Heartless

Mary Balogh is a favorite Regency author, but shades of Georgette Heyer, I found this older book set in Georgian England. It's also somewhat Gothic with an evil villain obsessed with the heroine.
Lucas Kendrick becomes Duke of Harndon after being ousted from his family. Now he must return to resolve the tangled relationships he left behind. One of his first duties is to find a wife and beget some heirs. His relatives are pushing him toward Lady Anna Marlowe, and much to his surprise, Lucas finds himself willing to acquiesce.
Of course, Anna is not what she appears and has dark secrets in her past. Lucas realizes that there is more to the lady than he first thought. He also finds he must revise his opinions of others in his family.
It's a show more lovely story and well-written, a bit different from Balogh's Regency style but fitting perfectly into the Georgian era. I do love patches and wigs, and Balogh makes ample use of these accouterments of that time. Lucas is one of those heroes that calls for more books; I'd love to see him and Anna dealing with their offspring in the Regency era. Hint, hint. show less

All the trigger warnings needed here, and I’m sort of weirded out that I have to give them for a Balogh book. There’s sexual assault (past but described), stalking, and suicide. And the creepiest villains ever (shudder). I’m glad that Luke found his heart again with Anna and all that, but there’s no way I’m reading this again. I hope Emily’s story doesn’t freak me out as much, and I love that Balogh has grown so much in her writing since 1995.

I don't know why I simply couldn't get into this book. Perhaps it was the author's coy reticence. After two attempts at reading it, and getting only 80 pages into it -- but surely a book should catch ones interest after 80 pages -- we still don't know enough about Lady Anna's backstory. She's being stalked, or maybe not, perhaps she's just paranoid and he's not coming back, by... someone known as "he" who has possibly done something unsavoury but unspecified at some point in the past. All right, Mary Balogh, you and Anna can just keep those secrets and I'll go read something less secretive.

Update: I read some of the other reviews and now I'm glad I gave up on the book. Perhaps Mary Balogh should have been MORE secretive and simply not show more published the book at all -- I'll give her a pass for writing it, I'm sure that could be therapeutic for a person having intrusive thoughts about unpleasant imaginary events. show less

10 years ago, Lucas was cast out by his family for nearly killing his older brother in a duel. Henrietta, the woman he loved, whom he planned to marry, had told him that his brother had seduced and impregnated her but was willing to marry her. Lucas traveled to Paris and made his fortune gambling, while determinedly crushing all love out of his heart. Now, 2 years after Lucas' brother died and he inherited the title, he returns to London where his Uncle Theo tries to convince him that he must take charge of the family, the estate, and find a wife. Theo and his long-time lover, Marjorie, plot for Lucas to marry Marjorie's goddaughter, Anna. Lucas sees through them but is drawn to Anna, so he decides to marry her to fulfill his need for a show more duchess. Anna, haunted by a stalker who declared that he would return to claim her, accepts Lucas' proposal against her better judgment. Then proceeds a year of them tentatively getting to know each other, but mostly in a shallow, teasing way, because both are terrified of being hurt. Anna brings her deaf/mute sister, Emily to live with them. Lucas, after some harsh mistakes with his younger brother, Ashley, and sister, Doris, reconciles with them and begins to build new relationships. The hard part is Henrietta, who is still scheming to get Lucas, even if not by marriage. Lucas finally allows himself to love again when his daughter is born.

Anna is threatened by her stalker, who claims to have witnesses saying that she helped him steal from her neighbors (which she did when he forced her to) and push her father to his death. This man initially gained her gratitude by helping her and buying her father's debts, but turned it into a terrifying game of controlling her. Finally, he kidnaps Anna and her baby and reveals that he believes he is her father. Lucas, with much help from Emily, tracks her down and kills the man

The story of broken hearts and healing was wonderful, as always. The villain and villainness were just a little too nasty and obsessed, although necessary to the story. It is also a prequel to "Silent Melody", the love story of Ashley and Emily. show less

I love Georgian historicals and this one was pretty good, although through much of the storyline you have this awful sense of angst. It was almost painful to read for you are worried that the heroine and hero cannot be happy because of this awful secret she has (which leaves the reader wondering as well). Lukas jumps to the wrong conclusions about his bride and he's somewhat cruel to her, which I also found hard to stomach. Despite the angst, it succeeds in sucking you in to keep reading to see what it's all about and if there is a happy ending. Still, I enjoyed the book, though I am sick of the storyline in which hero's feel they have no heart and are incapable of ever loving anyone!

the romance wasn't fantastic but the story was very very good and actually had me waiting till the next time I could listen. Anna and Luke meet and get married, but she's tormented by an older man from the past who is coming after her for her father's debts. Very good story.

Usually Balogh's romances are a nice fluffy read for me, but this one kind of squicked me out.