4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Portrait of a Marriage, November 7, 2002
This is the story of a married couple who appear to be opposites finding a common ground. The hero, Adam, is very concerned with propriety and expects his wife to behave with decorum and modesty. The heroine, Addy, was a free spirit before her marriage but has now become a shadow of her former self and resents Adam for his restrictions and his lack of trust.
Adam soon realizes that he misses his wife's vivacity, while Addy learns to appreciate her husband's stability and dependability. Both POV's are very well portrayed. I thought Raleigh did a fine job of showing how they grew to understand and love one another. The relationship is the main focus. There is very little in terms of external plot but it held my interest throughout.
I also liked the device that links this book with the next two in the trilogy: A country vicar coming to Town to make sure that three worrisome marriages he officiated turn out well before he retires. The vicar was very appealing and provided the story with a gentle humor. I look forward to the next one!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a good 3 1/2 star read, September 28, 2002
This latest Debbie Raleigh trilogy is certainly something out if the ordinary in that it deals with troubled marriages. Regency romance novels are usually about the finding of a husband or a wife, and very rarely do they deal with the trials and tribulations of a young and unhappily married couple. But that's what this trilogy is all about and that's what makes this Marriage trilogy something really special, and worth reading.
Adam and Adele (Addy) Drake are deeply unhappy in their marriage. Both from the same small village; though because of their circumstances, it looks as if both rarely came into contact with the other prior to their marriage. Adam happens to come from a very distinguished and proper family, while Addy (unfortunately) comes from a rather ramshackle and scandalous one. And when Addy's father looses most of his money gambling, everyone decides that it would be best if Adam and Addy make a match of it, esp since theirs was a match already arranged by both their grandfathers many years ago. Unfortunately, Adam, who works at the War Office and shudders at the very thought of scandal, saw fit to begin his marriage with a lecture to his wife on the kind of behaviour he expected from her!
Already bitterly unhappy that she has been forced to marry where she had no inclination, Addy's anger and resentment knows no bounds at Adam's attempts to bind and restrict her. And the gall of the man to actually lecture her as if she's some kind of recalcitrant child that needs supervision all the time! The up short to all this is that a rather icy atmosphere has descended onto the household, with Addy trying to avoid Adam as much as possible. And Adam who thought he was doing the right thing by giving Addy a hint of his expectations of her, now realises that he's beginning to miss the vibrant and lively Addy he used to know. But it's too late to undo the damage already done. Or is it? Fortunately for both Adam and Addy, their village vicar has decided to interfere. And with the help of this gentle, wise and whimsical man, there may be hope that both the Drakes discover that theirs is a marriage that was meant to be and worth treasuring...
I think that what Debbie Raleigh is really good at is giving us characters we really come to care about. She did this with the Rose trilogy and the Creswell Sisters trilogy, and she does this again with "A Proper Marriage." Both Adam and Addy are easily recognisable types and are easy to identify with. Neither character is totally blameless about the straits they find themselves in, and the authour does a really good job of showing us this as well as the grievances that both parties justifiably (and unjustifiably for that matter) feel. At the same time, Debbie Raleigh also manages to make both Adam and Addy sympathetic enough that it is easy to root for them to work out their problems and find happiness with each other. However, while Adam and Addy are undoubtedly the hero and heroin of this novel, the star of "A Proper Marriage" is very definitely the very gentle, wise and wily vicar, Vicar Humbly. And I'm really looking forward to the other books in this trilogy so that I can reacquaint myself with this delightful character.
"A Proper Marriage" is a rather enjoyable 3 1/2 star read (the plot is a rather basic and straight forward one with few surprises), that most would definitely appreciate.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vastly Entertaining, December 12, 2002
I really enjoyed this story. Adam, the vastly proper husband of the once vibrant and dashing Adele, is that rare hero in romance novels who is rich, handsome and does realize fairly early on that he has made a mistake or two in dealing with his young wife. The visiting vicar helps on that score. Adele too learns to appreciate the husband she thought was too proper. My complaint would be that Adele was too immature and really did make for a silly wife early on. But she changes her tune pretty early on so it was not an endless reading of mistakes and missed chances. Good story and I look for the rest of the trilogy.
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