Customer Reviews

Unforgiven

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the sequel to Balogh's Indiscreet, and worth reading for that reason alone, since Indiscreet introduced the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse', as Rex, Kenneth, Nat and Eden were known during the Peninsular war. For those who wanted to know more about all four characters, this book gives you what you were looking for.

At the end of Indiscreet, we're left with quite a cliffhanger concerning Kenneth: he has to return home to marry a woman who is having his baby and whom he says he dislikes more than he has ever disliked anyone in his life (and this can't be a spoiler, since it's part of the plot summary on the cover of Unforgiven and on this site!). I, for one, was desperate to find out exactly how this had come about.

Kenneth and Moira, we learn right at the start of the book, have known each other for years, but their families have been estranged for generations. We learn that Moira, Kenneth and their respective siblings were friends in secret as children, but it's apparent that something happened which not only tore apart those friendships and the burgeoning love Kenneth and Moira felt for each other, but also renewed the family quarrel with a vengeance.

Moira has just agreed to marry her distant cousin, a prosy, pompous, self-important bore who also happens to be the heir to her family home, at the point when she meets Kenneth again. It's very clear to the reader that their mutual dislike hides a very mutual attraction. However, both suppress it very heavily indeed, and more might never have come of it had Moira not attended the Christmas ball at Dunbarton and overheard some comments about herself spoken by Kenneth's mother and sister. She foolishly goes out to walk home alone in heavy snow...

I have to admit that the circumstances in which the child was conceived made me raise an eyebrow; I still find it a little difficult to accept that Kenneth would propose, and Moira would accept, that particular course of action in those particular circumstances. Nevertheless, that's the premise Balogh went with, and I was able to ignore my reservations and concentrate on the story.

The way in which two stubborn people who did not want to be married to each other, and who can't seem to be able to speak to each other without causing yet more misunderstandings, come to realise that they do actually love each other - and that they can actually *tell* each other that fact - is very well told by Balogh. She does do misunderstood lovers very well indeed.

Unlike some reviewers, I didn't find Moira's behaviour childish, although Kenneth accuses her of that more than once. She's certainly stubborn. And she believes, as we find out later, that she has very good reason to hate him, and therefore she resents the need to ask him for anything at all - and his own imperious, occasionally domineering Earl of Haverford manner doesn't help. As for her refusal to accept at first that she was pregnant, how many of us can exist in a state of denial over something we would rather wasn't happening? And she did face up to the truth eventually.

I did like this book a lot, and will be reading it again. Now for Nat's story in Irresistable!

Miss Moira Hayes, the heroine in this novel is a bit too childish for my tastes. She is tempermental and is prone to deliberately taking everything the hero says in the worst possible manner. There are even points of the story where is seems that Balogh is aware of the snippity, self-invovled nature of this heroine and seems to be apologizing for it, as if the heroine's actions were beyond her control. I also did not like how Moira did not ever take charge of her life. She ignored her pregnancy for months and outright lying to the hero about it because she just could not bring herself to *do* anything. The result of her not caring about herself or her child was a miscarriage -- I found it difficult to be sympathetic to Moira at this point; her lack of gumption and childish behavior had led to it. However, I did like Kenneth's character and found him to be a charming and strong hero. Why he ever wished to stay with a brat like Moira, I have no idea. There seemed to be a lot of reliance on their childhood romance, and too little explanation of what he had in common with her and why they loved each other now. It was a decent read, because it was a Balogh, but I will not be re-reading it again.

This is romance? Try full-blown alienation. These two people do not like each other. I don't care how much the author tries to proclaim their love. I couldn't find the love scenes -- they waltz together and he appreciates her height? Ok . . .

Skillfully titled, these two characters cannot and will not "forgive" one another. A misunderstanding during their adolescence has developed into hatred. Ms. Balogh urges the reader to consider the characters' inner thoughts -- wishing us to believe these two quarrelsome people love each other! Unfortunately, the message is not delivered! Even at the story's end, the reader reads the love declarations with uneasiness.

Briefly summed -- the tale of a future earl, Kenneth Woodfall, and a wild, independent, free-spirit, Moira Hayes. Throughout one ill-fated summer, our lovers share an obsession, meet in secret, and fall in love. However, something goes terribly wrong and they replace youthful love with aggravated mistrust and betrayal.

Found in these pages is one of the most unconventional consummation scenes ever read in romance reading. They say if you live long enough you will experience it all -- add a new experience to this lady's life.

Mary Balogh may have faltered with the storyline but her writing is still first-rate. Moira's denial of her pregnancy and her waning health are quite believable. The author favorably portrays the book's secondary characters. Balogh has written Moira's betrothed, Sir Edwin Baillie, as a pompous, silly, flabbergasting man -- reminiscent of Jane Austen's Mr. Collins from "Pride and Prejudice". The reader will cherish the brief hilarious scenes featuring this absurd person -- anything to avoid spending time with our two love fragments.

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

The heroine's view of the world seems cynical so one is forced to spend too much time with a negative woman prone to an attitude of victimization. One moment she seems to be slipping into self pity and the next she is 'proudly' declaring her independence. These sporatic reversals make her character hard to believe or sympathize with. Ultimately, her character is rather weak and unappealing. I had to stop reading the book when I encountered a truly absurd plot twist that I felt was merely a cheap device the author used to avoid having to think of a sincere way that these two people could fall in love.

This may be my least favorite Balogh novel. Although I appreciate the fact that both lead characters are flawed people, Balogh makes too much of it -- so much that I never believe they really love each other, and there is certainly no assurance that their marriage will succeed. It's realistic, yes, but I do not read any book in any genre for realism. Moreover, there was little here that really touched my heart, and that's one of the things that I particularly like about Balogh's work -- she knows how to push those emotional buttons.


Balogh does write well, providing descriptions of people & events that the reader can buy into. And I did read the whole thing, having to know how things ended. But I was left unsatisfied with the bittersweet and uncertain result. Their constant feuding became tiresome, and there was too much narration for my taste. The Mr. Collins-like character was too much like Mr. Collins -- exasperatingly amusing, yes, too felt like the rip-off it was. But the big thing for me was the lack of joy and hope in the relationship. And the resolution of their long hatred for each other was too easily executed. Moira didn't NOT believe Kenneth for a moment -- after all the times she suspected him of the worst? It didn't ring true.

Mary Balogh's always had a way with romance, and she sure knows how to touch a reader's heart. This, though, is definitely not one of her best novels--in fact, I felt a little disappointed when I finally closed the book. It's not up to her usual standards, and it seemed a little like she had finally run out of steam. Unfortunately for me, I've looked forward to this story ever since Balogh first made mention of the raffish Earl of Haverford (I think it was in _Indiscreet_, which is by far a better novel--it's about the Viscount and Viscountess Rawleigh, who are mentioned in _Unforgiven_). Still, it's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, and if you're a big fan of Balogh, or even if you're just starting out, this is an enjoyable read.

The book reads like Jane Austen. The heroine's first fiance (the distant cousin heir) reminds me of the silly reverend who was pursuing Elizabeth Bennett, good intentions but too much a**-kissing :0).

The beginning held promise...as teens, they fell in love but family matters tore them apart. 8 years later, they reunite. Both are still in love with the other but keep it a secret to themselves. Hero tries to be nice to the heroine. Heroine is just plain mean to the hero. She pines for him in her mind/heart but the words out of her mouth are mean and nasty, she drives him away. Heroine is just full of pride...foolish pride! She's one of the most hated heroines I've come across.

I have read only four books by Mary Balogh, but I have enjoyed this book the most.
The book was very believable and characters were nicely painted in this book.
I liked the story because not everything seemed to be perfect in the marriage from the beginning.

I liked the nature of the characters that Mary Balogh developed in the story and satisfying ending.

Only one drawback that I have is that she moves too fast with the events like she would be afraid to go over the limit of the pages to be published. I wish that she would spend more time digging deeper into the souls of the hero and heroine, so it would not feel like I am observer to the story but inside the story.

This isn't as good as Indiscreet but I still enjoyed it. I loved Kenneth but I must admit that Moira got on my nerves at times. I wish that Balogh had explained earlier in the book why they hated each other, this wouldn't have helped the book make more sense than it did. I thought the first sex scene was ridiculous and left me feeling a little uncomfortable. But having said that, the second half of the book livened up, and I enjoyed the ending. 4 stars is probably a tad generous but it's slightly better than 3 stars.

I liked this book very much and cannot wait for the next book in the series.Mary Balogh has done it again.Unintentionally there is a charact- er I had to like:the heroine's cousin.Mary has a way of getting two people to work out the feelings good or bad between each other