Marriage A La Mode (Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: Heroine likable; Hero lacks integrity
Review: Arabella made the book worthwhile but she was a little too accepting of Lucien's plan and he treated her horribly. Even five pages from the end Arabella thinks her husband is doing away with her -- doesn't say much for the hero. Despite all this, I did like the book. There were some other additional characters that added life to the story.

Rating:
Summary: frustrating
Review: Is it possible to enjoy a book that has you sorely frustrated? The book kept my interested from cover to cover, possibly because I was hoping the author would redeem herself and live up to the great potential of the story and characters. It didn't! What was wrong? Most aggravating of all was the emphasis on physical beauty. The hero treats the heroine like so much dirt under his feet but she loves him passionately because he is drop-dead gorgeous. It is only when she gets spruced up on the outside that he takes the time to discover her inner qualities. That he acknowledges his faults at the end does not make up for the bitter emotional pain he previously inflicted on her. Also, the heroine brought nothing fresh to the household when she became mistress. Because of her awareness of the superficiality of ton life, I expected her to bring an original touch to her duties. Finally, very little time was spent on the love scenes. I thought Mary Balough taught the regency genre that these readers really want more intimate scenes and sensitive, caring characters.