The "I daresay" queen is back!!!http://www.marybalogh.com/
You know, someday I'm going to count all of the times Mary Balogh uses the slang "I daresay" in her books, I would have this time, except I was a fourth of the way through before I started to notice I was becoming irritated with it. I thought about counting daresay, daresay, daresay, but I would have to go back to the beginning and that would have been counterproductive to my finishing the story, so I didn't. But some day...
A Secret Affair is the fifth and final book in the Huxtable series. This is Con's story, you remember Con, the not so nice guy from the other four books. Well, he had you fooled, turns out he's a swell guy...more than swell, he's a man not of his time period. Almost, I daresay, an Alan Alda kind of guy. This touchy-feely Con is one of the many secrets in this book (along with Hannah's secret) that really stretch the limits of believability. I don't want to spoil any plots, but let's just say they're both good-deed-doers.
If you are at all familiar with Mary Balogh's writing, you should be aware that this is one of her slower paced books, and that's saying a lot, I daresay. We also get to catch up on all the other Huxtable clan, but it's not in one of those irritating final scenes where they are all in a room together celebrating Christmas...their appearances serve to enhance the plot. The characters are well-developed, there is even some humor and a lot of heartbreak, especially when Con remembers his brother Jon. As far as Hannah, I really had a hard time in the beginning of the book liking her. However, she does have a number of poignant moments, one of them being her speech on how being beautiful has harmed her. I daresay that sounds arrogant, and she is in the beginning.
I liked the beginning of the book better than the end, but, I daresay, overall it was a pretty good book. While not one of Mary Balogh's "blow-you-away" books, it was a fitting conclusion to the Huxtable series. And, I daresay, I do recommend it!
Time/Place: Late Regency England...and is it still Regency if the Regent is the King?
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot sorta
1 comment:
I was so excited to get this book. Thanks for loaning it to me, Kay. I really enjoyed Con's story. Yes, it was shocking how much of a goody-goody both characters were, but Con was still, sigh, Con. I enjoyed seeing the rest of the Huxtables as well.
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