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Jan 12, 2011

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ rated it:

I’ve been reading Mary Balogh for the last 8 or 9 years and she’s written some of my favorite historical romance. That’s why I’m saddened to realize that she’s jumped the shark. This Huxtable series has seemed so boring to me since the first book but I was hoping that she would turn it around. This 3rd book in the series has a more original premise than its predecessors but it’s at times dull, pompous, and unromantic, which for me is a kiss of death in a romance.

Labeling a romance unr More...

9 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Choi rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 15, 2009

M— rated it:

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0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 07, 2011

Brianne rated it:

The heroine of At Last Comes Love is Margaret Huxtable, an aging spinster of the type who gave up her youth in order to raise her suddenly orphaned family. Recently turned thirty, Margaret has decided to marry a friend. However, an old lover returns and throws Margaret's life into a bit of disarray and after she tells him that she's already betrothed, she finds that her friend is already betrothed. Uh oh. And thus Margaret meets our hero, Duncan Pennethorne, Earl of Sheringford. Duncan is in des More...

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Oct 10, 2011

Toni rated it:

This is the third book in the Huxtable Family series, and it is a most enjoyable story. The characters of Duncan and Margaret are given more depth than this type of romance usually allow. Duncan is a man of honor and care, and because of that honor, is forced into a situation where he commits one of the greatest sins of all. He returns to England, not for himself, but because of his son, and when he meets and marries Margaret, he realizes she won’t be just a convenience but is the one woman More...

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Aug 17, 2011

Kath S rated it:

Margaret tiene treinta años y ha pasado mucho tiempo cuidando a sus hermanos. Pero ahora, cuando su ex vuelve, se ve en la obligación de empezar a buscarse su propia vida. Quiere casarse y tener hijos, formar una familia.

Duncan a todas luces parece un canalla sin corazón, con muchos problemas y secretos encima. Cinco años atrás representó un gran escándalo y ahora es un paria en la sociedad.

Y entonces los dos se encuentran, y él, impulsado por sus circunstancias le pide q More...

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Sep 18, 2010

Elizabeth rated it:

Full review (rather, set of reviews) here.

So, I sort of have a thing for marriage of convenience narratives. This book has one of those, written extremely well, with characters who I would totally hang out with in real life (assuming the existence of time travel, etc.). On top of that, the secondary characters aren’t just background – the heroine’s family are a big part of her life, and important to the progression of the story.

But what really set this book apart for me w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 07, 2010

Elaine rated it:

I think this is my favorite Huxtable book so far. I am not sure if it is because I feel like I know the characters better, or if it is just a better story.

Margaret/Meg/Maggie is the oldest sister and the oldest sibling in the family. She has been more mother than sister to the others since their real mother died. Due to that, she put her own life on hold.

Finally, her two sisters are married and her brother has reached his majority. Margaret decides it is time to final More...

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Aug 19, 2009

E. rated it:

Margaret Huxtable has sacrificed her life and happiness to raise her brother and sisters at the cost of her first love, Crispin Dew. She was devastated to learn that the man that she gave her heart to married someone else while he was away at war but she has gathered herself together and continued quietly on and supported her sisters through successful courtships into happy marriages. Crispin suddenly reappears as a widower with a young child and expects to resume where he left off but Margare More...

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Jan 09, 2011

Melinda rated it:

Book 3 of the Huxtable Quintet series, on audio, all narrated by Anne Flosnik. What did I think?

I think Flosnik has picked up a little speed in her narration, which makes it eminently more listenable, and there weren't as many scenes for her to be overly emotional (excepting Duncan's mama, who was always emotional). Without the breathy emotional scenes, it wasn't as irritating as Book 2 where she embarrassed me by..., well, read my review.

I think Flosnik's narration has not e More...

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Oct 28, 2010

Nisha rated it:

I know I've been rating all the books (so far) in the series four stars. But, I guess there are different levels of starhood. Like this one. I loved it the best, but not enough to give it 5 stars.

Margaret Huxtable is nearly officially a spinster. And with the return of her ex-beau (who also married, had a child with a Spanish lady, and later been widowed), her unmarried state has become an embarrassment. To save face against ex-beau, she fabricates a fiance and gets herself betrothed More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 15, 2010

Linda rated it:

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May 27, 2009

Ana T. rated it:

I think that the Huxtable series is improving with every book that comes out and this third book is now my favourite in the series.

This is the story of Margaret Huxtable, the older sister of the Huxtables, the one that stayed home to take care of her siblings and that by doing that had to refuse an offer of marriage of her childhood friend, Crispin Dew, and despite them having an understanding she later discovered he had married while fighting in Spain.

When the story op More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 07, 2011

Kristy rated it:

This one was a little slow. But I liked the ending. It seemed as though their love developed slower, so it was more believable. I loved that Duncan was actually a good, honorable guy even though everyone thought he was the worst of the worst.

I also liked that Elliot laughed and joked in this book. I like that Balogh is continuing the other stories in a way. I like that she is showing how he is still changing.

Something I really didn't like, was when Margaret got ma More...

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Nov 29, 2011

Lori rated it:

Hmmmm.... I'm still making up my mind about this book, because I've already started into book #4 "Seducing an Angel". And I'm already shaking my head, wondering how 3 of 4 Huxtables will end up with a less-than-desireable spouses -- at least, according to Society. These wonderful, good, innocent, loving people seem constantly involved in the most dramatic of soap-opera plots!

Margaret (Meg or Maggie) is the eldest. She put aside her own wants and needs at the age of 17, when More...

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Sep 18, 2011

Marilyn rated it:

At Last Comes Love is Margaret's story. She is 30 when the story opens and while she is content with her life, she wonders what will become of her when Stephen marries. Two men she thought she might marry turn out not to be the one, and she meets Duncan, another man with a title and a bad reputation for having jilted his betrothed and run away with her married sister-in-law five years before. There is also a child involved. Duncan must marry within two weeks or face financial and other consequen More...

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Jun 15, 2010

Sbuchler rated it:

Genre: Regency romance

I started re-reading the _Slightly_ series and got onto a Mary Balogh kick. Unfortunately, the Huxtable series has so far disappointed. I got sidetracked away from the first one in the series (_First Comes Marriage_) because the excerpt for _At Last Comes Love_ was so funny. However, most of the book is not funny. Even the scene the excerpt came from was far less funny in context.

The story is of Margaret Huxtable, eldest of the Huxtables, who was lef More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 12, 2010

Patria rated it:

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Mar 04, 2010

Kimm rated it:

It would be my luck to see this pretty book on the end of an aisle and decide to buy it--without giving a thought to the fact that it may come after other books in a series. Never having read Mary Balogh before, of course, I didn’t give it a thought. And yes, as you may have already guessed, this book is the third (hence the #3 after the title) in a series.

I detest reading books out of order, but I read it anyway and was very glad that I did. I think Mary Balogh will become a favorit More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 01, 2009

Erin rated it:

I thoroughly enjoyed this 3rd installment in the Huxtable sibling series. It was a great summer read--entertaining and light but with enough substance that I wasn't wincing or rolling my eyes. I did guess most of Duncan's big secret, but I did not predict the twist at the end.

Margaret Huxtable and Duncan Pennethorne are both 30 years old, which is a welcome change from the norm of historical romances and their 20-year-old heroines. They both need to find a spouse in a hurry: Marg More...

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Oct 11, 2009

Camille added it

This started off as a somewhat unconventional romance novel. The heroine is a thirty year old woman who put her young love affair on hold at the age of seventeen or eighteen in order to raise her younger siblings, who are now all grown. The hero is a thirty year old man who is a lord of something and heir to something else and five years ago, he left his bride almost at the altar (this is a construction the novel uses repeatedly) and ran off with her married sister-in-law (ie the bride's brother More...

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Oct 13, 2011

Greta rated it:

I've never read Mary Balogh before, but picked up this one at a book sale in the late summer as the story summary sounded interesting. Although this is the third in a series of five (one of my pet peeves is, WHY oh why isn't it listed as such on the cover so readers have a clue and can look for the others?!), I found it easily stood on its own. Although it would have been nice to know the backstory of some of the supporting characters, it wasn't necessary to advancing the plot. I liked how the a More...

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May 11, 2009

Shannon rated it:

Balogh's 3rd book in the Huxtable series, this book is about Margaret the oldest sister. Left by her childhood sweetheart when he went off to war, Margaret stayed to raise her 3 younger siblings. More than a dozen years later, her younger brother is now an Earl and her sisters happily married, her former love returns and she impulsively agrees to marry a stranger to make him jealous. Duncan an outcast Earl after a scandal 5 years earlier needs a wife and quickly. This unlikely couple marries and More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 10, 2010

Susan rated it:

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Jul 21, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I was in the midst of a ton of serious reading, so this past Saturday, I thought I'd try something a bit different and picked this up. It was okay - I wish I could give it 2 1/2, but I'll be generous since it was an easy, fast read. The plot sounded interesting, but I had predicted the "issue" with the hero early on. The characters were a lot more honest, so there was less of that misunderstanding junk that is evident in most romances. However, I feel that so many of today's writers tr More...

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Jun 30, 2010

Ruth rated it:

In the previous books in this series, Margaret came across as something of a sour, prematurely-aged but attractive, soon-to-be fossilized spinster. She really comes into her own in this story. The plot is a bit far-fetched, but in Regency England people did do the most ridiculous things to get married to society's satisfaction, so this creative plot works for me. The hero is very different than in tour typical Regency romance, and remains something of an enigma. A really wonderful gamma hero un More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2011

Donna rated it:

I just re-read this; mainly because I just bought Sabrina Jeffries' newest book and I had thought this was part of that series. When I realized it wasn't, I had to search through several authors to find it. I know I read this nearly 2 years ago when it first came out, but I don't remember being absolutely enchanted with it like I was this time. I loved both Duncan and "Maggie". This was such a great love story. The best part was how they both realized if they hadn't experienced their i More...

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Aug 09, 2009

Chris rated it:

If only I hadn't just finished the second book of the series, I would have liked this one better. This suffered from an almost identical progression of events when the newly-married couple arrives at their new home, on top of an overly-melodramatic subplot revolving around Toby and one of my least-favorite romance novel stereotypes, the evil homo.

This is balanced by an intriguing set-up of my always beloved marriage of convenience plot and interesting main characters. So, we come t More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 01, 2011

Diane rated it:

This is my favorite of the Huxtable series by Mary Balogh. The heroine sacrificed her youth to raise her orphaned sisters and brother and has now dwindled into a spinster with few chances for marriage and happiness. An old flame betrayed her and his reappearance into her life prompts an impulsive lie: she's betrothed. The hero is completely misunderstood and surrounded by the worst kind of scandal. He is desperate to keep his home, which he can only do if he manages to marry respectably within t More...

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Jul 08, 2011

Kelli-ann rated it:

In the beginning I was engrossed in the plot line. The whole spunky woman and rogue man. However, the novel took a quick turn for predictability and over-the-top mushy. A reminder as to why I do not read romances. You think one might be different but they all turn out the same.

It seemed like when the plot changed, the characters changed. They lost their strong personalities and became rather boring in the end.

Overall I was dissapponited. It started out with potential an More...

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