Customer Reviews

Dark Angel/Lord Carew's Bride

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoyed the novelty of reading two romance novels back to back within the same cover. I liked the idea of the two young cousins at the center of the story and being able to enjoy each one of them. However, I must say the two stories weren't equally enjoyable. "Dark Angel" was a fairly good story- but "Lord Carew's Bride" turned out to be absolutely amazing! Well written Regency romance...

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"Dark Angel" 3 star story-- Jennifer has dreamt of her intended, Lional, for five years. At last she has journeyed to London to wed him and couldn't be happier. Upon arrival, Lional declares his love for her and she for him, and life is bliss. Oh? Or so we think. From the sidelines comes young and darkly handsome Gabriel, a young earl who seems intent to seduce Jennifer away from her intended. But why? And whom is really the rake? It's Lional vs. Gabriel, with some fairly interesting twists and turns.

The novel was OK- I actually loved that Jennifer was presented as a tall and curvy main character. Always refreshing to imagine "real" women in a romance! I liked both the hero and heroine. I guess my major issue was that the story was very boring! It was literally a tale of the courting process that went on in Regency London. There is really very little plot besides that of what I wrote just above. And usually the seduction process is the sideline of a romance, not the only point. The ending seemed forced and somewhat absurd. I was having a hard time believing the motivation of the characters involved. But overall... a satisfying read.

"Lord Carew's Bride" is easily a 5 star story-- I have to say. This was one of the most moving romances I've read in some time. I simply fell in love with Hartley!! So Hartley is ridiculously wealthy, very talented and artistic, very kind and sweet and patient... and crippled! He befriends Samantha Newman when he finds her "trespassing" on his estate. She is not aware that he is the lord of the estate and he doesn't prevent her from assuming he's a gentleman gardener. They strike up an adorable friendship, based on mutual thoughts and ideas and seem to really share a very profound loving experience.

Samantha Newman is literally a doll: blond curls, blue saucer eyes, tiny and delicate... but she has a strong mind. She has chosen not to marry and swears off love due to heartbreak she endured years before. She befriends Hartley knowing that she can "love" him without risk of passion and thus begins this truly adorable tale. You will find yourself championing Hartley as he wins the hearts of everyone around him and heals Samantha. It was a type of "Beauty in the Beast" story, and very well-done indeed. An added bonus on this story was Francis- Samantha's outrageous and fun sidekick friend.

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Compared to Jennifer from the previous tale, Samantha was a far more developed character. Whereas Jennifer's only obsession was getting married to a beautiful man, to be looked at and admired, to be envied because her man was attractive... Samantha desires all the real things in life worth living... a real companion, safety, comfort, laughter, lovemaking, loyalty, mutual interests.... Get a copy of this book- or at least buy the older used version of "Lord Carew's Bride."

What's so great about Mary Balogh is that she can take a plot that you have read hundreds of times already (if you are a reader addicted to historical romances) and still put her own special stamp on it and make it seem fresh. Her stories are authentic to the era, so you don't feel that you're reading another one of those romances with Jane and Joe dressed up in period costumes, and they are heartfelt. These two stories are from 1994; I did not read them the first time around and am so happy they have been reissued. They are related in that two cousins are the female protagonists, Jennifer in DARK ANGEL and Samantha in LORD CAREW'S BRIDE, and the evil, yet intriguing Lord Kersey is integral to the plot of both stories. My favorite of the two is LORD CAREW'S BRIDE. Who can resist a Beauty and the Beast theme? But both are superior Regency romances, harkening back to the early 1990s when Balogh, Carla Kelly, Nancy Butler, Barbara Metzger, Edith Layton, Patricia Oliver and others reigned supreme.

I have in recent years become a Mary Balogh fan and was thrilled to find this reissue of two of her older titles under one cover. Though first published in 1994, they are lacking nothing of a contemporary Regency romance.

These two stories are bound together by related heroines, neighboring heroes, and a common villain, who is just about the vilest plausible piece of work I've encountered in fiction. Lionel Kersey may not be a mustache-twirling tie-her-to-the-train-tracks type of bad guy, but he is a mean-spirited narcissist of the first order. All the better to root on the heroes.

The first book's couple - Gabriel and Jennifer - are rather typical, classics of the genre. I daresay they'll be nothing you haven't encountered before, and it would have been no different if you'd read the book in 1994. That doesn't mean their story isn't interesting or fresh; I found it an engaging read nevertheless. The Machiavellian man standing between them kept their story intense.

Samantha and Hartley, however, are a breed apart, or at least a breed I haven't encountered. I liked her, though she is consistently myopic when it comes to people - she is as clueless to her own motivations and character as she seems to be about everyone else's. That isn't at all to say I fault the author for it; it's a believable trait. The same young woman who failed to see through her cousin's fiance's schemes can look at a man who has been courting her for years in shock to briefly realize he's serious. (And I hope he got his own romance at some point. I'll have to look into it, though as bad with names as I am I may have already read it for all I know.) And Hartley is just a fabulously unusual romantic lead, who manages to be very winning in spite of it. A retiring nature lover, he is not tall, dark, handsome, broody (most of the time), a reformed rake, thought to be a reformed rake, or sheltering a previously broken heart. He's just a remarkably sensitive and very nice guy. I could not help but wish this couple well. Lionel Kersey may not quite add the intensity to this story that he does the last, but this story doesn't really need it. Personally, I suspect it would have been nearly as good had he been just a memory for both of them.

I recommend and will continue to look forward to other books by Balogh.

One of the characters says "I do not want to sound like a bad melodrama." But, unfortunately, this book approaches that. It is much more superficial and contrived than Ms. Balogh's other works. I just didn't buy that these women had to spend so much time mulling things over in their minds to see what was really happening. And no one else could see the villan for the sociopath that he was???? Come on.

I am an avid reader of romance novels, and Mary Balogh is among my favorite authors, whose books i will automatically buy. She usually portrays such humor, depth and finess in her writing. With this book, i am disappointed. The stories and the characters were not as well thought of and developed as they should be, and the whole story line is tired. Nothing new, nothing exciting. I was left untouched - by the charcaters or their stories.

I literally read all of Lord Carew's Bride in one day. It was that good. What I LOVE about Mary Balogh's work is that she doesn't just create leading ladies and gentlemen you fall in love with and root for. She creates such vivid secondary characters that you ultimately want them to get their own stories as well! I ADORE Sir Francis Kneller, fashion dandy and flirt that he is. I would LOVE to see the type of woman who would perfectly suit him. The scenes where his sartorial choices are being picked apart by Samantha are hysterical. And yet, he's a true gentleman and protector.

Lionel Kersey is so wicked, yet so charming . . . well, I can certainly understand how two young, idealistic women could so easily fall under his spell. I might also, and I'm not so innocent.

Overall, the two stories kept my interest, and I particularly rooted for Lord Carew. What a sweet, yet strong individual. A truly honorable man. I appreciate Balogh's ability to show how beautiful a person's heart and soul are, regardless of their physical appearance.

Thumbs up!

I was pleasantly surprised by this duo of Mary Balogh reissues. I haven't always enjoyed her older novels. These two were really great and typical of her work - wonderful characters and a plot driven by those characters and their developing relationships. The two novels are:

Dark Angel (4 stars) - the story of Jennifer Winwood and the Earl of Thornhill. Jennifer's villanous fiance sets her and Thornhill up in a scandal to end the betrothal. A nit - I did find the situation of Jennifer's humiliation unbelievable - would her uncle really participate in such a scene?

Lord Carew's Bride (5 stars) - Samantha (Jennifer's cousin) while visiting the Thornhills meets the landscape designer on a neighboring estate. Unknown to her, he is the Marquess of Carew and the owner of the estate. Jennifer's evil former fiance makes a reappearance to threaten Samantha's future with Carew.

I'm very happy to see that many of Balogh's older books are now being reissued, timeless classics that until now a reader would have had to pay a hefty price for in the used book market. Dark Angel (story of revenge) & Lord Carew's Bride (beauty and beast type romance) are the first in the line of several double issues which will be released in the months to come. Definitely books which should not be missed by any historical romance reader.

My review of Dark Angel & Lord Carew's Bride:
I found both romances to be historically accurate (at least to this non expert), beautifully written and, the characters well developed. Dark Angel begins with Jennifer and Samantha coming to London for a season, the former more specifically to marry her betrothed of five years and the latter to try her hand at the marriage mart. It focuses on the heroine Jennifer, who unknowningly is in the unenviable position of being a target in a revenge plot against her fiance. The next story, Lord Carew's Bride, begins six years later with Samantha meeting a crippled man whom she believes to be the gardener of a grand estate. The villain is the same in both books.

Although both stories were poignant with wonderfully endings, I know I'm in the minority when I say that I could not help feeling emotionally drained after reading them. A bit of sadness consumed me, not at all the deep happiness or satisfaction I often feel when finishing an excellent romance. Perhaps it was because the romances were quiet and slow or perhaps it was both Jennifer's and Samantha's feelings of indecisiveness towards their hero's. It felt like an unpleasant roller coaster in certain parts. I don't know but as I closed the book I feared that perhaps I would not have been averse to the villain getting his way -and how despicable is that? Lionel could not have been worse, but I felt his passion very dramatically, I literally fell under his spell, especially in Lord Carew's Bride. I could have at one point have forgiven him anything. Maybe that is a testament to the greatness of Balogh's writing that I felt compassion with someone who is completed unredeemable. Either way both hero's came up somewhat lacking to Lionel's intensity. Or perhaps it is that I am more inclined toward dramatic love stories with arrogant hero's. Again I don't know. All I know is that I will be keeping this one but not reading it that often like my other Balogh keepers.

Putting that aside this book is a fine example of Balogh's talents. Recommended.

Balogh's books not to be missed:
A Matter of Class
Slightly Dangerous
The Notorious Rake
Heartless
More than a Mistress
Tangled

Of the two, I definitely liked Lord Carew's Bride the most. Neither was an OMGWOW sort of read though. I'd give Dark Angel a 3 and Lord Carew's Bride a 4.

Dark Angel

Miss Jennifer Winwood is in town for her very first Season and positively vibrating with the excitement of it. Unlike other girls on their come out, though, she's not here to snag a husband. That was set for her five years ago, when she was 15, when her viscount father arranged her betrothal to a the heir to an earldom, Viscount Kersey. For five years she has constructed and worshipped a mental image of Kersey and the wonderful life they'll no doubt enjoy as a married couple. The joy of finally seeing Kersey again and having their betrothal made official is almost more than she can bear.

Gabriel, the Earl of Thornhill, is recently returned to London after a long stay on the Continent with his stepmother. The conventional wisdom among the ton is that he had absconded with his stepmother after getting her pregnant, leaving his father to die of a broken heart, and then abandoning her in Europe when he tired of her. The truth is, of course, much different, and he's decided to get his revenge on his stepmother's faithless lover. Hearing that the villain is recently engaged, he sets out to break the engagement, hoping to embarrass Kersey in the process.

All of this is laid out in the first few chapters. Balogh establishes Kersey as your stereotypical 80s and 90s movie villain early on. He's blond, blue eyed, drop-dead gorgeous and unfailingly charismatic. Unless you live under a rock, this description screams "sociopathic douchebag alert, DO NOT GO IN THE BASEMENT" to you. Nothing he says can be trusted, his motives are inherently suspect and so on.

Unfortunately, Jennifer didn't get the memo. This being the Regency, she lacks HBO and Lifetime. She doesn't know that blond guys are invariably panty-invading villains. The story is now perched upon her ignorance and the reader must watch her idolize the villain, trusting every word out of his mouth, and play right into a disaster you can clearly see off in the distance. I found this profoundly uncomfortable and unpleasant to watch. I rather wished I was left a bit in the dark along with Jennifer so I could've been confused with her, rather than cringing on her behalf.

Other than this quality, which may not bother other readers as much as it did me, it's a perfectly well-written book. The romance between Jennifer and Gabriel is drawn out slowly and organically through wonderful bits of dialog. The voice is pitch-perfect Regency throughout, and I loved watching the interplay between all the characters. The love was evident not only between Jennifer and Gabriel, but also between Jennifer and her poor cousin Samantha.

If I didn't have to spend three quarters of the book watching Jennifer make an unwitting fool of herself, I'd have liked this much more than I did. As it was, I'd rate it a weak 3 star or maybe a 2.5. I did consider quitting it a few times.

Lord Carew's Bride

After her cousin Jennifer's fiance, Viscount Kersey, used her in a scheme that wounded her and and her cousin's feelings quite deeply, she's decided that the volatile nature of love is emphatically not for her. Six years after her London debut, and her disastrous run-in with Kersey, Samantha Newman is quite happily unmarried. Now visiting her cousin in the country, she decides to take a long walk to put some space between herself and the happy young family. She encounters a charming landscape artist named Hartley Wade when her walk leads her onto the property of the Marquess of Carew. Instantly she's at ease with him, falling effortlessly into easy conversation and lapsing into comfortable silences. Quickly they develop a friendship, meeting secretly in the afternoon to walk the marquess' lands and chat amiably.

Hartley is a bit more than just the well-spoken, limping gardener she presumes him to be, as he's the Marquess of Carew himself. Surprised to find the stunningly beautiful woman recognizes neither his person nor his name, he plays along with her misperception. Crippled at a young age, leaving him with a twisted arm and a lame leg, he's wary of women pursuing him for his fortune alone. When Samantha seems as taken with him as he is with her, despite believing him a mere gardener, he can hardly believe his luck. Suddenly it seems he could have what he had always assumed could never be - a woman to love who loved him for who he was.

This is a love at first sight story at its heart. Immediately upon meeting Samantha, Hartley acknowledges to himself that he's in love with her. Samantha clearly does as well, though she won't use that particular word herself. Balogh does a smashing job of showing their mutual attraction through their easy conversation, peaceful silences and shared thoughts. I immediately came away with the impression that they were old dear friends meeting one another for the first time. Having a hero be enthusiastic about finding a woman to love and comfortable to admit it to himself was a wonderful change of pace.

I liked how Balogh stretched the story out on the characters insecurities without resorting to a Big Misunderstanding. Lord Kersey's reappearance upsets and confuses them both in different ways. While they both react poorly to the stresses, they do it in a way consistent with their personalities and their dynamic as a couple and grow closer as a result of it.

Definitely a cute story about the fine line between love and friendship. I'd give it a 4, I think. It's good, but it's not amazing.

These two books are about two cousins,Jenny and Samantha, both in London for their first season.

In Dark Angel, Jenny is engaged to Lionel, a handsome blonde who reminds her of an angel. She is desperately in love with him and cannot wait for their wedding, although he seems a little distant. Gabriel, a dark rouge has a bone to pick with the seemingly perfect Lionel. To get his revenge, Gabriel uses Jenny to try to cause Lionel humiliation. However, Lionel turns out to be more cunning than Gabriel and the tables turn, Jenny must then marry Gabriel. This is a good book, but the second one is by far one of the best books I've ever read.
Samantha was left heartbroken in the first book. She claims she never wants to fall in love again. Although, Hartley Wade, a crippled gardener captivates her attention. He is first male friend, and when the evil Lionel comes back to town, marrying Hartley seems to be a safe bet. But, Hartley is really the owner of the estate, Lord Carew, and not a simple gardener, as she had previously believed.

I have read Lord Carew's Bride many, many times. It's one book I would never part with. This is a great story if you enjoy reading about wounded heroes. It's a nice change to read a book where both characters aren't the most beautiful creatures in the world, but are flawed like the rest of it. My only critique of this story is that Samantha never seemed to be truly in love with or attracted to Hartley. Although his disfigurement doesn't seem to bother Samantha, she doesn't ever really correct their relationship to an extremely romantic love.