite assurances, however, Nigel fails to excite one's imagination. He is a wimpy character, totally lacking in the usual masculine epithets such as strong, muscular, tall, etc. I found myself hoping that he would not claim the attentions of the fair Casandra. But alas, that is the whole point of this book! Further, though Balogh attempts to remain true to the time-period by using Regency-type vernacular, she over-uses certain expressions. Each page has either a Cor-Blimey, Zounds, La or I'faith. The lack of variation and uninspiring hero make for a cumbersome and monotonous read.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth Persevering
Review: I bought this book, started reading it, and then put it down. I was rather turned off by the first couple of chapters. However, recently, desparate for something to read, I picked this up to finish it. It was worth it. Balogh develops the relationship between her hero & heroine in a compelling manner. Contrary to another opinion expressed here, I don't think Nigel is at all "wimpy." Keep an open mind as you read the initial chapters. It's worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: comment on wimpy
Review: I have not yet read this book so cannot give it any stars with any degree of accuracy, but want to comment on the folks who thought the hero was wimpy. In the Georgian period the masculine ideal did not include bulging muscles and overt displays of athleticism. For the best example of this read Georgette Heyer, in particular, "These Old Shades". The hero of that book minces around in high heeled shoes - red heels no less. Give this type of hero a chance. They can be wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: Balogh at her best: intrigue, angst and romance!
Review: It's Cassandra's twenty-first birthday, and she's blissfully happy. Having inherited the Earldom of Worthing in her own right (she's the countess), she's looking forward to the freedom of managing her own property without interference from her relatives - all of whom she loves, but who persist in treating her as a child. But an unexpected guest arrives: Nigel, Viscount Wroxley, who claims to have been a friend of Cassandra's late father. Nigel charms Cassandra, much to the disgust of her relatives, and she finds herself very much drawn to this handsome, charming and very attentive man. So when he asks her to marry him, she has little hesitation in saying yes. Balogh lets her readers know early on that Nigel has at least one ulterior motive for coming to Kedleston and for wanting to marry Cassadra. I guessed relatively early what these motives might have been, but I was very unsure, certainly with regard to the second, of whether I was correct. Balogh plays her cards very close to her chest in this book, leaving the readers, as well as Cassandra, guessing as to whether Nigel is really a villain in need of reforming, or a very badly-misunderstood good guy. Balogh very cleverly doesn't allow her characters to sink into uncommunicative misunderstanding in this book; although Cassandra is furious when she finds out part of the truth about Nigel, she doesn't lock herself into her room and stay there. Instead, she decides that she will not be afraid of him, and as a result we get some wonderful scenes in which her love for him - and his for her - battles with her dislike of what he did. There are also a couple of delightful secondary romances in this book, something I always like. Oh, and as for the reader from San Diego who didn't like Nigel as a romantic hero, isn't it a bit shallow to expect all heroes to be tall, dashing, well-built and devastatingly handsome? As it happens, Balogh, does write about heroes and heroines who do not fit the usual mould - but on the other hand, read the book carefully. Nigel *is* tall. He has dark hair. He is handsome. And, although he is slender, his valet comments at one point that he needs to fill out still, after his experiences. As for the 'Zounds' and 'Egad', this book is set in Georgian (just pre-Regency) times, and such vocabulary, along with long, bagged hair and powder, was common.
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