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Stewart-Frazer #1
The First Snowdrop
THE ABANDONED BRIDE
The handsome, elegant Alexander Stewart, Viscount Merrick, wed young and innocent Miss Anne Parish in haste – his hand forced by circumstance and honor. But now his duty was done – and it was Anne who had to repent at leisure.
Merrick declared he would return to London to resume the pursuit of pleasure that Anne had so rudely interrupted. Anne for her part was free to enjoy the privileges of her new position – but enjoy them as alone as only a proper wife without a proper husband could be.
Anne's only revenge for this cruel insult would be to break the heart of this man who had broken hers. But to do this she would have to be even more heartless than he...
The handsome, elegant Alexander Stewart, Viscount Merrick, wed young and innocent Miss Anne Parish in haste – his hand forced by circumstance and honor. But now his duty was done – and it was Anne who had to repent at leisure.
Merrick declared he would return to London to resume the pursuit of pleasure that Anne had so rudely interrupted. Anne for her part was free to enjoy the privileges of her new position – but enjoy them as alone as only a proper wife without a proper husband could be.
Anne's only revenge for this cruel insult would be to break the heart of this man who had broken hers. But to do this she would have to be even more heartless than he...
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 2, 1986
322 people are currently reading
880 people want to read
About the author
Mary Balogh
200 books6,346 followersMary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting. She also enjoys watching tennis and curling.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
January 27, 2019
Re-read from 20+ years ago.
Cruel hero – heir to a dukedom – entitled doesn’t begin to cover it.
Plain Jane heroine who lives with her brother in reduced circumstances.
Hero takes shelter from a snowstorm at the heroine’s house. He thinks she’s a servant. He puts the moves on her even though he isn’t attracted to her. (He’s attracted to her), but backs off when he realizes she’s a virgin.
Heroine’s brother returns the next morning and forces the hero to ask heroine to marry him because she’s been “ruined.” Heroine doesn’t know hero is being forced, she just thinks he fell for her as she fell for him. So she is puzzled by his cold manner during their shotgun wedding and the long drive to his neglected country estate. She enthusiastically goes to bed with him and enjoys herself. Hero is cold to her in the morning and explains why he married her and that they will never live together, etc. . .
*happy sigh*
This is the kind of angst I cut my baby romance teeth on.
Hero goes to London, takes up with a married woman, and tries to forget about the heroine. Heroine picks herself up and decides to refurbish the gardens and then she tackles the house. The servants love her and eventually, she loses weight and gets a total make-over, including clothes. The hero feels guilty and lets her spend as much as she wants.
They don't see each other for a year until the Hero’s grandparents are having a 50th wedding anniversary and want the heroine to be included. Hero is angry he has to spend two weeks in the heroine’s company, but that doesn’t stop him going to her bed every night.
MB has to give the H/h (and all the sequel bait characters) something to do, so the Grandmama commands that they put on performance of She Stoops to Conquer – a comedy that includes the plot line of a hero who thinks a noblewoman is a servant. (Sounds familiar)
This is the weakest part of the story – since I didn’t care about any of the side characters. H/h don’t have outdoor sex (a MB staple) but they do have boathouse sex after getting caught in a rainstorm.
The H invites the heroine to join him in London, but it comes out as a command and heroine gives him a verbal smacking that is well-deserved. At this point both the H/h are in love with each other, but they can’t say that.
Heroine goes back to the country home. Hero to London (where he cleans up his act and is celibate for the next year). Heroine is pregnant and hero can’t stay away since he’s worried she’ll die in childbirth. He is there during her delivery and stays for a month.
There is one last black moment as the hero prepares to leave for London after his visit. And finally the H/h talk.
The hero in this one is cruel-lite. He doesn’t seduce the heroine at their first meeting, he lets himself be forced into marriage, he’s pretty passive at times for an alpha. But his behavior is bad enough that MB has to work to redeem him in the second half. Heroine grows a backbone for her lovely smackdown, but she hasn’t had a personality transplant. She still sweet and not terribly assertive by the end.
This H/h seem the type to be duped easily, so hopefully they'll stay on their nice estate with their nice servants and won't trade anything for magic beans, etc. . .
Cruel hero – heir to a dukedom – entitled doesn’t begin to cover it.
Plain Jane heroine who lives with her brother in reduced circumstances.
Hero takes shelter from a snowstorm at the heroine’s house. He thinks she’s a servant. He puts the moves on her even though he isn’t attracted to her. (He’s attracted to her), but backs off when he realizes she’s a virgin.
Heroine’s brother returns the next morning and forces the hero to ask heroine to marry him because she’s been “ruined.” Heroine doesn’t know hero is being forced, she just thinks he fell for her as she fell for him. So she is puzzled by his cold manner during their shotgun wedding and the long drive to his neglected country estate. She enthusiastically goes to bed with him and enjoys herself. Hero is cold to her in the morning and explains why he married her and that they will never live together, etc. . .
*happy sigh*
This is the kind of angst I cut my baby romance teeth on.
Hero goes to London, takes up with a married woman, and tries to forget about the heroine. Heroine picks herself up and decides to refurbish the gardens and then she tackles the house. The servants love her and eventually, she loses weight and gets a total make-over, including clothes. The hero feels guilty and lets her spend as much as she wants.
They don't see each other for a year until the Hero’s grandparents are having a 50th wedding anniversary and want the heroine to be included. Hero is angry he has to spend two weeks in the heroine’s company, but that doesn’t stop him going to her bed every night.
MB has to give the H/h (and all the sequel bait characters) something to do, so the Grandmama commands that they put on performance of She Stoops to Conquer – a comedy that includes the plot line of a hero who thinks a noblewoman is a servant. (Sounds familiar)
This is the weakest part of the story – since I didn’t care about any of the side characters. H/h don’t have outdoor sex (a MB staple) but they do have boathouse sex after getting caught in a rainstorm.
The H invites the heroine to join him in London, but it comes out as a command and heroine gives him a verbal smacking that is well-deserved. At this point both the H/h are in love with each other, but they can’t say that.
Heroine goes back to the country home. Hero to London (where he cleans up his act and is celibate for the next year). Heroine is pregnant and hero can’t stay away since he’s worried she’ll die in childbirth. He is there during her delivery and stays for a month.
There is one last black moment as the hero prepares to leave for London after his visit. And finally the H/h talk.
The hero in this one is cruel-lite. He doesn’t seduce the heroine at their first meeting, he lets himself be forced into marriage, he’s pretty passive at times for an alpha. But his behavior is bad enough that MB has to work to redeem him in the second half. Heroine grows a backbone for her lovely smackdown, but she hasn’t had a personality transplant. She still sweet and not terribly assertive by the end.
This H/h seem the type to be duped easily, so hopefully they'll stay on their nice estate with their nice servants and won't trade anything for magic beans, etc. . .
January 25, 2019
This book is defined by the H’s blind stupidity – not once but twice!
Manifesting first in his self-seeking, cruel behavior, and then at the end when he tries to be self-sacrificing!
*Major Spoilers*
Manifesting first in his self-seeking, cruel behavior, and then at the end when he tries to be self-sacrificing!
*Major Spoilers*
October 9, 2020
Straight up, nobody should read this book. Pick a different book. Any book! The “hero” is trashy garbage straight from hell. And yet I was won over in the end. In spite of my better judgment, the feels attacked and I started to root for this toxic man and his poor, long-suffering wife. I salute Mary Balogh even as I hang my head in shame.
This is a marriage of convenience novel wherein the Viscount Merrick is forced to marry an impoverished gentlewoman after he gets stranded in her house during a blizzard, thereby compromising her. Merrick is your typical wealthy white Regency romance hero: selfish, conceited, callous, etc. When he first arrives at heroine Anne’s house, he assumes she’s a serving girl. He demands she clean his clothes, serve him dinner, and give him a bed. He also briefly considers raping her, because he’s such an upstanding gentleman:
Of course, the next morning, Anne’s brother wades through the snow and discovers that his younger sister has been compromised. Horror! Shame! Debauchery! He demands that Merrick marry Anne, and a highly flabbergasted Merrick does so straight away.
It’s worth noting at this point that poor Anne is poor, frumpy, and believes herself to be ugly and overweight. She genuinely thinks that Merrick is proposing to her because he loves her, as she interpreted the attempted rape (see above) rather differently than I did. She’s absolutely thrilled that such a handsome man would offer for her. The couple proceeds to marry, and Anne enjoys what she perceives to be a passionate, fulfilling wedding night. She’s ecstatic.
Merrick, however, is in a whole other universe. He feels trapped and unhappy with how things have turned out (natural) and is embarrassed to have assumed Anne was a servant. But like any person with a serious lack of emotional intelligence, he takes his unhappiness and self-flagellation and turns it outward. Clearly, Anne tricked him into marriage! That slut! That conniving fat bitch! How dare she pull the wool over his eyes!
Etcetera, etcetera.
Man: *contemplates raping a complete stranger*
Also Man: THAT UGLY WHORE TRIED TO SEDUCE ME, CAN U BELIEVE IT.
Anyway. These are Merrick’s thoughts on the wedding night:
…right. So at this point, we are all yearning to set Merrick’s dick on fire and give Anne his balls to mount on her wall as war trophies, right? This book is effing terrible! Mary, how could you?!
I kept reading, as one does. You will be unsurprised to learn that a large chunk of the book is Merrick being a dick to poor, undeserving Anne. You will probably also be unsurprised to learn that Anne has a complete transformation and becomes thin, beautiful, stylish, and self-confident. At some point she realizes that her feelings for Merrick are WHOLLY undeserved, and she proceeds to give him one of the most delicious set-down speeches ever written. I cheered, my friends, oh how I cheered.
Anyways, then there are some miscommunications where they both start getting along, but both are convinced that the other still hates their guts. There’s a dramatic reconciliation in (another) snowstorm as Anne gives birth to a surprise(!) baby. Then Merrick, still thinking that Anne hates his guts, tells her “Don’t worry, I’ll just take this baby that you squeezed out of your own vagina and stay in London, and you’ll never have to think about me or this inconvenient child ever again. Problem solved.” (Hetero men are so fucking dumb sometimes, I swear.)
Anne, understandably, loses her absolute shit: “You can’t take my baby! She’s all I have, you hideous monster!” And then everybody has a lot of Big Feelings and there are Declarations of True Love and a Happily Ever After.
Phew.
This book is so terrible, why did I like it so much? Don’t even @ me.
So, as I said at the top of this review. Nobody should ever read this book! Mary Balogh is a great romance writer, but she has some truly terrible novels. This is one of them. I got hooked in by the pleasure of watching Anne make Merrick realize what an insignificant toad he is. Very satisfying. Plus there were so many miscommunications! I had to see if these dumdums ever got their wires uncrossed. The drama! The suspense!
In conclusion: The First Snowdrop is a romance in which a man treats his wife like absolute garbage. The fact that he’s ashamed of how he treats her and knows he’s doing it because he actually hates himself doesn’t exactly make up for it. But I liked it anyway, partially because I loved Anne and partially because Balogh created such a REALISTIC portrayal of toxic masculinity in Merrick. I mean, she really nails down what makes misogynistic men tick. Also this book scratches that weird “awful man is redeemed and turns himself into a good husband” itch that seems to persist across centuries.
Okay I’m done. I am not defending this book; however, I am defending my right to be a problematic fan.
Thank you for your time.
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This is a marriage of convenience novel wherein the Viscount Merrick is forced to marry an impoverished gentlewoman after he gets stranded in her house during a blizzard, thereby compromising her. Merrick is your typical wealthy white Regency romance hero: selfish, conceited, callous, etc. When he first arrives at heroine Anne’s house, he assumes she’s a serving girl. He demands she clean his clothes, serve him dinner, and give him a bed. He also briefly considers raping her, because he’s such an upstanding gentleman:
Why had he suddenly displayed that pointless gallantry? ... She would not have stopped him. She would certainly have helped warm the bed on a night like this. But of course, there would have been the tears, and perhaps hysterics, afterward. And such an innocent probably would have allowed him to get her with child.
Of course, the next morning, Anne’s brother wades through the snow and discovers that his younger sister has been compromised. Horror! Shame! Debauchery! He demands that Merrick marry Anne, and a highly flabbergasted Merrick does so straight away.
It’s worth noting at this point that poor Anne is poor, frumpy, and believes herself to be ugly and overweight. She genuinely thinks that Merrick is proposing to her because he loves her, as she interpreted the attempted rape (see above) rather differently than I did. She’s absolutely thrilled that such a handsome man would offer for her. The couple proceeds to marry, and Anne enjoys what she perceives to be a passionate, fulfilling wedding night. She’s ecstatic.
Merrick, however, is in a whole other universe. He feels trapped and unhappy with how things have turned out (natural) and is embarrassed to have assumed Anne was a servant. But like any person with a serious lack of emotional intelligence, he takes his unhappiness and self-flagellation and turns it outward. Clearly, Anne tricked him into marriage! That slut! That conniving fat bitch! How dare she pull the wool over his eyes!
He had fallen surely into a cleverly laid trap. Miss Anne Parrish might be completely lacking in feminine attractions, but she had considerable intelligence.... She must have realized, little dowd that she was, that this was the great chance of her life. If she could only seduce him—yes, indeed, it was she who had been the seducer—she would be able to force him into marriage.
Etcetera, etcetera.
Man: *contemplates raping a complete stranger*
Also Man: THAT UGLY WHORE TRIED TO SEDUCE ME, CAN U BELIEVE IT.
Anyway. These are Merrick’s thoughts on the wedding night:
Merrick half-smiled down at his bride. He wanted to humiliate, even hurt her. She had schemed to acquire him as a husband. Let her take the consequences, find that she had a husband who would not be content with a discreet exercise of his rights. He lowered his head to hers, took her mouth beneath his parted lips, and nibbled lightly at her lips until they relaxed.
…right. So at this point, we are all yearning to set Merrick’s dick on fire and give Anne his balls to mount on her wall as war trophies, right? This book is effing terrible! Mary, how could you?!
I kept reading, as one does. You will be unsurprised to learn that a large chunk of the book is Merrick being a dick to poor, undeserving Anne. You will probably also be unsurprised to learn that Anne has a complete transformation and becomes thin, beautiful, stylish, and self-confident. At some point she realizes that her feelings for Merrick are WHOLLY undeserved, and she proceeds to give him one of the most delicious set-down speeches ever written. I cheered, my friends, oh how I cheered.
Anyways, then there are some miscommunications where they both start getting along, but both are convinced that the other still hates their guts. There’s a dramatic reconciliation in (another) snowstorm as Anne gives birth to a surprise(!) baby. Then Merrick, still thinking that Anne hates his guts, tells her “Don’t worry, I’ll just take this baby that you squeezed out of your own vagina and stay in London, and you’ll never have to think about me or this inconvenient child ever again. Problem solved.” (Hetero men are so fucking dumb sometimes, I swear.)
Anne, understandably, loses her absolute shit: “You can’t take my baby! She’s all I have, you hideous monster!” And then everybody has a lot of Big Feelings and there are Declarations of True Love and a Happily Ever After.
Phew.
This book is so terrible, why did I like it so much? Don’t even @ me.
So, as I said at the top of this review. Nobody should ever read this book! Mary Balogh is a great romance writer, but she has some truly terrible novels. This is one of them. I got hooked in by the pleasure of watching Anne make Merrick realize what an insignificant toad he is. Very satisfying. Plus there were so many miscommunications! I had to see if these dumdums ever got their wires uncrossed. The drama! The suspense!
In conclusion: The First Snowdrop is a romance in which a man treats his wife like absolute garbage. The fact that he’s ashamed of how he treats her and knows he’s doing it because he actually hates himself doesn’t exactly make up for it. But I liked it anyway, partially because I loved Anne and partially because Balogh created such a REALISTIC portrayal of toxic masculinity in Merrick. I mean, she really nails down what makes misogynistic men tick. Also this book scratches that weird “awful man is redeemed and turns himself into a good husband” itch that seems to persist across centuries.
Okay I’m done. I am not defending this book; however, I am defending my right to be a problematic fan.
Thank you for your time.
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December 12, 2019
Inspired by my delight in Jayne Fresina's new holiday story, The Snowdrop, I thought to try this old Balogh offering, THE FIRST SNOWDROP, first published in 1986, I believe. Snowdrops are a first flower of spring that pushes up through the snow and, because of this, symbolizes rebirth, hope, and the overcoming of life's obstacles. Well, that symbolism worked superbly in Fresina's tale, but not at all in Balogh's.
I've been reading Balogh's novels for years and have come to the conclusion that she does not think very highly of men. I believe I can count on one hand heroes of her books that I would want as my personal hero. Actually, her Wulfric Bedwyn, Duke of Bewcastle, of her Slightly series, is the only one that comes to mind off the top of my head. Perhaps there are more?
And as for Balogh's heroines, most of them are spineless wimps who allow the jerk of a hero to treat them horribly but manage to fall in love with him in spite of all this. Well, you might argue with me that Balogh is just writing a reflection of the time and setting of her novels but I cannot think that all women of the 1800s were as useless as most of her heroines are.
Here in this story we have Alexander Stewart, Viscount Merrick, arrogant horse's backside, forced by honor to marry dumpy, drab, put-upon, spineless, boring Anne Parrish after he seeks refuge in her home during a snowstorm. She's home alone but gives him a room for the night. When Anne's brother arrives home the next morning, he is horrified and insists that Merrick do the right thing.
So they marry. He resents her. Treats her like dirt. Leaves her at one of his minor estates and goes on his merry way back to London. But through the machinations of his duchess grandmother they meet again at a house party she's giving to celebrate her Golden Wedding anniversary.
He doesn't recognize her at first because she has had an Oprah makeover, but when he realizes who she is, he is enraged that she had the gall to show up at a family gathering and continues to treat her like dirt. He does go to her bed every night for marital sex, which he enjoys a lot, but during the day, what does he do? That's right. Treats her like dirt.
There is no effort throughout the book on the part of either H or h to communicate their real feelings and thoughts, but there is an interminable overload of internal ruminations. Dear lawd but this was annoying and maddening and boring and repetitious. It contains within its pages everything I dislike about Balogh's style of writing and none of the things I can at times admire in her work.
This is an out-of-print story that should have stayed that way. My header for this review on Amazon says it all: "Less like a snowdrop, more like what birds drop".
I've been reading Balogh's novels for years and have come to the conclusion that she does not think very highly of men. I believe I can count on one hand heroes of her books that I would want as my personal hero. Actually, her Wulfric Bedwyn, Duke of Bewcastle, of her Slightly series, is the only one that comes to mind off the top of my head. Perhaps there are more?
And as for Balogh's heroines, most of them are spineless wimps who allow the jerk of a hero to treat them horribly but manage to fall in love with him in spite of all this. Well, you might argue with me that Balogh is just writing a reflection of the time and setting of her novels but I cannot think that all women of the 1800s were as useless as most of her heroines are.
Here in this story we have Alexander Stewart, Viscount Merrick, arrogant horse's backside, forced by honor to marry dumpy, drab, put-upon, spineless, boring Anne Parrish after he seeks refuge in her home during a snowstorm. She's home alone but gives him a room for the night. When Anne's brother arrives home the next morning, he is horrified and insists that Merrick do the right thing.
So they marry. He resents her. Treats her like dirt. Leaves her at one of his minor estates and goes on his merry way back to London. But through the machinations of his duchess grandmother they meet again at a house party she's giving to celebrate her Golden Wedding anniversary.
He doesn't recognize her at first because she has had an Oprah makeover, but when he realizes who she is, he is enraged that she had the gall to show up at a family gathering and continues to treat her like dirt. He does go to her bed every night for marital sex, which he enjoys a lot, but during the day, what does he do? That's right. Treats her like dirt.
There is no effort throughout the book on the part of either H or h to communicate their real feelings and thoughts, but there is an interminable overload of internal ruminations. Dear lawd but this was annoying and maddening and boring and repetitious. It contains within its pages everything I dislike about Balogh's style of writing and none of the things I can at times admire in her work.
This is an out-of-print story that should have stayed that way. My header for this review on Amazon says it all: "Less like a snowdrop, more like what birds drop".
May 27, 2021
A GoodReads review called Mary Balogh "hot but in a restrained way" and it's so apt. All her Signet Regencies are sexy even though there's really not anything scandalous going on, but the strength of the emotions that the hero and heroine have for each other never fail to do a number on me. Which is why the high rating even though the heroine is not the most empowering archetype.
While I was reading The First Snowdrop, I couldn't stop reading it. I loved the hero's pettiness/guilt/desire and the heroine's doormat turned confident woman who needs no man evolution. However, the heroine is fatphobic and does not have very empowering attitudes about self-expression, beauty, or self-worth. Our plain Jane doormat has been a bit chubby because she doesn't have much to do but eat. She also indulges in a silly fantasy about losing weight upon finding the right man AKA Alex. She dismisses it as woolgathering but it's not empowering that she needs an external motivator to lose weight all for the sake to be seen as attractive to the male gaze. More importantly, it's not an empowering message to the reader who is most likely a woman reading this romance.
Another qualm is that the heroine acknowledges to herself that she doesn't really like the hero except outside the bedroom, and it is then that she decides not to dedicate her life to him. So, if the hero threw her a smile every now and then, she could justify spending her life waiting on him? No thank you!
At the end of the novel, however, she basically throws herself against him, telling him not to leave and that she'd be ok even if he cheated on her, as long as she was with him. It's a dramatic speech that I ate up upon reading but in retrospect, ANNE PARISH YOU WEAK BUNNY.
The thing about these things about the heroine is that they are never truly addressed but taken as her character so Anne never does any self-growth in how she views beauty, herself, and love. I don't think love should be an abasement of your dignity - or at least, such an abasement of it. Alexander didn't really deserve it and TBH, he should have been the one to grovel instead of acting the noble beta hero towards the end.
While I was reading The First Snowdrop, I couldn't stop reading it. I loved the hero's pettiness/guilt/desire and the heroine's doormat turned confident woman who needs no man evolution. However, the heroine is fatphobic and does not have very empowering attitudes about self-expression, beauty, or self-worth. Our plain Jane doormat has been a bit chubby because she doesn't have much to do but eat. She also indulges in a silly fantasy about losing weight upon finding the right man AKA Alex. She dismisses it as woolgathering but it's not empowering that she needs an external motivator to lose weight all for the sake to be seen as attractive to the male gaze. More importantly, it's not an empowering message to the reader who is most likely a woman reading this romance.
Another qualm is that the heroine acknowledges to herself that she doesn't really like the hero except outside the bedroom, and it is then that she decides not to dedicate her life to him. So, if the hero threw her a smile every now and then, she could justify spending her life waiting on him? No thank you!
At the end of the novel, however, she basically throws herself against him, telling him not to leave and that she'd be ok even if he cheated on her, as long as she was with him. It's a dramatic speech that I ate up upon reading but in retrospect, ANNE PARISH YOU WEAK BUNNY.
The thing about these things about the heroine is that they are never truly addressed but taken as her character so Anne never does any self-growth in how she views beauty, herself, and love. I don't think love should be an abasement of your dignity - or at least, such an abasement of it. Alexander didn't really deserve it and TBH, he should have been the one to grovel instead of acting the noble beta hero towards the end.
July 26, 2023
1.5 stars
***spoilers, although can someone spoil a book this bad?***
This book is…well, it’s just distasteful.
The male main character, Alex, starts out an arrogant, self-centered, self-pitying boor, and stays that way fully 100% of the book, although at the 75% point he suddenly flips from despising and blaming Anne to loving her and proves it by saying nothing and letting her go back to her solitary existence.
Anne is a doormat, and stays a doormat fully 100% of this book except for one blazing moment of triumph when she tells Alex he doesn’t deserve her and to stay away from her. Then she is devastated when he stays away from her.
As I was reading, I kept thinking “I’m actually supposed to buy that this arrogant Viscount could be bullied into marrying her? I’m actually supposed to buy that she thinks he fell in love with her at first sight? I’m actually supposed to buy that he wants to have sex with this half-wit he was forced to marry? I’m actually supposed to buy that (fill in the blank)?” The blank is the entire rest of the book.
Not even Mary Balogh can sell this pile of contrived phony baloney.
***spoilers, although can someone spoil a book this bad?***
This book is…well, it’s just distasteful.
The male main character, Alex, starts out an arrogant, self-centered, self-pitying boor, and stays that way fully 100% of the book, although at the 75% point he suddenly flips from despising and blaming Anne to loving her and proves it by saying nothing and letting her go back to her solitary existence.
Anne is a doormat, and stays a doormat fully 100% of this book except for one blazing moment of triumph when she tells Alex he doesn’t deserve her and to stay away from her. Then she is devastated when he stays away from her.
As I was reading, I kept thinking “I’m actually supposed to buy that this arrogant Viscount could be bullied into marrying her? I’m actually supposed to buy that she thinks he fell in love with her at first sight? I’m actually supposed to buy that he wants to have sex with this half-wit he was forced to marry? I’m actually supposed to buy that (fill in the blank)?” The blank is the entire rest of the book.
Not even Mary Balogh can sell this pile of contrived phony baloney.
March 20, 2012
Oh my goodness. I'm giving up on this book. You would think that with a cruel hero who cheats and is nothing but nasty to the heroine from their first meeting that this book would have a decent story line to go by, but the back drop of this book is a stupid play that the hero's grandmother wants them to put on! You've got to be kidding right? Pages and pages and pages about this dumb play and how the heroine is taking it soooo seriously! Secondary characters abound talking about the idiotic play. Get on with the darn story and forget about the stupid play!! And the heroine has got to be the most doormat-iest heroine I have ever read! She is such a lifeless bland weeping pushover. She has no spark to her whatsoever. This will teach me a lesson not to read 3 of balogh's traditional regency in a row. I got carried away because I read a few by her the were wonderful (Dancing with Clara,The Notorious rake,and A Christmas Promise) and was hoping to find more, but I guess no one can write gem after gem.
September 6, 2013
When I say the hero is cruel and uncaring, that doesn't come close. He is so unfeeling to Anne. But it's still a wonderful book, all the sweeter for how close this couple comes to losing everything. My thoughts, excerpted from a longer piece at Heroes and Heartbreakers:
Pity the wife in a time like the English Regency, when romance and love were the purview of some married couples but not all, and domesticity could easily devolve into drudgery, estrangement, or isolation. The oft-lobbed threat of the young buck faced with an arranged marriage is that he’ll simply beget an heir—at his convenience—and in the meantime send his wife off to the countryside and never think of her again. This was the case for the couple in Mary Balogh’s The First Snowdrop. The Goodreads description (above) spotlights the troubling beginning to their marriage.
Anne’s loneliness was assuaged by the Herculean task she set herself—to transform a neglected estate into an exquisite paradise. During the long months of her estrangement from Alexander, Anne’s only communication with her husband was when she sought his permission to make costly changes to the grounds. She even summoned “… a well-known landscape artist from London to come and draw up plans. The fountain had been his idea, but she had chosen the design, and that cherub that looked so much like the child she would like to have had.” The omniscient reader realizes that Anne is heaping coals of fire upon her absent husband’s head and that he will eventually come to treasure—and seek for himself—the love she lavishes on his home.
Pity the wife in a time like the English Regency, when romance and love were the purview of some married couples but not all, and domesticity could easily devolve into drudgery, estrangement, or isolation. The oft-lobbed threat of the young buck faced with an arranged marriage is that he’ll simply beget an heir—at his convenience—and in the meantime send his wife off to the countryside and never think of her again. This was the case for the couple in Mary Balogh’s The First Snowdrop. The Goodreads description (above) spotlights the troubling beginning to their marriage.
Anne’s loneliness was assuaged by the Herculean task she set herself—to transform a neglected estate into an exquisite paradise. During the long months of her estrangement from Alexander, Anne’s only communication with her husband was when she sought his permission to make costly changes to the grounds. She even summoned “… a well-known landscape artist from London to come and draw up plans. The fountain had been his idea, but she had chosen the design, and that cherub that looked so much like the child she would like to have had.” The omniscient reader realizes that Anne is heaping coals of fire upon her absent husband’s head and that he will eventually come to treasure—and seek for himself—the love she lavishes on his home.
June 9, 2019
The "hero" is a terrible human being and an entitled ass.
April 20, 2020
Kudos to the heroine. Not many woman could let a man cruelly insult their looks, figure, intellect and motivation and still be able to have slam bang sex and multiple orgasms. I guess she can't help herself though because he is SO HANDSOME.
Kudos to the hero. The hero's idea of sweet nothings is to basically tell the h " roll over doormat and do your duty". Who wouldn't be turned on by that? Some women like to be asked but why change what works. Vain, cruel and stupid doesn't work for every man but don't forget he is SO HANDSOME.
I don't know how it work's in other family's but in my family if one cousin openly flirted with another cousin's wife (object screwing) we'd start moving the small children and breakables out of the way.
I don't believe I have ever read a book where the H who is about to leave his wife decides to take custody of his infant daughter on his way out the door. He is then genuinely surprised that the h gets hysterical and prostrate at this news. It comes as a complete surprise to our clueless hero that a young mother might not want her infant taken from her.
Finally. The play idea stunk and you definitely want to make this a library read.
Kudos to the hero. The hero's idea of sweet nothings is to basically tell the h " roll over doormat and do your duty". Who wouldn't be turned on by that? Some women like to be asked but why change what works. Vain, cruel and stupid doesn't work for every man but don't forget he is SO HANDSOME.
I don't know how it work's in other family's but in my family if one cousin openly flirted with another cousin's wife (object screwing) we'd start moving the small children and breakables out of the way.
I don't believe I have ever read a book where the H who is about to leave his wife decides to take custody of his infant daughter on his way out the door. He is then genuinely surprised that the h gets hysterical and prostrate at this news. It comes as a complete surprise to our clueless hero that a young mother might not want her infant taken from her.
Finally. The play idea stunk and you definitely want to make this a library read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2021
Obnoxious hero and a heroine with self esteem issues, it started strong, bogged down in the middle but did improve by the end.
January 12, 2019
I think Mary Balogh's talent was most in evidence in her traditional regencies and especially in those with Christmas themes. I have read quite a few of them. Some I have reviewed on this blog, others I am still saving for a rainy day. A few years ago I read Christmas Belle and while checking Balogh's website I realised that it was the second book in a duet. It has been on my mind, since then, to get that first book and find out more about the other members of Jack Frazer's family. The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge provided the perfect opportunity.
One of my favourite plots in romance is the "marriage in trouble". So I was quite happy to discover that The First Snowdrop has one such plot. After being caught alone with Anne during a snowstorm that made them spend the night in the same house Alex feels morally obligated to offer for her by her brother and the local vicar. But when Anne accepts his proposal he feels trapped and convinces himself that she must have planned it. Alex's punishment of Anne is to abandon her in his estate for over a year...
Anne feels devastated on being left there after a promising wedding night. But while timid and lacking in self-confidence, she proves to be a strong woman when she spends that year improving her looks and Alex's estate. They communicate when it is strictly necessary and Alex pays all the bills she sends him but they don't each other again. When she receives an invitation from his grandmother to spend Christmas with the family Anne can't resist an opportunity to see Alex again.
I had to suspend my disbelief a bit to buy that Alex would so mistake Anne's behaviour on that first night and that he would accept to offer for her when he already had another life planned. But I was happy I did because I really enjoyed the story once we get to Alex's grandparents house party. Alex doesn't immediately recognise Anne but once he does and he gets to know her better he realises he has been treating her very badly. But he seems unable to change the situation and even when he is decided to make a go of their marriage and Anne mistakes his intentions he is unable to tell her what is on his mind.
I really enjoyed the interaction between the family members, the warmth of their relationship and how Anne really came out of her shell and decided she deserved better from Alex. I just think they could have solved things then if they had had an honest conversation instead of dragging their misery for a few more months. Although not one of my favourites it was a book I enjoyed reading and it made me want to reread Christmas Belle.
Grade: 4/5
One of my favourite plots in romance is the "marriage in trouble". So I was quite happy to discover that The First Snowdrop has one such plot. After being caught alone with Anne during a snowstorm that made them spend the night in the same house Alex feels morally obligated to offer for her by her brother and the local vicar. But when Anne accepts his proposal he feels trapped and convinces himself that she must have planned it. Alex's punishment of Anne is to abandon her in his estate for over a year...
Anne feels devastated on being left there after a promising wedding night. But while timid and lacking in self-confidence, she proves to be a strong woman when she spends that year improving her looks and Alex's estate. They communicate when it is strictly necessary and Alex pays all the bills she sends him but they don't each other again. When she receives an invitation from his grandmother to spend Christmas with the family Anne can't resist an opportunity to see Alex again.
I had to suspend my disbelief a bit to buy that Alex would so mistake Anne's behaviour on that first night and that he would accept to offer for her when he already had another life planned. But I was happy I did because I really enjoyed the story once we get to Alex's grandparents house party. Alex doesn't immediately recognise Anne but once he does and he gets to know her better he realises he has been treating her very badly. But he seems unable to change the situation and even when he is decided to make a go of their marriage and Anne mistakes his intentions he is unable to tell her what is on his mind.
I really enjoyed the interaction between the family members, the warmth of their relationship and how Anne really came out of her shell and decided she deserved better from Alex. I just think they could have solved things then if they had had an honest conversation instead of dragging their misery for a few more months. Although not one of my favourites it was a book I enjoyed reading and it made me want to reread Christmas Belle.
Grade: 4/5
April 4, 2021
3.5 Stars
The First Snowdrop is an emotional tale between Alexander Stewart, Viscount Merrick and Anne Parrish. Alex is on his way to London to announce his betrothal when he runs into a dangerous storm. He stumbles upon an estate, and requests shelter/lodging. (demands would be more accurate) He assumes Anne is a maid, and settles in for the night only to face her brother the next morning who demands he marry Anne to save her honor. (since they both slept unsupervised under the same roof) Alex is not happy to trade his beautiful future bride for the plump, dumpy Anne (he also thinks they tricked him) and leaves her after consummating the marriage.
The book is separated into three parts. Part one takes us up to just after the marriage. Part two picks up 16-ish months later with the couple reconnecting for a family reunion at his grandma’s home. Part three picks up 8 months after the reunion. Much of parts two & three are fueled by assumptions and misunderstandings, so you’ll need some patience.
Every reader has their own tolerance for cheating. I can pretty easily separate pre-Victorian era adultery from modern ideals of infidelity. It was a different time with different expectations where the majority of noble marriages were arranged for wealth not love. I don’t even think the adultery laws applied to males during this time, but if cheating is a hard limit…..
Bottom Line- Alex and Anne don’t start super likeable. He’s a pompous ass, and she’s an insecure doormat. They do both change/grow a lot throughout the book, and I was happy/satisfied with their ending. I only have one set rule when reviewing books… If I have to skim; it can only be a 3 ⭐. So, although I liked this; I skimmed hard through much of part two (the play) so I can't round up. I can also get a little twitchy when assumptions are dragged out for chunks of a book when a simple conversation would fix it.
The First Snowdrop is an emotional tale between Alexander Stewart, Viscount Merrick and Anne Parrish. Alex is on his way to London to announce his betrothal when he runs into a dangerous storm. He stumbles upon an estate, and requests shelter/lodging. (demands would be more accurate) He assumes Anne is a maid, and settles in for the night only to face her brother the next morning who demands he marry Anne to save her honor. (since they both slept unsupervised under the same roof) Alex is not happy to trade his beautiful future bride for the plump, dumpy Anne (he also thinks they tricked him) and leaves her after consummating the marriage.
The book is separated into three parts. Part one takes us up to just after the marriage. Part two picks up 16-ish months later with the couple reconnecting for a family reunion at his grandma’s home. Part three picks up 8 months after the reunion. Much of parts two & three are fueled by assumptions and misunderstandings, so you’ll need some patience.
Every reader has their own tolerance for cheating. I can pretty easily separate pre-Victorian era adultery from modern ideals of infidelity. It was a different time with different expectations where the majority of noble marriages were arranged for wealth not love. I don’t even think the adultery laws applied to males during this time, but if cheating is a hard limit…..
Bottom Line- Alex and Anne don’t start super likeable. He’s a pompous ass, and she’s an insecure doormat. They do both change/grow a lot throughout the book, and I was happy/satisfied with their ending. I only have one set rule when reviewing books… If I have to skim; it can only be a 3 ⭐. So, although I liked this; I skimmed hard through much of part two (the play) so I can't round up. I can also get a little twitchy when assumptions are dragged out for chunks of a book when a simple conversation would fix it.
January 16, 2020
Ooof. I'm really enjoying reading these old reissued Regencies by Mary Balogh but this one did NOT age well (originally published 1986) and I can't in all good conscience recommend it.
The 1 star isn't for the writing, it's great like the rest of her works, but the 'hero' is verbally and emotionally abusive on a scale that boggles the mind.
The 1 star isn't for the writing, it's great like the rest of her works, but the 'hero' is verbally and emotionally abusive on a scale that boggles the mind.
July 14, 2019
Oh goodness, the pages about the play gave me a massive headache.
I was waiting for the grand revenge from the heroine. But where was it?? She's a bit of a pushover. Kinda bland too. And the hero was a dickhead.
I was waiting for the grand revenge from the heroine. But where was it?? She's a bit of a pushover. Kinda bland too. And the hero was a dickhead.
January 1, 2015
Ugh, miscommunication! Each character is so stubbornly noble, sacrificing their own wants for what they think the other wants. Merrick's guilt and inability to deal with it was wonderfully described Anne's bursts of self-confidence is keeping with the character. Though I understand one of them had to bend to resolve the miscommunication, did it have to be Anne? And did she have to do it in such a demeaning way?
September 28, 2024
The First Snowdrop by Mary Balogh (1986) is one of her very early Regency novels and it’s an emotional romantic gem. There’s a cold, uncaring hero, Alexander, Viscount Merrick and a naive heroine, Anne Parrish… small, plump, quite plain and dowdily clothed who go thru two years of barely communicating, and two separations to finally open up and share their love.
It’s December 1814, Alexander is riding home to London and gets caught in a snowstorm. He takes shelter in a manor house, and the only one home is Anne whom he mistakes as a servant. Their lives are forever changed.
Balogh has written a deeply flawed hero who is endlessly cruel towards Anne… tho they do enjoy sex. There’s a wonderful transformation of Anne from quiet mouse to a lovely young woman who speaks her mind.
Minor quibble… midway thru the story there’s a family house party, and there are way too many people to keep track of … a distraction from the main story. However, the warmth of the family get together is such a great contrast to the estrangement of Anne and Alex.
I do like reading these early HRs with dastardly heroes that are exceedingly painful to read. It’s a testament to the author’s brilliant writing that this romantic story pulls it off with spare prose, and an exceptional portrait of human emotions. Finally, at the very end … a snowdrop. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s December 1814, Alexander is riding home to London and gets caught in a snowstorm. He takes shelter in a manor house, and the only one home is Anne whom he mistakes as a servant. Their lives are forever changed.
Balogh has written a deeply flawed hero who is endlessly cruel towards Anne… tho they do enjoy sex. There’s a wonderful transformation of Anne from quiet mouse to a lovely young woman who speaks her mind.
Minor quibble… midway thru the story there’s a family house party, and there are way too many people to keep track of … a distraction from the main story. However, the warmth of the family get together is such a great contrast to the estrangement of Anne and Alex.
I do like reading these early HRs with dastardly heroes that are exceedingly painful to read. It’s a testament to the author’s brilliant writing that this romantic story pulls it off with spare prose, and an exceptional portrait of human emotions. Finally, at the very end … a snowdrop. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 18, 2014
Obviously, Mary Balogh had to work out some kinks before hitting her amazing stride with the Bedwyns and the Slightly series. Most of her earlier work is good, this one just mediocre. It's a hard to find book.
The hero is "tricked" into marriage because he mistakes a gentlewoman for a servant. It would have been okay to have his way with a servant and skate off but just the appearance of being with a gentlewoman and it's off to the vicar.
Ann the heroine is naive and believes that Alexander, the Viscount fell in love on first sight of her even though she's plump and dreary. Sadly, after the wedding night (which sparks unexpected passion for Alexander) Ann is dumped at Alexander's equally shabby country estate while he goes back to the ton and London. When next we see her, she's slender out of all her misery, stylish because of a maid and being pulled toward Alexander's extended family despite his express orders she's not to leave the country.
It seems to go on forever even though the book isn't that long. The extended family is large and hard to sort out. I never really warmed up to either member of the couple.
Moving on....
The hero is "tricked" into marriage because he mistakes a gentlewoman for a servant. It would have been okay to have his way with a servant and skate off but just the appearance of being with a gentlewoman and it's off to the vicar.
Ann the heroine is naive and believes that Alexander, the Viscount fell in love on first sight of her even though she's plump and dreary. Sadly, after the wedding night (which sparks unexpected passion for Alexander) Ann is dumped at Alexander's equally shabby country estate while he goes back to the ton and London. When next we see her, she's slender out of all her misery, stylish because of a maid and being pulled toward Alexander's extended family despite his express orders she's not to leave the country.
It seems to go on forever even though the book isn't that long. The extended family is large and hard to sort out. I never really warmed up to either member of the couple.
Moving on....
December 10, 2012
The hero in this one was just...I can't...with this guy! He was so mean and cruel to the heroine and he knew he was being a jerk and just kept on doing it. I kept waiting for MB to bring it home. I knew she could redeem a jerk. She made me like Freddie from Dancing with Clara for goodness sake and I think he has a firm and and permanent place on many people's worst heroes list. But, alas, Alex stayed a jerk. And Anne just cried a lot.
The two stars are for the supporting cast with Alex's huge and lively family whose differing personalities made the book fun to read. And the ending was really good, except not enough to redeem the rest of the book, though.
The two stars are for the supporting cast with Alex's huge and lively family whose differing personalities made the book fun to read. And the ending was really good, except not enough to redeem the rest of the book, though.
March 14, 2021
I love marriage in peril and marriage of convenience stories, but I just didn't understand what the h saw in the H in this one. He was never kind or considerate to her, for a good 80% of the book. Yet she loved him about 20% in. Why?? I love a cruel hero, but what good is groveling if the heroine has no complaints? Not that there is much of a grovel since when the hero decides he loves her, he doesn't fight for her. At all. Plus he felt sorry for himself an awful lot, and took it out on her, which made me want to punch him in the face.
May 3, 2020
This book had too many mis-communications for my liking. It is really frustrating when the whole book is building up to the big reveal of feelings; which ends up being just a page. . . . Ugh
Need more happy moments. And where is the epilogue!?
All in all, the book was a good read. I liked the h’s transformation both the makeover and mental. It was good to see her finally standing up for herself.
Need more happy moments. And where is the epilogue!?
All in all, the book was a good read. I liked the h’s transformation both the makeover and mental. It was good to see her finally standing up for herself.
December 16, 2015
While the first time i was reading this story i was really hated Alexander. He's been so brutally cruel to Anne. But the last chapter turn into beautifully story.
Once again Mary Balogh story captivated my heart...
Once again Mary Balogh story captivated my heart...
Read
September 16, 2015Dare I say it? I had to stop reading a 'Balogh'. :(
May 2, 2021
Sweet, historical novella. Great bones, just not enough meat to suit my appetites!
avoid
June 1, 2022Self note
Cheating H.
He takes a mistress after sleeping with the wife/h.
The h is a plain Jane doormat.
Cheating H.
He takes a mistress after sleeping with the wife/h.
The h is a plain Jane doormat.
May 26, 2025
3,5⭐
The hero's reaction whenever he is asked to take responsibility for anything:
The hero when the heroine is "plain" :
The hero when the heroine is pretty :
The hero when the heroine tries to fit in with his family :
The hero when the heroine does nothing and minds her own business:
The hero is detestable, but I can't lie — the angst was delicious! I really liked the heroine, and enjoyed watching her grow over the course of the book. She actually knew how to put the hero in his place.
Safety/ Spoilers
- No sharing
- Cheating : The hero has mistresses (during their first year apart)
- Virgin FMC / Manwhore MMC.
- OW drama : The hero has mistresses, but they don't matter/ he was also initially engaged to another woman, but although he wanted her for a wife, he wasn't in love.
- light OM drama : The hero's cousin is interested by the heroine
The hero's reaction whenever he is asked to take responsibility for anything:
The hero when the heroine is "plain" :
The hero when the heroine is pretty :
The hero when the heroine tries to fit in with his family :
The hero when the heroine does nothing and minds her own business:
The hero is detestable, but I can't lie — the angst was delicious! I really liked the heroine, and enjoyed watching her grow over the course of the book. She actually knew how to put the hero in his place.
" I believe I would have to travel a wide area and a long time to find another man as conceited as you. Why, pray , would I wish to live with you?"
Safety/ Spoilers
- No sharing
- Cheating : The hero has mistresses (during their first year apart)
- Virgin FMC / Manwhore MMC.
- OW drama : The hero has mistresses, but they don't matter/ he was also initially engaged to another woman, but although he wanted her for a wife, he wasn't in love.
- light OM drama : The hero's cousin is interested by the heroine
October 14, 2024
3.5 stars - I was really into the nostalgic walk down the old school Regency Romance lane. I love a cruel hero and a blameless heroine. The overall story was engaging. It was heading toward 4 stars. However, I was very disappointed how passive the hero remained throughout the book. Even in the end. His willingness to walk away from the heroine was not swoony. Maybe to someone else the “selflessness” he shows would have been a good thing but that’s just not my jam AT THE END OF THE BOOK. It was time for him to take control and pull them back on track. Anyway fun ride but a rather disappointing ending for my tastes.
January 28, 2025
This seemed fairly typical of an older historical romance: jerk hero and the doormat heroine. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised in the latter portion of the novel when she grew a backbone in her honesty regarding his bad behavior and character.
I will say that the family play portions felt a bit tedious to muck through. On the flip side of that, the found family element was a nice touch for the heroine’s arc.
Balogh is one of my favorite historical romance authors and I enjoyed seeing how her writing has developed from this earlier work to what she is publishing today.
I will say that the family play portions felt a bit tedious to muck through. On the flip side of that, the found family element was a nice touch for the heroine’s arc.
Balogh is one of my favorite historical romance authors and I enjoyed seeing how her writing has developed from this earlier work to what she is publishing today.
April 26, 2020
I loved it! Great heroine, redeemable hero, and a lovely "ugly duckling to swan" story, one of my favorite tropes.
Hero forced into marriage to heroine, who starts the story in ugly duckling mode - he believes her to have conned him into the marriage (which she did not) and basically ignores her for quite some time. They re-meet at his grandparents' anniversary celebration, a two-week long parade of events topped with a family play and ball, and sparks fly! Hero had been engaged to someone else when he was forced into marriage with the heroine, and to be honest in my hunt for OW angst I thought that was going to be made more of a thing (which I would have loved), it comes up more in the beginning, barely so later on. Very enjoyable historical read!
Hero forced into marriage to heroine, who starts the story in ugly duckling mode - he believes her to have conned him into the marriage (which she did not) and basically ignores her for quite some time. They re-meet at his grandparents' anniversary celebration, a two-week long parade of events topped with a family play and ball, and sparks fly! Hero had been engaged to someone else when he was forced into marriage with the heroine, and to be honest in my hunt for OW angst I thought that was going to be made more of a thing (which I would have loved), it comes up more in the beginning, barely so later on. Very enjoyable historical read!
July 17, 2022
“Alex Stewart," he said, holding out his right hand, "the duke's grandson." He raised his eyebrows inquiringly.
Excerpt from the book. This takes the cake for me, I laughed so loud. My gawd! This is one of the most hateable hero IMO. He forgot her! And tried to introduce himself again and all because she lost weight and ‘fixed’ herself.
Ugh, not enough groveling and suffering in my books but still a classic MB. I thoroughly enjoyed the side characters and Mb has a gift of storytelling that characters are really jumping from the pages.
Excerpt from the book. This takes the cake for me, I laughed so loud. My gawd! This is one of the most hateable hero IMO. He forgot her! And tried to introduce himself again and all because she lost weight and ‘fixed’ herself.
Ugh, not enough groveling and suffering in my books but still a classic MB. I thoroughly enjoyed the side characters and Mb has a gift of storytelling that characters are really jumping from the pages.
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