With a Bow on Top

Mary Balogh is one of my favorite authors, but I've gotten terribly behind in reading her books. I guess I took them for granted and let them languish on my bookshelves. It's nice to come back to an author who I always enjoy.

One Night For Love by Mary Balogh
(1999, Regency Historical) 7/1/07
Grade: 4

As Neville Wyatt, the Earl of Kilbourne, stands in the church on his wedding day, an unexpected guest appears. It’s his wife, Lily Doyle, the soldier’s daughter that he married in Portugal. He believed her dead years ago. Although their marriage was one of necessity, Neville grew to love Lily and her untamed spirit - but will that be enough for the wife of an Earl?

Balogh does a good job (as always) in depicting Regency society. Many romance characters seem to live in a void, but Balogh’s characters must deal with the strictures and rules of the society in which they live. Lily’s difficulties in adapting to those rules is described in detail, and it made the characters seem real. The relationship between the hero and heroine seeemed a bit impersonal at first, but it became more interesting as the book continued. The main problem was the convenient revelation in the last section of the book, which made many of Lily and Neville’s problems disappear. Although it was foreshadowed from the beginning, it seemed like a cheat - making Lily’s struggles and triumphs seem empty. I’m not marking down the grade as far as I might have, because there is a sweetness to the resolution - it gives two of the secondary characters a happy ending - but it definitely lessened the book’s power for me.

I've ranted about this topic before, but I'll add a few more thoughts. Recently, there's been a lot of talk online about the HEA - is it really required for romance? I think so. But that doesn't mean that everything has to be tied up perfectly with a bow on top. I want the hero and heroine to end the book together, happy and in love. But all their problems don't have to be magically solved. To me, a happy ending has more emotional impact if the hero and heroine overcome their problems through their love for each other - not by the author's "deus ex machina" eliminating the obstacles.

I feel a little bit insulted as a romance reader when I get an ending like this - as if the author thinks I can't appreciate a happy ending if it doesn't come with a pile of money and a fancy title for the characters.