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Silent Melody
(Georgian #2)
by
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 her—the dark and reckless Lord Ashley Kendrick, the childhood amour who inspired her fantasies—then left fo
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Mass Market Paperback, 361 pages
Published
August 1st 1997
by Berkley
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Start your review of Silent Melody (Georgian, #2)

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) ...more
There are major spoilers below.
(view spoiler) ...more

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 c ...more
As part of that I decided I'd take in a c ...more

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

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) ...more
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) ...more

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

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 s
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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, especiall ...more
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, especiall ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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 suspense ...more
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 suspense ...more

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
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

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
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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 Heartles ...more
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 Heartles ...more

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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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.
...more

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.
...more

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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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 dar
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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 ar ...more
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 ar ...more

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 locati ...more
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 locati ...more

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.

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

And I had such high hopes for this one...
The story of Emily, the mute and deaf, yet spirited young woman we met in the previous book, and Ashley, the younger brother looking for his place in the world. They became very good friends during the year they spent together, but then Ashley left for India and their lives diverged, even if Emily's feelings remained.
Determined to make a decent life for herself, Emily is nearly engaged with someone when Ashley unexpectedly returns, (view spoiler) ...more
The story of Emily, the mute and deaf, yet spirited young woman we met in the previous book, and Ashley, the younger brother looking for his place in the world. They became very good friends during the year they spent together, but then Ashley left for India and their lives diverged, even if Emily's feelings remained.
Determined to make a decent life for herself, Emily is nearly engaged with someone when Ashley unexpectedly returns, (view spoiler) ...more

I can forgive MB for this hot mess only because she penned "Slightly Dangerous", one of my favorite stories EVER. But, as the MST3K critic wrote of the disasterpiece "Eegah"...this was like 'a pile of napalmed squirrels wrapped around a parking meter'. The hero was a terrible human who consistently misled and used the idiot heroine. I was hoping the deaf-mute storyline would be interesting. Alas, there's nothing interesting about willful debauchery, cheating on people, and overusing the word "Zo
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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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Sinopsis en Español // Synopsis in Spanish | 1 | 2 | Mar 17, 2015 02:08PM |
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 curl
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Georgian
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