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Product Description
In two classic tales of Regency-era romance from New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh, the vagaries of love have a way of challenging the most convenient arrangements.
THE TEMPORARY WIFE
Miss Charity Duncan has no illusions about Lord Anthony Earheart’s proposal. The arrogant aristocrat has made it painfully clear what he wants: a wife who will enrage the father he despises and then disappear from his life. In exchange, Charity’s family will receive the money they desperately need. But after Charity agrees to this mockery of matrimony, she soon discovers a startling fact: She has fallen for Anthony, and breaking their marriage vows may also break her heart.
A PROMISE OF SPRING
Grace Howard has every reason to be devoted to Sir Peregrine Lampman. After all, the gallant gentleman rescued her from poverty by making her his bride. Even more nobly, he did not withdraw his affection after she confessed to a youthful folly that had compromised her virtue. But Grace did not tell the whole truth about the handsome lord who betrayed her—and now the one thing she’s kept from Perry threatens to destroy her last chance at true love.
THE TEMPORARY WIFE
Miss Charity Duncan has no illusions about Lord Anthony Earheart’s proposal. The arrogant aristocrat has made it painfully clear what he wants: a wife who will enrage the father he despises and then disappear from his life. In exchange, Charity’s family will receive the money they desperately need. But after Charity agrees to this mockery of matrimony, she soon discovers a startling fact: She has fallen for Anthony, and breaking their marriage vows may also break her heart.
A PROMISE OF SPRING
Grace Howard has every reason to be devoted to Sir Peregrine Lampman. After all, the gallant gentleman rescued her from poverty by making her his bride. Even more nobly, he did not withdraw his affection after she confessed to a youthful folly that had compromised her virtue. But Grace did not tell the whole truth about the handsome lord who betrayed her—and now the one thing she’s kept from Perry threatens to destroy her last chance at true love.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A Temporary Wife is my favourite Balogh ever (5+ stars). It was one of the best of her old Signet Regencies and brilliant news for Balogh fans that it's now been republished. Mary Balogh is my next favourite Regency author after Georgette Heyer. Whilst I love all her books I find her earliest stories (many of which have been out of print) amongst her best and this is one of my favourite ones.
The Marquess of Staunton advertises for a governess intending, in fact, to find himself an unsuitable wife. He wants the plainest, dullest and mousiest candidate to take home to his meet his estranged family with the intention of flaunting her in front of, and annoying, his autocratic father. Charity Duncan is desperate for work and answers his advertisement for the position of governess in order to help provide for a large but destitute family of several younger brothers and sisters. She is persuaded by the cold and disagreeable Marquess into a temporary marriage in return for a comfortable settlement for the rest of her life. Once she arrives at the ancestral home she can't help but become interested and involved and gradually unravels the reasons behind the long estrangement between the Marquess and his father. In the process she and the Marquess find out much more about each other than was ever the intention and inevitably and reluctantly they fall in love. Its a lovely story, very subtle and very moving. The character development, as in most Mary Balogh books, is brilliantly and believably done.
4 stars. A Promise of Spring is slightly linked to the "Web" books - many of the characters from those books have minor appearances in this one. It's another classic Balogh - an original story, unpredictable and ultimately moving, where she takes two very unlikely characters who turn out to be perfect for each other. There's a big age difference between Grace and Perry (she's older - unusually). Sir Peregrine Lapman's best friend (Grace's brother) dies in a tragic accident. Grace is seemingly left destitute without him so Perry proposes and this is the story of the difficult beginnings of their marriage. A sweet and gentle tale and extremely poignant and moving.
The Marquess of Staunton advertises for a governess intending, in fact, to find himself an unsuitable wife. He wants the plainest, dullest and mousiest candidate to take home to his meet his estranged family with the intention of flaunting her in front of, and annoying, his autocratic father. Charity Duncan is desperate for work and answers his advertisement for the position of governess in order to help provide for a large but destitute family of several younger brothers and sisters. She is persuaded by the cold and disagreeable Marquess into a temporary marriage in return for a comfortable settlement for the rest of her life. Once she arrives at the ancestral home she can't help but become interested and involved and gradually unravels the reasons behind the long estrangement between the Marquess and his father. In the process she and the Marquess find out much more about each other than was ever the intention and inevitably and reluctantly they fall in love. Its a lovely story, very subtle and very moving. The character development, as in most Mary Balogh books, is brilliantly and believably done.
4 stars. A Promise of Spring is slightly linked to the "Web" books - many of the characters from those books have minor appearances in this one. It's another classic Balogh - an original story, unpredictable and ultimately moving, where she takes two very unlikely characters who turn out to be perfect for each other. There's a big age difference between Grace and Perry (she's older - unusually). Sir Peregrine Lapman's best friend (Grace's brother) dies in a tragic accident. Grace is seemingly left destitute without him so Perry proposes and this is the story of the difficult beginnings of their marriage. A sweet and gentle tale and extremely poignant and moving.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
the first story is sweet enough though the sex scenes are so minimal in description they almost dont exist but it is quite an easy read and the duke confession of love in the end is great i absolutely hated the second story thats why i gave it 3 stars it was depressive over descriptive unrealistic and a giant yawn for me at least
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
18 reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Two Romance Classics Re-visited
29 Feb 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Temporary Wife and A Promise of Spring are two unconnected older Mary Balogh titles repackaged together. Balogh has been writing for so long that her older books are new again. Both are "marriage of convenience" stories. The tried and true regency conventions are in full force. Impoverished brides and stalwart (Perry Lampton) and tortured (Anthony Earheart) heroes make sure honor is satisfied. Both books were "good reads" and I especially enjoyed finding that A Promise of Spring was part of the WEB SERIES of books with characters crossing over from those three connected books to be in the Grace and Perry tale.
Balogh's books stand out from other historical romances because she delves into the character of her characters. Emotions and motivation are fleshed out through plots laden with rich secondary characters. Love follows the standard rocky road but Balogh always lets you see all the scenic views along the path. Grace and Perry take over 2 years to get from married to Happily Ever After. Balogh books also differ from the pack in how she uses the sex scenes to advance the plot. Characters are allowed to experience unsatisfactory sexual encounters with their true loves if it mirrors the place they are in the storyline. Balogh also stays true to the nature of her character outlines. Men do not suddenly make rash challenges if they are really people who think things through (Perry)and they don't suddenly become deep thinkers if they are known for rash decisions (Anthony). If you are a regency fan, you can't pass up a Mary Balogh story.
Balogh's books stand out from other historical romances because she delves into the character of her characters. Emotions and motivation are fleshed out through plots laden with rich secondary characters. Love follows the standard rocky road but Balogh always lets you see all the scenic views along the path. Grace and Perry take over 2 years to get from married to Happily Ever After. Balogh books also differ from the pack in how she uses the sex scenes to advance the plot. Characters are allowed to experience unsatisfactory sexual encounters with their true loves if it mirrors the place they are in the storyline. Balogh also stays true to the nature of her character outlines. Men do not suddenly make rash challenges if they are really people who think things through (Perry)and they don't suddenly become deep thinkers if they are known for rash decisions (Anthony). If you are a regency fan, you can't pass up a Mary Balogh story.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
One of Balogh's best with bonus
2 Mar 2012
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Temporary Wife is my favourite Balogh ever (5+ stars). It was one of the best of her old Signet Regencies and brilliant news for Balogh fans that it's now been republished. Mary Balogh is my next favourite Regency author after Georgette Heyer. Whilst I love all her books I find her earliest stories (many of which have been out of print) amongst her best and this is one of my favourite ones.
The Marquess of Staunton advertises for a governess intending, in fact, to find himself an unsuitable wife. He wants the plainest, dullest and mousiest candidate to take home to his meet his estranged family with the intention of flaunting her in front of, and annoying, his autocratic father. Charity Duncan is desperate for work and answers his advertisement for the position of governess in order to help provide for a large but destitute family of several younger brothers and sisters. She is persuaded by the cold and disagreeable Marquess into a temporary marriage in return for a comfortable settlement for the rest of her life. Once she arrives at the ancestral home she can't help but become interested and involved and gradually unravels the reasons behind the long estrangement between the Marquess and his father. In the process she and the Marquess find out much more about each other than was ever the intention and inevitably and reluctantly they fall in love. Its a lovely story, very subtle and very moving. The character development, as in most Mary Balogh books, is brilliantly and believably done.
4 stars. A Promise of Spring is slightly linked to the "Web" books - many of the characters from those books have minor appearances in this one. It's another classic Balogh - an original story, unpredictable and ultimately moving, where she takes two very unlikely characters who turn out to be perfect for each other. There's a big age difference between Grace and Perry (she's older - unusually). Sir Peregrine Lapman's best friend (Grace's brother) dies in a tragic accident. Grace is seemingly left destitute without him so Perry proposes and this is the story of the difficult beginnings of their marriage. A sweet and gentle tale and extremely poignant and moving.
PS It seems a bit unjust to The Temporary Wife that this joint publication gets marked down so much by people who don't like A Promise of Spring (IMO) after all the total price for the whole book is not much more than one of her single novels on it's own. Look at it this way - you get the 5 star plus Temporary Wife and Promise of Spring is an added extra - whether you like it or not I would still say the purchase price was worth it just for Temporary Wife.
The Marquess of Staunton advertises for a governess intending, in fact, to find himself an unsuitable wife. He wants the plainest, dullest and mousiest candidate to take home to his meet his estranged family with the intention of flaunting her in front of, and annoying, his autocratic father. Charity Duncan is desperate for work and answers his advertisement for the position of governess in order to help provide for a large but destitute family of several younger brothers and sisters. She is persuaded by the cold and disagreeable Marquess into a temporary marriage in return for a comfortable settlement for the rest of her life. Once she arrives at the ancestral home she can't help but become interested and involved and gradually unravels the reasons behind the long estrangement between the Marquess and his father. In the process she and the Marquess find out much more about each other than was ever the intention and inevitably and reluctantly they fall in love. Its a lovely story, very subtle and very moving. The character development, as in most Mary Balogh books, is brilliantly and believably done.
4 stars. A Promise of Spring is slightly linked to the "Web" books - many of the characters from those books have minor appearances in this one. It's another classic Balogh - an original story, unpredictable and ultimately moving, where she takes two very unlikely characters who turn out to be perfect for each other. There's a big age difference between Grace and Perry (she's older - unusually). Sir Peregrine Lapman's best friend (Grace's brother) dies in a tragic accident. Grace is seemingly left destitute without him so Perry proposes and this is the story of the difficult beginnings of their marriage. A sweet and gentle tale and extremely poignant and moving.
PS It seems a bit unjust to The Temporary Wife that this joint publication gets marked down so much by people who don't like A Promise of Spring (IMO) after all the total price for the whole book is not much more than one of her single novels on it's own. Look at it this way - you get the 5 star plus Temporary Wife and Promise of Spring is an added extra - whether you like it or not I would still say the purchase price was worth it just for Temporary Wife.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Only One book out of Two is worth reading
6 Mar 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The first book "The Temporary Wife" was nice enough. The plot was engaging if not thrilling and the H & H were fun together. It is worth reading. However, the second book "A Promise of Spring" was so boring and flat that I suggest not bothering. The H & H were boring characters who have a "contented" relationship that drags on for pages and pages. The "villain" is a jerk, but nothing more. Honestly, I kept reading because I have enjoyed other Mary Balogh books and I kept thinking the book would get better and something, anything, would happen. It didn't. I suppose this book is very real. Two people marry out of general "like" and convenience. They are "content". They grow flowers in their garden. They socialize with their friends. They have "nice" sex. While this may be perfectly satisfactory in the real world, it does NOT work in a romance novel. There is simply no fire, passion, urgency or romance in this book. I feel like I wasted my time and money which is a shame because Mary Balogh has written some wonderful stories in the past.
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