I am having a problem with some of the reviewers here complaining of the "adultery" in this book. I considered this to be a very realistic view of a certain percentage of arraigned marriages in Regency England. Lord Geoffrey Astor married a stranger and distant relative to help his predecessors family, an honorable thing to do. Arabella, his bride, marries Geoffrey to protect her family from losing their home. He is basically a descent man who was taught that it was perfectly acceptable for a...

I am having a problem with some of the reviewers here complaining of the "adultery" in this book. I considered this to be a very realistic view of a certain percentage of arraigned marriages in Regency England. Lord Geoffrey Astor married a stranger and distant relative to help his predecessors family, an honorable thing to do. Arabella, his bride, marries Geoffrey to protect her family from losing their home. He is basically a descent man who was taught that it was perfectly acceptable for a married man of the TON to have a mistress. Yet, even before Arabella accidentally discovered the existence of the mistress, the author makes it obvious Geoffrey was developing an emotional attachment to Arabella. He began to find his visits to his mistress, less frequent and less satisfying. In essence, he was learning what a true marriage could and should be. In a very poignant scene where Arrabella confronts her husband, BALOGH shows us her true talent with dialogue, revealing both characters to be good people making mistakes in assumptions. To his credit, Geoffrey begins to change his life in order to save his marriage. The scene where Arabella gets frantically lost in the dark at Fauxhall Gardens searching for her sister, and is rescued by Geoffrey, who was storming thru the gardens in search for her, is pivotal to this story. Their need for each other is well demonstrated by their dialogue as they cling to each other alone on a dark pathway. But they both still make mistakes, and their estrangement continues. It is only later, after Geoffrey helps save her sister from compromise, along with an intense night of lovemaking ,and his plea for forgiveness to Arabella, that the two find how strong their love is. Well done BALOGH.

An unusual story where the H’s infidelity is an integral part of his moral and emotional awakening. I was surprised, given that I find infidelity repugnant, that it was actually necessary in the context of the story to begin the re-education of the H, and the emotional maturation of the h. Sounds strange, I know. She is the more morally mature of the two, and learns confidence from that place of strength. He is confident, but learns humility and self awareness by gradually acknowledging his m...

An unusual story where the H’s infidelity is an integral part of his moral and emotional awakening. I was surprised, given that I find infidelity repugnant, that it was actually necessary in the context of the story to begin the re-education of the H, and the emotional maturation of the h. Sounds strange, I know. She is the more morally mature of the two, and learns confidence from that place of strength. He is confident, but learns humility and self awareness by gradually acknowledging his mistakes and moral lapses. No matter what is considered acceptable by society, he learns that there is right and wrong, even for him. And to have a true marriage, a true love, it must be earned and he must make himself worthy. Very well done and an interesting twist.

Bella, The Obedient Bride was just plain annoying. She had all these reasons ( I'm short, a little plump, he's too handsome) why she couldn't have up everyday conversation with the man she just married or even look at him sometimes. *** Spoilers*** Lord Ashor was an average twenty something Regency era man who had been employing a mistress a year before he inherited his title and decided to enter into a marriage of convenience with one of his predecessors daughters, because mostly he felt sad...

Bella, The Obedient Bride was just plain annoying. She had all these reasons ( I'm short, a little plump, he's too handsome) why she couldn't have up everyday conversation with the man she just married or even look at him sometimes. *** Spoilers*** Lord Ashor was an average twenty something Regency era man who had been employing a mistress a year before he inherited his title and decided to enter into a marriage of convenience with one of his predecessors daughters, because mostly he felt sad that their father had not set aside any money for the daughters or the widowed mother. Yes, maybe he lost one hero point for continuing to see his mistress after he married the woman that he just met 2 seconds ago, not in love with, and who continues to tell him that she is only sleeping with him because it's her duty... Yeah I can't imagine why he kept going back to the mistress who at least pretended to enjoy being with him and his company. Now I know Bella it was only 18 but God she was annoying.