First Comes Marriage

I enjoyed this rather sweet story of Vanessa Huxtable, a widow, who is plainer than her sisters finding love with her new husband, Viscount Lyngate, through several ups and downs, including having to come to terms with his past relationships and several other issues. The only real jarring note was Constantine who seemed only to be missing moustaches to twirl. I have a fairly good notion what's going on with him but I'm going to have to keep reading to see if I'm right. Light but I enjoyed the read and look forward to more.

A lovely story that will play with your emotions yet keep you smiling. "First Comes Marriage" is the premiere novel in Mary Balogh's new series about three sisters and their younger brother who are lifted from obscurity when he is elevated to the title of Earl of Merton. The first to find love is the middle widowed sister, Vanessa.

Vanessa is the 'plain Jane' of the Huxtable family. She's heard it all her life and can see in the mirror for herself as well. But she's also the happiest and most joyful, finding pleasure in each day. When the terribly correct and arrogant Viscount Lyngate comes to inform the family of her younger brother's surprising inheritance, Vanessa is just as excited and fearful as the rest of her small family. But show more when it appears this same Viscount will propose a dutiful marriage to her older sister, Vanessa knows that just won't do. Her older sister deserves to have a chance at love so Vanessa proposes to the Viscount herself!

Elliott isn't sure which part of his duty is most onerous. Having to locate and guide the new Earl of Merton or having to sacrifice himself on the altar of marriage for his own title. It doesn't take him long to realize that what's really most irritating is the widowed sister of the new Earl. She doesn't stand in awe of him, she talks back to him, and now for some reason he seems to be attracted to her. But he must marry and heaven knows one chit is really as good as another so he might as well lighten his burden by marrying the oldest Huxtable daughter. Well...he would...if that irritating woman hadn't just proposed to him!

I found laughter and tears in this story; I also couldn't seem to stop reading once I started. Both of those are signs of an irresistible book for me. From the first page, Balogh sets up the premise of this entire new series and draws the reader in with a bit of mystery. While you are reading the story of Elliott and Vanessa, you also get bits of pieces of the mystery tossed in. The relationship between the main characters is complex and engrossing while the deepening of their feelings proceeds at a reasonable and smooth pace. I find myself anxious for the next book "Then Comes Seduction" which is the story of the youngest daughter. It should hit the shelves April and I'll look forward to reading more about the Huxtable family, the Earl of Merton, and the mystery of Constantine. show less

A nice beginning to a new series of books. The characters were interesting and I especially liked that the heroine was nice beautiful, just kind of ordinary looking but her inner self seems to be what the hero falls for. I plan on reading other books in this series. I also liked that the heroine, when she finds out something negative about the hero, discusses it with him and gets it explained, and this helps their relationship. Too many romances fail because you keep saying to someone (hero or heroine), just tell him/her and get the truth. Don't carry it around to corrode the relationship.

The arrival of Elliott Wallace, the irresistibly eligible Viscount Lyngate, has thrown the sleepy village of Throckbridge into a tizzy. It soon becomes clear that Elliot seeks a convenient marriage to a suitable bride, and desperate to rescue her eldest sister Margaret from a loveless union, Vanessa Huxtable - a proud and daring, a young widow - offers herself up instead. In need of a wife, Elliott takes the audacious widow up on her unconventional proposal while he pursues an urgent mission of his own. But then a strange thing happens: as the wedding night approaches they become inexplicably drawn to one another. And, as intrigue swirls around a past secret - one with a striking connection to the Huxtables - Elliott and Vanessa are show more uncovering the glorious pleasures of the marriage bed and discovering that when it comes to wedded bliss, love can't be far behind.

Mary Balogh once again creates strong likable characters with strong family ties, lots of sexual tension and
a delightful romance. show less

Aside from the prologue, which was different and interesting, this book started off very awkwardly, and I had no like for the hero (who is NOT the character in the intro). The heroine seemed really blah and wishy washy as well. Even their fireworks felt artificial, and the other story lines did nothing. The story picked up once we got the marriage portion, and the couple became interesting suddenly. I almost felt like I read about two separate couples. Overall, the way the couple handles their marriage is far better than how they handled the weeks prior. I'll give the series another try in the hopes that the next sister's novel is more interesting right off the bat.

Listened to the Brilliance Audio recording narrated by Anne Flosnik. The narration was excellent, but the story was simply too drippy for me. I like a little more wit and verve in my romance novel relationships. As far as I could tell our heroine fell in "love" based on this guy's looks alone. He had hidden depths, but she had no way to know that and apparently simply divined it intuitively despite the fact that through the first two thirds of the book he is consistently unpleasant. I'll give the series one more try - I'm a sucker for this family linked type of series - maybe with a different hero and heroine I'll like it better.

This Mary Balogh book had some interesting characters. I liked that the heroine was sensible and confronted problems head on and did not try to keep secrets which always makes for more problems. It also made me want to read the rest of the books in the series which is a sign that the book is very good.