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Silent Melody

(Georgian #2)

Mary Balogh

3.78 · Rating details · 2,793 ratings · 261 reviews

Lady Emily Marlowe was beautiful, wild, and unspoiled. She could not hear or speak, though she listened with her eyes and answered with her smile. She was betrothed to a man who would have her as a pretty possession, a captive listener. But there was only one man for herthe dark and reckless Lord Ashley Kendrick, the childhood amour who inspired her fantasiesthen left for ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 361 pages

Published August 1st 1997 by Berkley

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Lists with This Book

Tall, Tatted and Tempting by Tammy Falkner

Deaf, Mute, Speechless Romance Heroes and Heroines

218 books — 962 voters

Georgian Romance (1714 - 1810)

239 books — 232 voters

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· 2,793 ratings · 261 reviews

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Nov 21, 2017 Vintage rated it did not like it

Shelves: virgin, boring-hero, boring-heroine, innocence, angsty, second-chances, bad-ex, redemption, brothers, widower

This was such a huge disappointment. In Heartless, the relationship between honorable and tender Ashley and the fey, deaf/mute Emma was so sweet and had so much promise. I was really looking forward to their story as I am sucker for the hunky hero who wants to protect the heroine at all costs. Mary Balogh must have a personal grudge with these two as she betrays their characters and relationship from the first book.

There are major spoilers below.
(view spoiler) This was such a huge disappointment. In Heartless, the relationship between honorable and tender Ashley and the fey, deaf/mute Emma was so sweet and had so much promise. I was really looking forward to their story as I am sucker for the hunky hero who wants to protect the heroine at all costs. Mary Balogh must have a personal grudge with these two as she betrays their characters and relationship from the first book.

There are major spoilers below.
(view spoiler)

Zounds is used 22 times.

I felt like MB did aa George Lucas and she forgot what these two characters were like in the first book, or she wanted to torture the bejeezus out of them and the reader.

Balogh lost an opportunity to create a rare romance between two sweet souls that belonged together. She has the writing expertise to do it, but ick, just not here. ...more

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Mar 02, 2019 Suzannah rated it did not like it

Shelves: romance, rating-r

Lately, I've spent a lot of time thinking about romance. I feel like such a goober writing romance, but then a discussion with friends alerted me to the fact that while I know what I don't like in romance subplots, I had a much less clear picture of what I do like. And so for the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about this, trying to pick up some tools I might not yet have in my toolbox, taking copious notes, and trying to pick up tips from others.

As part of that I decided I'd take in a Lately, I've spent a lot of time thinking about romance. I feel like such a goober writing romance, but then a discussion with friends alerted me to the fact that while I know what I don't like in romance subplots, I had a much less clear picture of what I do like. And so for the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about this, trying to pick up some tools I might not yet have in my toolbox, taking copious notes, and trying to pick up tips from others.

As part of that I decided I'd take in a couple of Actual Romance Novels. I've hitherto avoided romance novels because of the sex scenes, but Mary Balogh is supposed to be a restrained compared to most, and...well, you can't churn out dozens of bestselling romance novels without getting really good at writing romance, can you?

After reading this one and DNFing another, I've come to the realisation that what I'm after is not in romance novels. Phew.

First of all, if you're not someone who normally reads romance novels, don't start because Suzannah Rowntree logged one on Goodreads so it must be OK. This book wasn't good for me, it wasn't "clean", and I'm afraid I can't recommend it as a work of art either (for one thing, I found the narration style very choppy and repetitive). It had a mute heroine, and I do have some notes now on how that relationship was handled. In some ways well; in other ways, not. There must be a way to write a relationship between a fully functioning human being and a disabled person that doesn't come across as cringeworthily creepy, but this was not it. The relationships in romance novels seem to run on lusty desires, and in both this book and the one I DNF'd, it was horribly disturbing reading about a healthy person desiring, in a very objectifying way, a person who was handicapped and in a much weaker position.

One thing this exercise DID drive home to me was the difference between romantic tension and sexual tension. Couples like Benedick and Beatrice, Lizzie and Darcy, and Margaret Hale and Mr Thornton burn up the page with romantic tension, the well-they-won't-they that revolves around intellectual, spiritual, and emotional fulfillment. Sexual fulfillment isn't necessarily out of the picture, but in these books, the sexual fulfillment was the picture, with a little bit of those other things peeking in around the corner, often in a truncated and perfunctory way. To some extent in this book, and to an even greater extent in the other one that I DNF'd, the sexual tension was used to drive the characters into each other's arms with very little reference to their needs, personhood, or future. I would say that this is the very definition of objectification - making use of someone without reference to their totality as a human being. And it's the engine that seems to drive the romance novels I dipped into last week.

These authors are good at evoking sexual tension. But romantic tension is something a great deal more nuanced, and it takes a much more full-orbed and self-denying view of the other person. And by and large, I don't think they're writing it.

Back to Austen and Shakespeare, then... ...more

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Mar 10, 2009 Laura rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance-and-or-erotica, read-in-2009

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

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Mar 08, 2018 Preeti ♥︎ (Romance She Reads) rated it liked it

Shelves: skim-sigh-skip, reunion-second-chance, him-tortured_emo-scarred, wrap-it-up-pls, hx-rom, tstl-or-disconnected-mc, hero-stupid-clueless-unreliable, part-of-series-sequel, h-or-h-marries-another, hero-only-lover

What a disappointment!
Anyone who reads Luke and Annas book would want to read Ashley and Emmas story. As did I!
Sadly, there isnt much meat to their story so the author feints this way and that before adding a suspense that only made me mad and frustrated for several reasons.

(view spoiler) What a disappointment!
Anyone who reads Luke and Anna’s book would want to read Ashley and Emma’s story. As did I!
Sadly, there isn’t much meat to their story so the author feints this way and that before adding a suspense that only made me mad and frustrated for several reasons.

(view spoiler)[Many reviewers have gutted Ashley for forgetting his ‘little fawn’ and even for lusting after a 14-15 years old. For the first, I may buy the argument of sublimation as he felt guilty about her age. As for the second, yes that was a bit creepy but he has a theory!
“But you have always been a woman, have you not? Even when we first met? When you were fourteen?”
Contradictory much? *smh*

While I wouldn’t want Emma to be stereotyped and wimped out, all the independence, unconventionality and social success awarded to a deaf mute girl in the mid 18th century didn’t seem realistic. She has man after man falling for her, proposing to her but she swans through life with nary a worry or thoughts of practicality. She has some momentary worry for her future and desire for her children of her own but they are just that – momentary before she swans off to flirt and play the field.

To start at the beginning (i.e. his return), her not accepting the H’s proposal after he ruins her is so far away from reality or rationality. She’s loved him forever and gave herself to him to ‘comfort’ him even when she’s engaged to another. Okay, so even if we take the argument that she didn’t want to be a duty to him, what about the fact that she is ruined and in those days the decision wouldn’t be hers to make but her brother’s or brother-in-law’s. And as she yearns for a home and family of her own, then that would be another reason to accept the offer.
More than a few times there’s a hint of resentment towards Anna, her motherly sister – it can be construed realistic as Anna tends to over care and coddle. But it irked me in no small measure. Fey or self-absorbed? I couldn't decide.
Then, unbelievably and uncharacteristically she goes into a spiral of frivolous socializing and flirtations. Aarghh, it all made me mad!

In part two, they both frustrated me – even more! For being such idiots! Him for being so foolish, and trusting someone so treacherous for years. A H has to have some brains! The villain plays him for a fool and a puppet or years. He manipulates him over and over and this idiot never realizes it, rather goes back to him for guidance.

And the h floats about refusing to share that the man who almost raped her is living under the same roof! What sane woman does that? She has three people living in the house who love her and would most definitely take her word – so speak up! And then her bedroom door does not have a lock! Entering Gothic territory?
She had refused to have either Anna or a maid sleep in her room with her. She had even refused to allow herself to leave the candles burning.
Of course, something happens and again she doesn’t share – if not tell, she could write – but no, this time she’s too traumatized to even share. And the H’s response is romance-generic..
He stood up then, undid the belt of his robe, and let the whole garment slide to the floor. He bent to blow out the candle.
*Facepalm!*

So as I said, not having enough meat about the couple’s romance, the author brings in a mystery to do with his first wife and her home. Btw I wish they hadn’t settled down in the house the H inherits from his dead wife. It's just so...unseemly. Why couldn’t they start afresh and make a home for themselves somewhere else? Add to it the unfairness of a child not getting his inheritance, as he’s illegitimate – that always pinches me in historicals. (hide spoiler)]

Half the problem I felt is the indecision on how to project Emma. There are times when she’s this fey person best at communion with nature, and then she’s reigning London. She’s actually a smart, canny girl and being disabled in one sense doesn’t impact it one way or the other. Of course, a deaf mute person has more hurdles to overcome. But nothing excuses putting herself in danger and not communicating when she can very well do it. ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Mou rated it it was ok

Shelves: medieval-historical-regency-romance

Truly a Disappointing Read!
Not in a mood of writing a review after this disaster read so please check Vintage Review- 👇
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

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Oct 01, 2010 Bark rated it liked it

Shelves: romance

There were many good things about this book and I am glad I read it (the first part was fantastic). I liked the fact that even though this book was a sequel to a book I haven't read it wasn't bogged down with lots of boring back story, also I loved the fact that Ashley had the compassion to look past Emmy's affliction and see her true self as no one else did. I just wish the book was more centered on those things than all of the crazy outside conflicts. My main complaint is that it started out ...more

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Feb 08, 2014 Anna D. rated it really liked it

Shelves: hr, beautiful-imperfections

4.5 stars
Im a sucker for books where I feel connected to the characters - so even if there are a lot of strikes and annoyances with the plot, the writing style, etc etc..if I connect with the characters then its a winner for me. That is the case with this book. I say this so anyone reading this review knows that my opinion of it might be a little swayed and even nonsensical since there were plenty of strikes in this book for me as well.

Some of the strikes:
1) The pace of the book, especially 4.5 stars
I’m a sucker for books where I feel connected to the characters - so even if there are a lot of strikes and annoyances with the plot, the writing style, etc etc..if I connect with the characters – then it’s a winner for me. That is the case with this book. I say this so anyone reading this review knows that my opinion of it might be a little swayed and even nonsensical since there were plenty of strikes in this book for me as well.

Some of the strikes:
1) The pace of the book, especially in the beginning, was like quicksand. There were so much repetitive internal monologues! Perhaps it was necessary since Emmy couldn’t talk, but there was a lot of it for Ashley too!
2) Anna still annoyed me. She meant well but her coddling of Emmy was both irritating and insulting (and she just didn’t see that.) The only people who I thought really understood Emmy were Ashley (of course), Luke, Lady Sterne, and Lord Quinn.
3) I didn’t like Ashley insisting that he wished Emmy was still his little fawn and that he was fond of her like a brother would a sister or that he thinks of her as the little girl of fourteen. After the night they spent in the falls..I wish he would stop referring to these incestuous, pedophilic thoughts.
4) The only thing that kept the H/h apart after that night was really all a misunderstanding. What they believed about their love for each other was far from the truth because they were both not being honest with each other and were trying to protect each other in a wrong way. This point is a strike and a hit. I like the angst this created for both the H/h, but as with most misunderstanding plots, it also creates frustration for the readers.

WHAT I LOVED!!
1) I absolutely loved Ashley and Emmy in this book as I knew I would when I read Heartless! The connection they had was so sweet and tender. Although there is that ick factor in that Ashley had started to feel stirrings towards Emmy when she was only fourteen and he was a man in his early twenties – I was able to forgive it because his feelings for her up to his leaving for India was purely innocent. It was that goodbye kiss when she was only fourteen that made it icky...but by the time he came back, Emmy was an adult so it was acceptable for his to be attracted to her then. I loved it when Ashley would just give her a light kiss, almost a peck, and he seemed almost lost in it as if the action was involuntary. SO SWEET!!
2) Lady Sterne and Lord Quinn’s love story and matchmaking schemes were once again so entertaining to watch. They are an adorable couple even without their sneaky plans.
3) The mystery behind Lady Alice’s past and death was intriguing and unexpected turn of events at the end of the book. This captivated me in the second half of the book and the truth was a little shocking.
4) I liked the characters we me at the end, especially Sir Henry and I thought Katherine’s little boy, Eric, was adorable – and I want a book about him when he grows up (will probably not happen considering how old this book is.)
5) Luke’s part in all of it as the head of the family was well done. I liked how he handled both Ashley, Emmy, and everything else – with command, understanding, and compassion.

When the story left Bowden Abbey and it started to become almost like a courtship in London and then Penhurst. I enjoyed it even more at this point because we got to see jealousy, longing, and more shared moments between the H/h as man and woman without being shadowed by their relationship as man and child as it seemed to happen in Bowden.

To be honest, the writing style was a little difficult to get through compared to other Balogh books because the internal monologues slowed me down (again, it felt repetitive and at times boring.) Though the delivery left something to be desired, the crux of the story, however, was great, our H/h were enchanting, and the mystery and new characters added a lot flavor…so as much as I can understand why others didn’t love it like I did, I have to disagree with them and say it was so worthwhile. I would hate to have missed out on these unforgettable Balogh characters.
...more

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Nov 19, 2008 Aneca rated it really liked it

Shelves: georgian, read-in-2010, read-in-2002

We first met Emily and Ashley in Heartless, she is Anna's youngest sister and he is Luke's younger brother. Emily is deaf mute, in Heartless she knew a lot of things but had trouble expressing herself. She felt quite at ease with Ashley and hero worshipped him. She was naturally devastated when he decided to grow up a bit and travel the world.

A few years have passed between the end of Heartless and the beginning of Silent Melody. Anna and Luke are happily married and Emily lives with them. Luke We first met Emily and Ashley in Heartless, she is Anna's youngest sister and he is Luke's younger brother. Emily is deaf mute, in Heartless she knew a lot of things but had trouble expressing herself. She felt quite at ease with Ashley and hero worshipped him. She was naturally devastated when he decided to grow up a bit and travel the world.

A few years have passed between the end of Heartless and the beginning of Silent Melody. Anna and Luke are happily married and Emily lives with them. Luke has tried to offer her the same opportunities other young girls have and so she has had some suitors and is now thinking of accepting an offer from one of them.

Ashley has been in India, he got married and had a son there. Now he has returned to England and his arrival coincides with the ball announcing Emily's engagement. Ashley's past has made him a bitter and unhappy man. It is not easy for him to speak about what happened in his life but he and Emily still share a special bond. Feeling his pain she tries to help and that leads them to an intimate moment who seems more about comfort than love. Because of that Emily refuses to marry him, she knows he still sees her has the young girl he left behind.

Ashley will have to deal with his demons and to see Emily in a new light for them to find a HEA and the journey towards that is a memorable one. I think Balogh did a superb job portraying Emily's disability, she is never a lesser character because of it, she doesn't have special treatment and in fact she doesn't feel less than the others. The only thing I didn't much care about was the villain. I would have been quite happy just to have Emily and Ashley dealing with their feelings and, of course, to see how well Luke and Anna work as a couple a few years after they had their own story.

Grade: 4.5/5

PS. Balogh has an old book being reissued this month, it's called A Christmas Promise and I haven't read it yet. It might be just the thing to get me in the right mood for the holidays...
...more

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Apr 22, 2016 Bj rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, arc, 4-and-a-half-stars, historical-romance, 2016

4.5 "There is More to Love Than Just Words" Stars for the story and the narration!

What a unique story line! This little gem of a historical romance grabbed my attention from the very beginning and kept me enthralled throughout the entire story. Moreover, in addition, to a touching romance and the empathetic handling and portrayal of a disabled heroine as a capable and loving woman which genuinely tugged at my heartstrings, Mary Balogh also manages to infuse an interesting and intriguing 4.5 "There is More to Love Than Just Words" Stars for the story and the narration!

What a unique story line! This little gem of a historical romance grabbed my attention from the very beginning and kept me enthralled throughout the entire story. Moreover, in addition, to a touching romance and the empathetic handling and portrayal of a disabled heroine as a capable and loving woman which genuinely tugged at my heartstrings, Mary Balogh also manages to infuse an interesting and intriguing suspenseful arc into this already stellar romance. Moreover, this is a great title to pick up in audiobook format as Rosalyn Landor's experienced and well-done narration further enhances the magic of this story.

First off, for those that are wondering if this book can be read as a standalone, yes it can. Although this is book 2 in the Georgian series, and the hero and heroine are the siblings of the main characters from book 1, Heartless, the romance is fully contained in this book and I had no trouble following the background without having read or listened to Heartless.

Lady Emily Marlowe is death and mute. While many would think this fact devastating, Emily has actually led a pretty free and independent life as a result. Unconstrained by the typical customs of the day that prohibited women from running around with their hair down and otherwise being free to do what they wanted to do, Emily has spent many years running around her
sister's estate and painting. Interestingly, the one person who never viewed her as limited and always understood her better than anyone else was Lord Ashley Kendrick, the younger brother of Lucas Kendrick, Duke of Harndon, who married Emily's sister.

But Emily's romantic fantasies are shattered when Ashley decides to leave for India to build his own wealth. After a while of being gone Emily's hope for a future with Ashley is further dashed when she finds out that he has married another woman. It is amongst this backdrop that seven years after he left, Emily is finally ready to try to find a husband. She quickly finds herself with suitors, bearing their own unique reasons for wanting to pursue and deaf and mute woman, when Ashley returns to the vast surprise of his family and carrying a number of closely held secrets. Will his reappearance dash her family's well orchestrated efforts to find Emily a husband, or will Ashley's secrets render possible a HEA that could rival Emily's childhood dreams?

The experienced and well-known historical romance narrator, Rosalyn Landor, performs an above average narration in Silent Melody. Ms. Landor is a pro and she always manages to create easily distinguishable voices for each on of the cast members making it easy to sit back and enjoy the listen. In Silent Melody I was particularly impressed with Ms. Landor's depiction of Emily. Managing to sound just like a deaf person learning to talk for the first time, Ms. Landor brought a an extra sense of authenticity to this inspiring tale.

All in all, Silent Melody is a creative and inspiring tale with a rock solid narration, making this a must listen audiobook for the historical romance enthusiast.

Source: Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Jul 09, 2015 Lady Wesley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: amz-rev, listened, aud-rev

Here's another Mary Balogh classic (from 1997) now available in audiobook format, and of course Rosalyn Landor does her usual excellent job.

It takes a courageous author to write a deaf heroine who can neither read nor write. We know from the previous book in this series, Heartless, that Lady Emily can read lips fairly well and that she has devised hand signals to communicate with Lord Ashley, whose brother the Duke of Harndon is married to Emily's sister Anna. As this book opens, Ashley has been ...more

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Nov 24, 2009 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, regency, 2009, 18thc

I don't know. This book fell flat for me. I've read a couple romances now where the heroine has a disability, and it always results in my feeling kind of icky about the entire set up of the novel. The relationship between the hero and heroine always ends up feeling coercive to me, as the hero generally doesn't head into the relationship thinking of the heroine as a "whole" woman. He generally views her as some sort of woman-child, but he has sex with her anyway. Um, ick. It especially unsettled ...more

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Jan 29, 2016 Caz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-and-5-star-books, oldies-but-goodies, audiobook, audiogals, romance-pre-1800s, 2016-mt-tbr, 4-and-a-half-stars

I've given this an A+ for narration and a B for content at AudioGals, so I'm calling it 4.5 stars rounded up.

Silent Melody is the sequel to Heartless, which was one of my favourite audiobooks of 2015. In that story, Lucas Kendrick, Duke of Harndon, gradually reconnects with the family he had fled from a decade earlier, and I particularly enjoyed listening to the way the author has Luke repairing his fractured relationship with his wayward younger brother, Lord Ashley. Towards the end of ...more

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Apr 03, 2010 Bill rated it liked it

It is unusual for me to not be caught up in a Mary Balogh book. But this one just did not grab me. There is a mystery involved in the story and I got more involved in the mystery than the romance. Well Mary, you can't please everyone all the time. I will say that I am impressed that she took on the challenge of this story about a deaf-mute heroine. I think she did a good job of getting into the head of the heroine.

Part of the problem is I couldn't believe she was holding back from marriage with ...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Sababa rated it liked it

I will say this, every Mary Balogh fan should read this book. Very simply because its different from her other writings.
I have always known Mary Balogh to write about unusual characters, sometimes she pulls it off rather magnificently and sometimes it just feels it didn't live up to the expectation.
For me, Silent melody started in a very good way. This is the first novel I have read where the girl is deaf and mute, and so my expectations were very high from the beginning. I was specially eager I will say this, every Mary Balogh fan should read this book. Very simply because its different from her other writings.
I have always known Mary Balogh to write about unusual characters, sometimes she pulls it off rather magnificently and sometimes it just feels it didn't live up to the expectation.
For me, Silent melody started in a very good way. This is the first novel I have read where the girl is deaf and mute, and so my expectations were very high from the beginning. I was specially eager to see how Mary balogh would write a story without dialogues the female can't hear or speak. Love is always expressed in words. And I wanted to see how she expressed it beyond that.
As usual her characters were remarkable and her plot was engaging, but I felt she could not portray love beyond words.
I confess my knowledge may be very little regarding this, but as far as my limited knowledge goes I found Emmy's ability to be so normal a bit queer. I will do some research on it, but I think Emmy was a bit too mature for a deaf and mute girl, who is just 23-24. I am not saying it in a bad way. But I felt her ability to be normal, even at 15, was exaggerated. And I kept thinking to myself, 'it just happens like this in a novel!'
Apart from that I have to say this as well, I didn't like Ashley. His guilt, his remorse everything make me want to pity him. And I don't want to read about a hero I pity. I would rather just read about a rake who would bring out different emotions in me than read about Ashley ans how guilty he felt about everything he did.
Things I did like about this was Luke and Emmy's relationship. I think it was the most beautifully expressed relationship between a girl and her brother in law that I have read till date. Their closeness, their ability to read each other, the way he helped her everything was just too perfect. I completed love Marj and her husband!! They were the sweetest couple ever!
Most of all I liked the little descriptions of how Emmy could use her other senses to make up for her deafness and muteness. Like how she could feel the vibration of the carriage, how she learned to talk slowly and so on.
It kind of left me with mixed feelings. ...more

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May 19, 2010 Crista rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-star, historical, series

Maybe had I been in a different mood, maybe if I hadn't loved Heartless so much, maybe if I would've identified with Ashley as a tortured hero, maybe if I would've loved Emily liked I loved Annie in "Annie's Song" by Catherine Anderson....maybe I would've loved this book....but I just didn't.

This is the first Mary Balogh book that I haven't really liked. I just never really felt any kind of love connection between these two. A fondness yes...a commitment yes....a history yes...but nothing else. ...more

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Jul 26, 2015 Lara rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: rooooomance

*sighs* I get very tired of heroines with disabilities being super intuitive and in tune with the natural world and compared to nymphs and sprites and fey things. If there had been one more line about Emily's "speaking eyes" and how Ashley could just naturally understand what she meant, I would have gently pitched the book across the room. She's just too perfect. Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson, although not without flaws, had a better portrayal of a deaf heroine and the issues it raises with ...more

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Jul 09, 2015 Keri rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance-historical, 2015-read

I wanted to love this as much as my friends did, but I just didn't. I don't know if it was the writing or what, but I didn't feel the romance between Ashley and Emily. I thought their love scenes were awkward and one-sided. Nor did I feel that Emily was ever engaged in the act.

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Jul 29, 2010 SheLove2Read rated it did not like it

Shelves: dnf, 2011

I love Mary Balogh but for me this story had a strong ick factor. Emily seemed to be treated as less than a full person by most of her family. Ashley didn't do anything for me. DNF.

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Nov 16, 2016 herdys rated it liked it

Shelves: historial-romance

I love that Balogh explored the idea of having a mute/deaf heroine but she failed in the hero department. I don't usually care for wounded and brooding heroes and this one wasn't an exception.

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Dec 12, 2017 Heather Baxter rated it did not like it

When I read the summary of this book, I was very excited. Deaf heroine in the Eighteen Centurycool!! The prologue drew me in. I imagined that the hero Ashley, would find his way in India, return home to Emmy and help her navigate through a hearing world. Unfortunately, the prologue and the rest of the book are completely different. Almost like the author wrote the prologue and came back to writing the story years later when she had nothing else. The story is a bad 1980s gothic novel full of dark When I read the summary of this book, I was very excited. Deaf heroine in the Eighteen Century…cool!! The prologue drew me in. I imagined that the hero Ashley, would find his way in India, return home to Emmy and help her navigate through a hearing world. Unfortunately, the prologue and the rest of the book are completely different. Almost like the author wrote the prologue and came back to writing the story years later when she had nothing else. The story is a bad 1980s gothic novel full of dark hero, weepy heroine, incest, murder, and a country house.
I had several problems with this book.

First, Emmy's ability to read lips was unrealistic. Yes, she could hear the first couple of years of her life, but during that time she wasn't trained to associate lip movements with words. I have a friend who is deaf and can lip read. It took her year of hard training to read lips and she still struggles in dim light. I can't imagine that Emmy could lip read in the shadows of a candle, let alone know what anyone was saying.

Second, Emmy is too happy. Her inability to communicate with the rest of the world would have been frustrating. She couldn't say what she thought. She wouldn't know what was going on around her.

Third, a mute/deaf women would not be accepted by eighteenth century society. Her immediate family may love her, but the gentry, distant family, and servants would have considered her an aberration and an embarrassment. She would have likely been hidden and not mixed with society and certainly not expected to marry - particularly someone with a title.

Forth, in the prologue Ashley professed to care about Emmy, missed her, and determined to teach her to communicate. When he returned home he had "forgotten her"????? What about his promises?

Fifth, Emmy and Ashley confessed to their night. Her family would have immediately forced them to marry. She would have not been sent into society, instead would have been treated as a fallen woman.

I could easily rewrite this book and it would have been much more enjoyable. In my mind: Ashley goes to India to make his fortune and show that he is worthy. Emmy grows up under the loving care of her sister and husband. Ashley returns determined to teach Emmy how to communicate with the rest of the world. He teaches her to read, write, dance, listen to music (she probably only had conductive hearing loss and can hear through vibrations). Ashley marries Emmy and they face the struggles and unacceptance of society and the world.
...more

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Feb 19, 2016 Kim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, suspense, sexy-romance, historical-romance, disabled

This. Book.

I have a real affinity for characters that are deaf or have hearing problems. Due to complications from my own birth I have some slight hearing issues myself, which in a very small way makes me feel connected to these types of characters.

Emma has such a beautiful soul. She neither hears nor speaks which does nothing to stop her from feeling. And does she feel! Her feelings for life, love, nature....she's just wonderful!

Ashley is also someone with great feeling, however his feelings ...more

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Oct 14, 2015 Charlene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, read-earlier-edition, differently-abled, public-library, historical-fiction

This is my second reading of this Georgian romance from the 1990s, now in a new printing. It is an interesting read because the heroine is deaf and mute; the author took up her own challenge to write this story in an effective manner. Mary Balogh is an auto-order author for many Romance readers -- she's that good, if you like this genre.

The hero is a likable guy and the respective family members are good to meet. The villains are particularly distasteful, spread over time and geographical ...more

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Dec 31, 2015 Sharyn rated it really liked it

A 1997 Mary Balogh. A story about a deaf girl who invents a sign language with her friend. But he leaves to go to India and she must deal with her loving sister, who thinks marriage is the thing for her. When Ashley returns, she thinks he is married, so does plan to marry. Many problems ensue before true love wins. A lovely story, Balogh at her best.

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Jun 07, 2017 Lu rated it liked it · review of another edition

It took me some time to finish this book. I could not make myself fall in love with Ashley, or even admire him, and although Emmy was adorable, their love seemed too unrealistic, too childish.

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May 21, 2012 Leona rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance

A very touching story..One of her bests.

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Oct 22, 2017 Zel Polev rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Low rating for the subpar romance. I just didn't believe in it. For most of the book, their romance felt like an afterthought from his end. He admittedly, didn't think of Emmy at all. He had a different life that didn't involve her. Meanwhile, he was her first love. Their relationship is already imbalanced. I also didn't see much to admire about their relationship. They keep touting their connection but the only thing that sets him above the rest is his willingness to listen, which should just Low rating for the subpar romance. I just didn't believe in it. For most of the book, their romance felt like an afterthought from his end. He admittedly, didn't think of Emmy at all. He had a different life that didn't involve her. Meanwhile, he was her first love. Their relationship is already imbalanced. I also didn't see much to admire about their relationship. They keep touting their connection but the only thing that sets him above the rest is his willingness to listen, which should just be a given. I felt like it was being held up as the beacon and symbol of their unbreakable love. I just didn't see much of their friendship, which was supposedly the backbone of their love. I think the problem is that a lot of the pages are dedicated to the intrigue around his wife's past and the players involved. While it provided a well rounded setting, it also took away pages that could be used to develop their romance. I would have appreciated more of their past relationship and less of Ashley brooding.

Perhaps, the most frustrating thing about this book is that Ashley is such a dumbass. He is eye-roll inducing. He spends the majority of this book ignorant but that doesn't stop him from huffing and puffing. I felt bad for his neighbour. He was the brunt of Ashley's anger. All Ashley had to go on was his wife's vague words. Ashley drew conclusions himself and was adamant about his findings. He repeatedly treated his neighbour badly believing that he didn't honour his wife. Never mind that he doesn't have much evidence. It was just frustrating. His jovial nature about his sexually assaulting friend was nausea-inducing. It can't be helped that he didn't know about him but it was just frustrating reading about Ashley hounding an innocent man while singing praises to his sexual predator friend. I guess I shouldn't expect much. Ashley was a dumbass in the prior book so I shouldn't really expect he would change. There's just something dumb about him that makes him unlikable. He means well but he isn't very bright.

I think the best written scene was Emily's flight from the sexual predator. I think the danger she was in really conveyed her vulnerability and the close call she was in. It was just frustrating that she didn't confide in her family. She knew the friend was bad news capable of raping. By staying silent, she didn't know who else could be in danger.

The story revolves around Ashley and Emily. They were close when they were young. However, he left to make something of his life. He had a different life away from her and she grew up to be a beautiful young woman. He returned seven years later. He married somebody else. He had a kid. She, on the other hand, was almost engaged. He had a manic energy about him when he returned. He was a bit messed up on the head. He felt guilty over his wife and kid's death. His marriage wasn't good. His wife was an adulterer. His kid was fathered by somebody else. Nevertheless, he felt guilty when they died. When they burned in the fire, he was having an affair with another woman. His head wasn't in the right place even a year later. He took Emily's virginity because he needed comforting and she wanted to be the one to ease his pain. He offered marriage but she declined. She also broke off an engagement with somebody else. When everybody found out about their affair, some wanted to coddle her, some wanted to hide her, some wanted to let her be. Emily chose to be in London with her aunt and her lover. Her aunt showed her off and later concocted a plan to marry her off to Ashley.

The latter part of the book dealt with Ashley's past, more specifically, the events surrounding her wife's life before she came to India. Her brother and her have been having an unnatural relationship. Her brother wanted to be respectable and engaged himself to his steward's daughter. The daughter had an understanding with somebody else but gave in to the brother. They were to be married but he died. He was murdered by Ashley's wife. The daughter, angry and pregnant, vented to a cousin's friend. The friend was taken in with her and took her words seriously. He murdered Ashley's wife. He promised to restore the daughter to her rightful place. When Ashley came back to the estate, he was pressured to sell it to his friend. The friend tried to get Emmy to convince Ashley. However, their first meeting already put Emmy off the friend. He tried to rape her and she knew he was a bad man. She didn't trust him. The whole thing was eventually solved when Ashley was told about his friend. A swordfight ensued. The friend died.

The book ended with Ashley and Emily married. Emily spoke her vows and told Ashley that she was pregnant. ...more

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Jan 04, 2019 Kaitlyn Leaf rated it liked it

Not bad but I definitely felt like I would have enjoyed it more if I read more of the books of the other series because there are a lot of characters to try to keep straight. It was nice to see a different type of heroine instead of the normally picture perfect women in romance novels, I felt like the author did a good job of showing that Emily's deafness as not something that makes her lesser and that her viewpoint or world was as valid as anyone who can hear.

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May 11, 2018 Carol Storm rated it really liked it

Not the very best of Mary Balogh, but still an outstanding read. Ashley, the hero, is a little too gullible, and Lady Emily is a little too eager to surrender her virginity. (A clergyman almost gets punched out for suggesting such behavior is to be avoided, which says something about how period authentic this story is.) There are a lot of minor characters, some of them dead, all of them darker, sexier, and more enigmatic than the heroine. Still this was a very pleasant story.

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Aug 29, 2019 Pamela rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, romance, murder-mystery, drama, female-heroine, adventure

I loved this wonderful read. It had everything from romance to murder. It kept my interest all the way through. I love her writing. The main female character was deaf, but read lips. She also learned to speak a bit. Her determination to forge ahead even in the mystery was inspiring. Five stars.

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Aug 07, 2015 Molly rated it it was amazing

If you finished reading Balogh's Heartless and longed to know more about Luke and Anna, and longed even more to know what would happen to Anna's deaf-mute sister Emily, you have to read Silent Melody. Here, Balogh gives Emily her own romance, and also allows us to see how Luke and Anna have grown as a couple - their relationship, while in the background, is shown to be mature and solid.
Emily has been deaf and mute since a small child, and only Anna, Luke, and particularly Ashley, Luke's younger If you finished reading Balogh's Heartless and longed to know more about Luke and Anna, and longed even more to know what would happen to Anna's deaf-mute sister Emily, you have to read Silent Melody. Here, Balogh gives Emily her own romance, and also allows us to see how Luke and Anna have grown as a couple - their relationship, while in the background, is shown to be mature and solid.
Emily has been deaf and mute since a small child, and only Anna, Luke, and particularly Ashley, Luke's younger brother, really understand her when she tries to communicate and make the effort to communicate properly with her. Ashley, however, went away when she was fifteen, and although he subsequently married, she still loves him. Luke, her brother-in-law, understands that, but also wants her to have a home of her own rather than feeling that she has to be dependent on relatives for the rest of her life. Believing that he has her best interests at heart, he tries to find her a husband. But, just as she is about to accept Lord Powell, Ashley comes home...
Ashley has been widowed in tragic circumstances, and is now a bitter, guilt-ridden man of thirty. None of his family can get through to him to find out what's going on inside his head... except Emmy, who always understood him years before. Except that he cannot vocalise his feelings any longer, so instead he takes comfort from her in another way.
She refuses to marry him, because although she loves him she knows that he doesn't love her and only asked out of a sense of honour. The real problem here is that Ashley's image of Emily is still fixed on the fourteen-year-old child she once was; he is unable for a very long time to acknowledge that she is now a woman, and so he can't allow himself to think of her as a desirable partner instead of his little fawn. He remembers her as a child, and hates himself for adding to his own guilt over what he did to her.
There are many themes in this story: inner healing, redemption, the meaning of maturity, and even more important the nature of disability. Emily is the only person who does not consider her deafness a handicap; no matter how well-meaning they are, the rest of her family all consider it an affliction they must help her overcome. Anna by teaching Emily how to behave in society, Luke by teaching her to read and write, Ashley by insisting that she learn to form words and speak. As Emily herself thinks any number of times, perhaps they should learn from her about the qualities of silence. However, Ashley does grow in this respect: he ceases assuming that he knows what's best for her and learns to appreciate her world as well.
(So, to the reviewer who made that crass comment about Emily's deafness, I ask: did you read the book? Emily *never* sought special treatment or considered herself pitiful because of her deafness.)
The one thing which seemed completely superfluous in this book was the villain plot. It seemed unnecessary; there was more than enough material for Balogh to write about in simply resolving Ashley and Emily's relationship. The villain brought a different dynamic into the story, and I actually would have preferred Ash and Emily to turn to each other because they realised themselves that they loved each other, not because someone else's actions gave them a shove in the right direction.
That aside, this is a deeply emotional book which deserves its high rating. ...more

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About Mary Balogh

Mary Balogh

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Mary 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 ...more