At Last Comes Love

A much less problematic outing that the first book in this series and a bit more developed couple than the second. I enjoyed how forthright and straight-shooting Meg was when it comes to pretty much every situation. I always hated that she essentially put her life on hold to make sure her siblings had a chance at happiness and success, so watching her turn thirty and still have no life of her own made me want to cheer her on no matter how absurd the story was. As it turned out, I really liked the hero, too. I knew he couldn't be the cad everyone claimed, so like Meg, I wanted to understand his true motivation. These characters really brook no nonsense; even when some road block turns up, you never feel like they dial up the drama just show more because. They resolve issues better than anyone else in their collective storylines, I think. Definitely my favourite of the first three. Now to see if Stephen's story lives up to this one. show less

I was not impressed with the first two books in this series, but I did enjoy this one. I like it better than the first two combined with a whole star to spare! It's an interesting premise and was carried off successfully. I was curious to learn the secrets until they were revealed, and there were aspects of each that I could not guess. The heroine definitely had quite a judgy streak, but overall I liked both main characters. And the supporting cast too really. Glad I stuck it out with this series.

One thing that I was *not* impressed by was the use of a tired stereotype. Obviously gay people are not excluded from villainy, but the 'gay villain' trope has been used disproportionately, and should be retired until it's no longer such a show more go-to. This villain could have just been said to be impotent and everything else could have remained exactly the same, minus the casting of dispersions on a minority much more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators. There was no reason to suggest that he was perhaps gay, like that totally explained his cruelty. This book was published in 2009, and it was already an overused and lazy trope then. I'm not taking off a star, but it was still lame. show less

Margaret Huxtable made a promise to her dying father – in the absence of their mother, she would raise her younger brother and sisters. 15 years later, Maggie has done an admirable job keeping her family together, but her own life has passed her by. Unmarried at the age of 30, she finally decides to accept the proposal of a friend, only to find he has tired of waiting and is now engaged to someone else. Unfortunately, this news coincides with the return of Crispin, Maggie’s first love. In a fit of pride, and in an attempt to avoid a broken heart for the second time, Maggie rashly introduces Duncan, the Earl of Sheringford, to Crispin as her fiancé. Which he is not.

Duncan has his own reasons for allowing, and encouraging the lie. show more In order to retain his inheritance, and maintain his dependants and his lifestyle, Duncan must marry. Within 16 days. Duncan however, is notorious within the ton as the man who jilted his fiancé at the altar and ran off with her sister. But there are always two sides to every story, and Maggie is initially unaware of Duncan’s sordid past.

While this is a light and entertaining story, it also raises some questions regarding morals. And while it’s not a new topic, Balogh really highlights the harm, and serious consequences that could come of rumours during the Regency period.

I liked both Maggie and Duncan who are spirited characters, there is some really nice dialogue between them, and Toby is delightful. I did have to raise an eyebrow over Maggie’s seemingly easy acceptance of Toby though, that seemed to take Maggie’s goodness just a little too far given the attitudes of the time.

At Last Comes Love is the third book in the Huxtable series, and I enjoyed it enough that I’ll happily be off to find the rest of the books in the series when I next want some really good mind candy. show less

The story is completely unbelievable, but I just love the characters. Eleanor, the spinster sister, from the previous two books, finally shows some gumption and stops being a goody-two shoes, while still keeping her good-natured demeanor.

It would be my luck to see this pretty book on the end of an aisle and decide to buy it--without giving a thought to the fact that it may come after other books in a series. Never having read Mary Balogh before, of course, I didn’t give it a thought. And yes, as you may have already guessed, this book is the third (hence the #3 after the title) in a series.

I detest reading books out of order, but I read it anyway and was very glad that I did. I think Mary Balogh will become a favorite Regency author of mine. At Last Comes Love was filled with substance, something you don’t always see in a Regency book (although I like the other styles as well). The story was deep, especially relating to Duncan’s mysterious past. He’s a man show more who’s been damned for the choices he made…but there is always more to the story than that, isn’t there? I wouldn’t call him a lovable character, but in the end, I see why Margaret falls in love with him (that isn’t giving too much away, is it? After all, we all know how these books end…)

Overall, very good book. I’m keen to find the others so that I can learn more about the Huxtable family. At this point in the series, some have already found their matches and now I feel compelled to learn how they met. I highly recommend Balogh if you are interested in Regency Romances. Can’t go wrong with this choice! show less

Duncan Pennethorne ran from his wedding with his prospective bride's sister-in-law and the resulting scandal has left him with a very bad reputation and when he literally bumps into Margaret Huxtable and she claims he's her fiance to save face with her ex-fiance and the man who asked her to marry a few times.

She decides that he has to make an effort to woo her, he needs a wife and she would like a marriage, both of them have been heartbroken and have had to make sacrafices for other people and both of them are willing to learn from their pasts.

I liked it, the characters were fun and interesting and they came across as being quite real.

Really really good. After all the Balogh categories, I felt like something more substantial and then remembered I hadn't read bks 3 and 4 for the Huxtable series yet. I really loved Duncan. Again, first impressions can be deceptive - there was much more going on than met the eye and than most people ever knew. He is a very very good man. With a terrible reputation. But, as Duncan's mother says: But he is thirty years old. Multiply those years by three hundred and sixty-five and even if you ignore the leap years, that is a large number of days in which he has not behaved in a dastardly manner. Find out about those days Margaret. Find my son. Marry him if you can. Love him if you will.Margart deserved her HEA and it was so nice to see her show more get such a wonderful man. I liked the way they dealt with each other - communicating openly and directly and giving each other a chance to explain. I did think the bit at the end where Meg doesn't talk to Duncan for a week or so was a bit contrived - that just didn't seem to be how they'd dealt with each other up to then and it was pretty quickly resolved - which just proved to me that it wasn't necessary. The external conflict was quite enough for a satisfying ending.I highlighted quite a few passages in this book where I was impressed with Balogh's turn of phrase and the way she can sketch a character so well with a few sentences - like here: Norman fixed him with a stern stare - something he had perfected at the age of eight or so. His shirt points waited hopefully a scant inch from his eyeballs. show less