First Comes Marriage (Huxtable Quintet, #1)

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First Comes Marriage (Huxtable Quintet #1)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 3,915 ratings · 327 reviews

Against the scandal and seduction of Regency England, New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh introduces an extraordinary family—the fiery, sensual Huxtables. Vanessa is the second daughter, proud and daring, a young widow who has her own reason for pursuing the most eligible bachelor in London. One that has nothing to do with love. Or does it?

The arrival of Elliott...more

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Published March 1st 2010 by Piatkus Books (first published January 1st 2009)

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Feb 27, 2009 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads

A lovely story that will play with your emotions yet keep you smiling. "First Comes Marriage" is the premiere novel in Mary Balogh's new series about three sisters and their younger brother who are lifted from obscurity when he is elevated to the title of Earl of Merton. The first to find love is the middle widowed sister, Vanessa.

Vanessa is the 'plain Jane' of the Huxtable family. She's heard it all her life and can see in the mirror for herself as well. But she's also the happiest and most joy...more A lovely story that will play with your emotions yet keep you smiling. "First Comes Marriage" is the premiere novel in Mary Balogh's new series about three sisters and their younger brother who are lifted from obscurity when he is elevated to the title of Earl of Merton. The first to find love is the middle widowed sister, Vanessa.

Vanessa is the 'plain Jane' of the Huxtable family. She's heard it all her life and can see in the mirror for herself as well. But she's also the happiest and most joyful, finding pleasure in each day. When the terribly correct and arrogant Viscount Lyngate comes to inform the family of her younger brother's surprising inheritance, Vanessa is just as excited and fearful as the rest of her small family. But when it appears this same Viscount will propose a dutiful marriage to her older sister, Vanessa knows that just won't do. Her older sister deserves to have a chance at love so Vanessa proposes to the Viscount herself!

Elliott isn't sure which part of his duty is most onerous. Having to locate and guide the new Earl of Merton or having to sacrifice himself on the altar of marriage for his own title. It doesn't take him long to realize that what's really most irritating is the widowed sister of the new Earl. She doesn't stand in awe of him, she talks back to him, and now for some reason he seems to be attracted to her. But he must marry and heaven knows one chit is really as good as another so he might as well lighten his burden by marrying the oldest Huxtable daughter. Well...he would...if that irritating woman hadn't just proposed to him!

I found laughter and tears in this story; I also couldn't seem to stop reading once I started. Both of those are signs of an irresistible book for me. From the first page, Balogh sets up the premise of this entire new series and draws the reader in with a bit of mystery. While you are reading the story of Elliott and Vanessa, you also get bits of pieces of the mystery tossed in. The relationship between the main characters is complex and engrossing while the deepening of their feelings proceeds at a reasonable and smooth pace. I find myself anxious for the next book "Then Comes Seduction" which is the story of the youngest daughter. It should hit the shelves April and I'll look forward to reading more about the Huxtable family, the Earl of Merton, and the mystery of Constantine.(less)

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Jan 16, 2011 Shawna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of historical/regency romance with marriage of convenience plots

Shelves: historical-romance, mary-balogh, historical-romance-regency, brothers-sisters-cousins-family, hh-widow-or-widower, heroine-plain-jane-ugly-duckling, married-couples-married-convenience, made-me-cry, hero-cold-cruelbrute-dark-dangerous, hero-darcy-paragon-haughty-staid, hero-gentleman, hero-i-wanna-smack, heroine-bluestocking-unconventional, heroine-naïve-virgin-like-a-virgin, hh-sweet-nice-paired-vs-gruff-cynic, i-read-no-longer-own-sold-swapped, rt-book-reviews-top-pick, 2011-reads, 4-stars, beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-beholder, enemies-to-lovers-opposites-attract, hero-abused-scarred-tortured-angst, hero-alpha‎, hero-attractive-handsome-heartthrob, hh-aristocracy-nobility-royalty, heroine-i-adore, heroine-kickass-spirited-strong, heroine-odd-spinster-wallflower, hh-social-class-wealth-matters, steam-2-warm, unrequited-love-crush, series-huxtable-quintet, hero-not-enough-groveling, hero-undeserving-of-heroine, hero-asshat-award-hall-of-shame, hero-starchy-loosen-up-buttons-babe, hero-marriage-wife-hunting, heroine-country-lass, hero-i-despised

4 stars – Historical/Regency Romance

I’d lowered my expectations for this after hearing from several friends that the Huxtable series isn’t among Balogh’s best work, and I mainly read First Comes Marriage in order to have the background for Then Comes Seduction that I checked out from the library, since I so love a good rake story.

I’m happy to report that after a somewhat slow beginning in which I almost abandoned it as a DNF, I ended up really liking this book, especially the cheerful, find joy...more

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Jul 05, 2010 Robin (RBBR) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, huxtable-series

This is the first Mary Balogh I read unless you count Novella's found in Anthology's. I started reading this series about the same time as Lisa Kleypas' Hathaway Series and keep getting confused as to who wrote which. Unfortunately I'm not recalling specifics at the time but do recall I liked it and couldn't wait for the next one in the series to come out. The first three came out in paperback but the 4th and 5th have come out in hardback first and I have to wait extra. This one is as I recall t...more

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Feb 24, 2009 Juliana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, 2009-reads, 2009-feb-reads, 0-to-reread, 0-own-in-dead-tree-form, 0-reviewed, 3-half-stars, part-of-a-romance-series, 0-4-eventually-making-my-way-there

A good start to Balogh's new series - not as strong as the Bedwyn kick-off, but enjoyable (3.5 stars)

I am an almost-always faithful Balogh fan and I was not disappointed in Book 1 of the Huxtable Quintet, First Comes Marriage. Though I had some complaints which I have detailed below, on the whole I found the book very enjoyable and worth a quick rush to the bookstore (forgive me, Amazon.com) and the postponing of my schoolwork.

HUXTABLE FAMILY:
The Huxtable family is made up of four siblings; both...more

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May 20, 2012 Lisa Kay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-romance-historical, character-duke-or-maybe-1-in-story, m-library-sj-audio-oda, holiday-valentines-day-perfect, theme-beauty-in-the-eye, theme-marriage-of-convenience, married-couple-all-or-most-of-book, all-time-favorites, zzcover-peach, 2012-in-2012-group-challenge, genre-romance-regency, auto-buy-author, m-ipod-touch, m-pb-paperback, era-regency, setting-england, character-widow, challenge-heac-brides, reviewed-by-me, re-read-for-comfort, theme-heroine-in-pursuit, authors-b, authors-m

Vanessa Huxtable Dew in her green Regency dress, who is decidedly prettier when she smiles.
Artist: Gilbert Stuart, circa 1802-1804*

★★★★½ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Again, Anne Flosnik does a nice job of narrating in this, the first of the Huxtable Quintet. She doesn’t sound as stilted as she sometimes did in The Prize, by Julia Garwood. Nevertheless, she isn’t great at differentiating the voices, but more than acceptable in her inflection, pacing, cadence, and enunciation. I love this...more

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May 11, 2012 Kajol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, favorite-author, regency-romance

I absolutely, undoubtedly, irrevocably loved it!!

Oh my God! I mean... Oh my God, indeed!
*Deep breath in, deep breath out.. Okay, let's start over*

I've read the Bedwyn Series by Mary Balogh and I totally loved it. I'd thought that maybe it was the series itself, that was so special and that maybe others- while being good too- wouldn't be as captivating as the aforementioned series. Boy, was I dead wrong. Mary Balogh has yet again not only succeeded in exceeding my expectations but has also bow...more I absolutely, undoubtedly, irrevocably loved it!!

Oh my God! I mean... Oh my God, indeed!
*Deep breath in, deep breath out.. Okay, let's start over*

I've read the Bedwyn Series by Mary Balogh and I totally loved it. I'd thought that maybe it was the series itself, that was so special and that maybe others- while being good too- wouldn't be as captivating as the aforementioned series. Boy, was I dead wrong. Mary Balogh has yet again not only succeeded in exceeding my expectations but has also bowled me over by this one. This was no way as special for me as The Bedwyns Series but it was still amazing all the same, in its own way.

Okay, lets start with our heroine, the widowed Miss Vanessa Huxtable Dew. At first, of course I didn't like her much but with every new page, I came to grow fond of her. Her smiles and charm weaved so good a magic, that in my eyes she was one beautiful lady herself, despite her rather plain face. A good heart, kind presence, charming smile and a rather endearing habit of using superlatives, I really liked her. Her wit and temperament were striking enough, she made me laugh out loud now and then.

Now comes the time to talk about our arrogantly brooding and really handsome hero, Viscount Elliot Wallace. Okay, so I didn't exactly love him, but I did feel lust for him, by Jove. *winks*
He was arrogant, stubborn, intelligent and rather astonishingly similar to a Greek God, the blue-eyed devil never failed to amaze and annoy me. I really liked him (well, more than like him, but that's irrelevant 'cause he's married man of course, so shh...) and the unromantic (yeah, the idiot thought himself incapable to being romantic.. *snorts*) fool had me smiling with his romantic words and actions all the way to the end.

The story was adorable and I loved it. Now's the time for confessions and I'd like to say that though I loved the novel, I was not in love with it. Read the book, and you'll get what I mean, haha. I don't know why but I have a feeling that the series grows more fascinating and seductive with each new book. An intuition I've decided to trust and rely on, in fact. The ending could've been more intense and maybe a bit more prefect but still it drew out a contented sigh from me as I shut closed the book. Enjoy your time with it friends, you'll like it! :) (less)

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Mar 22, 2013 Kath S rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

Vannessa es viuda y vive en un pueblo pequeño con sus hermanos. Toda su vida ha vivido con el estigma de ser la fea de su familia, y ha aprendido a sobrellevarlo basándose en un su humor y alegría.

Elliot es un mujeriego que tiene que aprender a ser responsable cuando su padre muere y lo deja a cargo de tooodo (el título nobiliario y todas esas cosillas XD). Y entonces cumpliendo su deber, conoce a Vanessa, una mujer en la que JAMÁS se fijaría (porque la chica es fea :S), y con la que desde el pr...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Beth rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, bodice-rippers, read-in-2009, romance, drinking-game

This book is PERFECT if you are doing a romance novel drinking game. Every time a character mentioned how un-pretty Vanessa was, I wanted to take a swig of something. It seemed that it was mentioned every few pages. Okay, I get it: She's not the most attractive thing to ever walk the earth, but come on, must you keep reminding me?! It got very tedious and distracted from what little of the story there was. Also, it felt like the author got trunky in the end as mostly everything was nicely wound...more

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Jan 31, 2010 Ilze rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mary-balogh

I've had to read several of Mary Balogh's books a second time to fully appreciate them (e.g. The Notorious Rake) so I figured, after first reading this one and not really enjoying it, that I must have missed something. However, after a second reading I came to the same conclusion: the hero and heroine are just not interesting to me. Vanessa's little homilies about hope and happiness, and her constantly telling herself that she is unattractive, were just annoying after a while, and Elliott really...more

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Mar 28, 2009 Stamatia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was what I've come to expect from Ms Balogh. A strong tale that was not at all "easy " to read. It quite absorbed me, and I couldn't help but compare its beginning with P&P but after a little while I knew that it really was an original tale with characters I could empathise with.

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Jun 25, 2012 Rizka F Ryuichi Asami marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: mary-balogh, gramedia, 03-i-own-book, historical-romance, owned-unread

Rencana terbit by GPU 28-Jun HR: Pernikahan yang Menjelang - First Comes Marriage

Terjemahan judulnya : Pernikahan yang Menjelang ? Bener gak sih bahasanya? Lebih enak "Menjelang Pernikahan" gak sih?

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May 15, 2013 Kay Bolton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Historical Romance Fans

Review taken from my Blog back in November 2010:

I seem to be getting a few of these read in the wrong order. This was actually the first in the Huxtable series. The very young Stephen Huxtable is informed by Elliott Wallace, Viscount Lyngate that he has by twists and turns of fate become the new Earl of Merton.

Viscount Lyngate takes Stephen and his three sisters Miss Huxtable (Margaret), Miss Katherine Huxtable and the widowed Miss Vanessa Dew to to their new home. Margaret and Katherine and und...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Hobby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, pinjam

Kisah dibuka saat Warren Hall di Hampshire mengalami perubahan drastis setelah kematian Jonathan Huxtable – Earl of Merton yang terakhir, dalam usia 16 tahun. Bocah periang yang ramah dan baik hati ini memang ditakdirkan tidak akan berusia panjang akibat kondisi cacat yang dimiliki semenjak lahir. Maka tugas selanjutnya bagi wali dan penanggung jawab, jatuh pada Elliott Wallace – Viscount Lyngate, untuk menemukan serta mendidik keturunan Huxtable yang masih tersisa dari silsilah pohon keluarga y...more
Kisah dibuka saat Warren Hall di Hampshire mengalami perubahan drastis setelah kematian Jonathan Huxtable – Earl of Merton yang terakhir, dalam usia 16 tahun. Bocah periang yang ramah dan baik hati ini memang ditakdirkan tidak akan berusia panjang akibat kondisi cacat yang dimiliki semenjak lahir. Maka tugas selanjutnya bagi wali dan penanggung jawab, jatuh pada Elliott Wallace – Viscount Lyngate, untuk menemukan serta mendidik keturunan Huxtable yang masih tersisa dari silsilah pohon keluarga yang besar itu. Dari hasil penelitian, ditemukan salah satu jalur jauh, keturunan sah keluarga Huxtable yang berada di desa Throckbridge di Shropshire. Didampingi asisten pribadinya, George Bowen, Elliott Wallace bertekad menyelesaikan tugasnya secepat mungkin. Ia akan datang, membawa berita dan langsung membawa pemuda keturunan Huxtable yang masih ada di desa tersebut, untuk dididik sebagai calon Earl of Merton yang baru.

Ternyata tugas yang semula dianggap mudah, mengalami berbagai tantangan. Kehidupan masyarakat desa yang ramah dan saling mengetahui satu sama lain, membuat gelisah Elliott yang tak pernah terbiasa dalam pergaulan sosial, apalagi yang membutuhkan keramahan serta basa-basi. Calon pewaris yang bernama Stephen Huxtable, adalah pemuda yang menyenangkan berusia 17 tahun, bungsu dari 4 bersaudara. Kakak-kakaknya, Margaret ‘Meg’ Huxtable (25 tahun), Vanessa ‘Nessie’ Huxtable-Dew (24 tahun) dan Katherine ‘Kate’ Huxtable (20 tahun), dan hubungan diantara mereka sangat erat, sehingga tidak memungkinkan Elliott langsung pergi membawa Stephen. Meg yang bertanggung jawab dan menjadi pengganti orang tua adik-adiknya semenjak usia 17 tahun, bersikeras mempersiapkan kepergian adik bungsunya sebagik mungkin. Dan Elliott semakin pusing saat Stephen mengusulkan dan meminta agar semua saudari-nya mengikuti dirinya tinggal di Warren Hall. Permintaan Stephen merupakan inisiatif balas budi terhadap kakak-kakaknya yang telah berkorban sekian tahun demi masa depan dirinya.

more about this book, check on my review at here :
http://lemarihobbybuku.blogspot.com/2...(less)

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Aug 30, 2012 Oky Septya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

Beda sama tipikal HR biasa yg ceritanya kejar2an dan uda head over heels duluan baru nikah. Kehidupan rumah tangga pun juga diceritakan sekilas doang, semacam jadi epilog. Nah, HR yg ini kebalikannya, mereka nikah dulu baru deh mulai babak saling mengenal lebih dekat.

Sayangnya sampe akhir buku ini pasangan ini tetep adem ayem aja, nggak seheboh pasangan HR biasanya yg cinta mati. Agak kurang seru menurutku. Tapi menampilkan sisi baru pernikahan karena perjodohan, dimana pasangan bisa menjalani...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Vina Raintree rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, historical-romance, love

Elliot Lyngate, penerus gelar duke dan merupakan wali dari earl of Merton datang kedesa yang merupakan tempat tinggal keluarga Huxtable. Stephen Huxtable yang berumur 17 tahun ternyta merupakan penerus gelar earl of merton. Jadilah keluarga Huxtable yang pda awalnya hidup pas-pasan menjadi kaya. Keluarga Huxtable yang terdiri dari Margareth, Katherine, Vanessa dan Stephen ni harus menyesuaikan diri dari kehidupan desa yang sederhana dan bebas ke kehidupan ketat aturan dan sopan-santun masyarakat...more

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Jul 03, 2012 ies rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

3.5 Deh..

Apa yang akan kamu lakukan ketika seorang wanita yang sangat menjengkelkanmu akhir-akhir ini menghadangmu dan mengatakan "Menikahlah denganku, aku akan membuatku bahagia dan memuaskanmu!" kaget dong pastinya.. apalagi selama seminggu (bisa dikatakan selama itu) tidak pernah sekalipun mereka berbicara tanpa saling mengkritik, apalagi wanita itu pernah mengatakan bahwa kau, seorang Viscount yang tidak mempunyai selera humor!. Tetapi... apa dia rela harga dirinya diinjak2 oleh seorang wan...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Mornie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, the premise caught my eye. Actually, the title caught me, and instantly I had an idea of what to expect and became instantly excited. Now of course, being the beginning book of a novel (which predecessors titles are play on words *first comes marriage, then comes seducation, at last comes love) There was alot of backstory. I enjoyed it, and it set things up well, but overwhelmed the LOVE. I liked the reverse proposal, it was very daring. Like I said, it took a while for the circumstances t...more

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Jan 19, 2012 KatiD rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a-review-ish

I love Mary Balogh. She is one of those incredibly consistent historical authors who has a very distinct style and an incredibly light hand with building a credible romance between the leads. Which is why I was so shocked to be 10 chapters into her newest novel First Comes Marriage and still feel disengaged from the lead couple.

The Huxtable family is living in rural England in genteel poverty. Their parents passed on a few years ago, leaving three daughters, Meg (the eldest), Vanessa, Katherine...more I love Mary Balogh. She is one of those incredibly consistent historical authors who has a very distinct style and an incredibly light hand with building a credible romance between the leads. Which is why I was so shocked to be 10 chapters into her newest novel First Comes Marriage and still feel disengaged from the lead couple.

The Huxtable family is living in rural England in genteel poverty. Their parents passed on a few years ago, leaving three daughters, Meg (the eldest), Vanessa, Katherine and one son, Stephen. Imagine their shock when Elliott Wallace, Viscount Lyngate arrives in their small village to inform Stephen that he is now, through convoluted family ties, Earl of Merton and heir to a tremendous fortune. The Huxtables are a very close knit family, and Meg has taken over the raising of the family. She categorically refuses to allow Stephen to go to London with Elliot in order to "become a gentleman." Stephen decides that the family should all move to London, and his sisters should have their societal debut. Elliot is most put out with the idea of having to deal with not just Stephen, to whom is now guardian, but also dealing with his three sisters who do not have the poise and polish they'll need to be successful in London. His mother will be occupied with his youngest sister's debut, so he is in a quandry about how to manage the sisters' debut. Approaching 30 himself, Elliot has decided to marry, and he realizes that perhaps it would be best for him to marry one of the sisters and she can manage the debut of the other two.

Meg and Kate Huxtable are both blessed with striking beauty. However, Vanessa, the middle sister, a widow, is not beautiful. In fact, her father used to joke that they should have named her Jane, since she really is quite plain. Vanessa makes up for her lack of beauty with a sweetness of nature and a really jovial countenance. She immediately sees the humor in almost any moment and has a knack for living in the moment, which she acquired after losing her husband to an illness early in their marriage. She actually married her first husband knowing he was dying. He loved her and she wanted to make his last days on Earth as happy as possible. She is definitely a cup half full kind of girl. After a visit with Elliot's mother, Vanessa realizes that his intention is to propose to Meg, her elder sister. She intercepts him on his way to propose, and instead offers herself in her sister's place. You see, Meg is holding a candle for another gentleman, and Vanessa wants Meg's hand to still be available, should he come around. Elliot, who has been rubbed quite wrong by Vanessa, (she has challenged him multiple times on different issues) really dislikes her and does not want to marry her. But after she purports to be really quite experienced in the bedroom, he decides to kiss her and if he feels aroused, he'll marry her. He does, and finds that although she's not as experienced as she claims, he's quite physically aroused by the kiss. And he agrees to marry her.

So, that's a quick synopsis of the events leading up to the action beginning in the story. What strikes me about this book is how "Mr. Darcy-ish" Elliot is. He's a man with a lot of responsibilities, who inherited his power quite young, and who has stepped up and taken on each challenge with dignity and honor. He's quite impatient with how impulsive and rapturous Vanessa seems. He just wants a marriage that will make him comfortable as he grows old. The combination of all of this made for a man who I found quite difficult to warm up to. Vanessa is this wonderful, open, likeable heroine, and she seems to constantly be battling to try to make Elliot feel things for her, to warm up to her, to find something about him that she likes. Because she is such a sweet and happy person, I was confounded by how cold and distant he could be with her. He holds a grudge occassionally and can be quite cold to her. I felt genuinely sorry for her because it seemed like no matter how she tried, he remained distant and difficult to like. It wasn't until Chapter 14 (!) that I finally began to like him and find him someone who I could root for. Once he began to loosen up, he became easier to like. But up until that time, I kept thinking, "This guy is a prig." So while the book features Balogh's wonderful light hand, it was ultimately less of a success for me. Mostly because of the hero.

I'll definitely pick up the next in the series, Then Comes Seduction, which is Katherine's story, even though I find her to be the least interesting of the Huxtables. I'm optimistic that with a different kind of hero, I'll find the next book much more enjoyable. I am kind of ticked that the first three are PB and then the fourth, Stephen's story is HC. Frustrating! But oh well, I'll just wait 'til it comes out in PB.

Final grade: C(less)

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Oct 12, 2011 Abby rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

Let me preface this review with a brief bit of background.

I was home from work with a terrible headcold. I had just finished my latest batch of library books and the next batch hadn't come in yet. Not in the mood or with brain space to tackle any non-fiction that was sitting on my shelf, I braved the outdoors and headed to the library. I found this book on a rack of paperbacks. I have liked other books by Mary Balogh so this seemed a safe bet.

It was not.

From page one, I was annoyed by the heroi...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Lindsey rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a lighthearted, fun sort of tale that would be nice to pick up when you don't want anything intense. The marriage between the two main characters occurs early and we grow to see them learn to look past the other's faults and fall in love. The writing was OK: it was clean enough, but there was no sparkle. In the end I was quite irritated by the book, mainly because of the heroine.

Vanessa is meant to be a self-sacrificing sort of person who marries the hero to save her older sister the tr...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Kasey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, library, period-pieces-historical-romances

I enjoyed this book despite the fact that our hero was a colossal jerk throughout the majority of the book. There were times I thought I would never like him. But he did have redeeming qualities and that gave me hope. His progress from jerk to a good husband was not an overnight event and I’m actually grateful of that. It made it a little more real. He had a history that lead to his snobbish, overbearing, and mostly unhappy nature. I think Vanessa was a great character to get through to him. She...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 22, 2010 Jessi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, romance

Summary: Against the scandal and seduction of Regency England, New York author Mary Balogh introduces an extraordinary family—the fiery, sensual Huxtables. Vanessa is the second daughter, proud and daring, a young widow who has her own reason for pursuing the most eligible bachelor in London. One that has nothing to do with love. Or does it? The arrival of Elliott Wallace, the irresistibly eligible Viscount Lyngate, has thrown the country village of Throckbridge into a tizzy. Desperate to rescue...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Brenda Rupp rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a Regency historical romance. This book kept me interested and reading to the end. Not quite a "simply can't put down for me" but I liked it. From the back of the book it says:

The arrival of Elliuot Wallace, the irrestibly eligible Viscount Lyngate, has thrown the county village of Throckbridge into a tizzy. Desparate to rescue her eldest sister from a loveless untion, Vanessa Huxtable Dew offers herself instead. In need of a wife, Elliott takes the audacious widow up on her unconvention...more

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May 23, 2010 Elaine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received this book from Dell Books through Goodreads.

I believe this may have been the first book I have ever read by Mary Balogh, which is odd since I love historical romances. I am particularly fond of Regencies, and although this one takes place several years after, it still has the same flavor.

My feelings about this book are a little odd. I found the beginning confusing and could not figure out what it had to do with the story. I kept going back to see if I had missed something. The beginni...more

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Apr 14, 2009 E. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

A new series from the wonderfully facile pen of Mary Balogh that introduces the previously humble Huxtable family who become inextricably linked with Elliott Wallace, a viscount who elevates them to the aristocracy with his news that Stephen Huxtable is the heir to an earldom. The Huxtables are a close-knit family consisting of three sisters and a brother that have lived their entire lives in a small village although they have broken with tradition in that the middle sister, Vanessa, has married...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Natha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, translation

Elliot Lyngate datang ke sebuah desa kecil dengan membawa satu perubahan besar bagi sebuah keluarga di Throckbridge. Suasana desa yang sama sekali tidak sesuai dengannya, belum lagi dirinya yang sangat suka tepat pada jadwal, disiplin dan cenderung mengampu tanggung jawabnya secara keras, membuatnya cepat memutuskan tidak suka dengan desa itu. Namun undangan dari seorang Baronet telah diberikan kepada dirinya, dan suka atau tidak suka, ia harus datang ke sebuah pesta Valentine yang diadakan, mes...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, regency, romance

See my review concurrent review of I Love the Earl for better insight on this book.

As with most Mary Balogh books, I enjoyed it. Likeable characters, a story that is not completely obvious and that does not make me groan. I like the spirited heroine, and as one can see from my review of I Love the Earl, I think she does a much better job of handling the brother suddenly becomes a wealthy nobleman trope.

I've read enough Balogh books to say that it did not stand out from the others, but I did li...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Jaime rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, romance

As romance novels go, this one was quite satisfying. I love a marriage-of-convenience story anyway, but what sets this one apart is how the main characters don't become bogged down in stupid misunderstandings. They don't leave their problems to grow amid the silent treatment and high dudgeon. Instead, they learn to talk through their troubles. I also like that the heroine is no sumptuous beauty, rather she is lovable because of her warmth and depth of character. And yes, the hero is brooding (wi...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Melinda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audible-com, romance

I'm listening to the Huxtable Quintet series in order, so that I can do an actual review of the new release of #5. I've liked the handful of Baloghs I've read to date, but have mixed feelings about narrator Anne Flosnik, so I approached this task with not a little trepidation.

As a setup for a series, there was a lot of introduction to do - meet all of the Huxtables, and probably some of their future mates, although the first book deals with Vanessa, the widowed middle daughter, and Elliott, Visc...more

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About Mary Balogh

Mary Balogh has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.

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“The suffering of a loved one was in many ways worse than one's one suffering because it left one feeling so very helpless.” — 21 people liked it

“My happiness has to come from within myself or it is too fragile a thing to be of any use to me and too much of a burden to benefit any of my loved ones.” — 18 people liked it

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First Comes Marriage (Huxtable Quintet #1)

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