Mary Balogh: Only a promise ja Only a kiss

Mary Balogh kirjoittaa helppolukuisia historiallisia viihderomaaneja, joista ei lukemisen jälkeen jää mieleen juuri mitään, mutta toisaalta lukeminen on siinä määrin helppoa että mikäs näihin on tarttuessa. Ja siellä täällä on kirjoittajalla ollut jotain ajatustakin kirjoja kirjoittaessaan, eikä sitäkään voi jättää huomiotta että melkolailla taitoa vaatii sellaisen tekstin kirjoittaminen joka ei kauheammin kompastelua aiheuta.

Only a promise (Piatkus, 2015; ISBN 978-0-349-40531-5)

Ralph Stockwood prides himself on being a leader, but when he convinced his friends to fight in the Napoleonic Wars, he never envisioned being the sole survivor. Racked with guilt over their deaths, Ralph must move on...and find a wife so as to secure an heir to his family’s title and fortune.

Since her Seasons in London ended in disaster, Chloe Muirhead is resigned to spinsterhood. Driven by the need to escape her family, she takes refuge at the home of her mother’s godmother, where she meets Ralph. He needs a wife. She wants a husband. So Chloe makes an outrageous suggestion: Strike a bargain and get married. One condition: Ralph has to promise that he will never take her back to London. But circumstances change. And to Ralph, it was only a promise.

Only a kiss (Piatkus, 2015; ISBN 978-0-349-40533-9)

Since witnessing the death of her husband during the wars, Imogen, Lady Barclay, has secluded herself in the confines of Hardford Hall, their home in Cornwall. The new owner has failed to take up his inheritance, and Imogen desperately hopes he will never come to disturb her fragile peace.

Percival Hayes, Earl of Hardford, has no interest in the wilds of Cornwall, but when he impulsively decides to pay a visit to his estate there, he is shocked to discover that it is not the ruined heap he had expected. He is equally shocked to find the beautiful widow of his predecessor's son living there. Soon Imogen awakens in Percy a passion he has never thought himself capable of feeling. But can he save her from her misery and reawaken her soul? And what will it mean for him if he succeeds?