Tangled [Paperback]

Mary Balogh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1994

Mourning the loss of her husband, who died in the Crimean War, beautiful Rebecca Cardwell enters into a marriage of convenience with her husband's best friend, only to discover that he has awakened her deepest passions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Topaz (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451404521
• ISBN-13: 978-0451404527
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #483,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Balogh is the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Slightly novels: Slightly Married, Slightly Wicked, Slightly Scandalous, Slightly Tempted, Slightly Sinful, and Slightly Dangerous, as well as the romances No Man's Mistress, More than a Mistress, and One Night for Love. She is also the author of Simply Love, Simply Unforgettable, Simply Magic, and Simply Perfect, her dazzling quartet of novels set at Miss Martin's School for Girls. A former teacher herself, she grew up in Wales and now lives in Canada.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Balogh at her best: an impossible love triangle, April 30, 2000

By 

Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tangled (Paperback)

This is an incredible book: the first time I read it I couldn'tbear to put it down.

Rebecca had married Julian, David's honorarybrother - they'd grown up together on David's father's estate. ButJulian was killed at war - and there's a dreadful secret there which David dares not reveal...The reader is shown the truth about the characters of the two men, but Rebecca remains ignorant...

Balogh does eventually resolve this seemingly impossible situation, but not before all three main characters arrive at a better understanding of themselves and each other.

As usual, Balogh's characterisations are excellent. One thing I really like about this writer is that she almost never writes a completely irredeemable character; even her villains tend to have some trace of good in them (and indeed, in some of her stories villains of previous books end up as heroes). She also does an excellent job of portraying emotions here, particularly the emotions of two characters who just have no idea how to communicate with each other.

A beautiful and memorable love story.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A reflection of personal taste not Ms. Balogh's talent, August 28, 2004

By 

lgbdx3 (VA heartland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tangled (Paperback)

This book may well have been the most accurate portrayal (to my limited knowledge) of the Victorian era I have ever read.
Unfortunately that means I was grinding my teeth through the entire book.

Had it been any other author I probably would have tossed it by pg 100. But I know how well MB can put a story together, how touchingly real, and so I kept going. And truth be told it was an excellent story, I suppose. But I read a love story for warmth and passion. The overwhelming stiffness here, the self-denial, the inability for the heroine to acknowledge truth vs duty EVEN to HERSELF just left me empty. And OH LORD the sex scenes just made me cringe.

Again, it is NOT the author's skill but my personal taste. If anything she did TOO well here. If one can appreciate that utter Stepford-ness and moral imprisonment of the Victorian era you will no doubt appreciate this story. If however you read romances for just that, romance & warmth & passion, I would suggest one of the other Balogh novels...Truly or Heartless or Longing.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lovely, December 7, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tangled (Paperback)

It reminds me in some ways of the Robert Frost poems the one about the two roads, except in Rebecca's case she was given a chance to taste what her life could have been like if she married David instead of Julian. When Julian came back it seemed to be the end of the type of life she had always craved for.

The story is heart breaking in some part, as Rebecca and David were placed in a situation which they could not escape from because they were not ruthless enough to place their own happiness infront of others. The use of circumstances was wonderful and Balogh was incredibly consistent throughout the whole story.