Friday 21 December 2007

"A Masked Deception" by Mary Balogh

A Masked Deception by Mary Balogh 1985

Description from dust cover:
"Richard, Earl of Brampton, is under orders from his mother to produce an heir. Dutifully he marries dull, proper Margaret Wells but his heart belongs to a girl he met six years before at a masked ball. All he knows of her is that she was disguised as Marie Antoinette. Richard and Margaret's marriage settles into comfortable boredom, until the myseterious 'Marie Antoinette' appears again. Richard cnnot stop himself from embarking on a passionate love affair with his lost love, but all the while he is tormented by guilt at betraying the wife whom he has come to love with all his heart."

This is Mary Balogh's first book, and I quite enjoyed it. It has much the same feeling as some of her early books, such as "The Secret Pearl" or the "Web" series. In other words, it's quite emotionally bleak, and has quite a sad feel to it. Balogh is good at portraying hopelessness and desperation, and this comes out through Meg's character, who is trapped in a loveless marriage with a man she secretly adores. I quite enjoyed this book!

RATING:

1/2

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

No comments:

RATING RUBRICS

OVERALL RATING

(or less)
Seriously. Don't waste your time. The author could spell and put together a sentence, but not a whole lot else.

This book might be worth reading, but it had some major flaws. Perhaps there were a lot of anachronisms, or plot elements that were not resolved. Perhaps the heroes were one-dimensional. Perhaps the love story was not believable. Perhaps the writing style left a great deal to be desired. Perhaps the plot was so complex that you got laden down with it about halfway through. These books are worth reading if you're really, really bored, but I wouldn't buy them at full-price.

This is a good book. There is a strong story line, the book is well written, and there aren't too many anachronisms. Still, there is something missing. Perhaps there are holes in the story. Perhaps one of the heroes is insanely annoying. Perhaps there are unrealistic elements in the plot. All in all, worth reading, and perhaps even buying, but there are better ones to be had.

This is an excellent book. Strong characters, good reader connection. The book is well written, interesting, and stays true to the time period. The heroes are engaging and three-dimensional. These books are worth having on your shelf.

These are books that are phenomenal, above and beyond the call of duty. They have everything that exists in a four-star rating, plus that extra little something that just throws them over the top. These books are worth having in hard-cover.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING

(or below)
There is very little to no sex in this book. What little that exists is not the least bit graphic. There is very little, if any, innuendo.

There is a small amount of sex in this book (one or two scenes). The scenes are loving and not incredibly graphic.

There is a moderate amount of sex and innuendo in this book. It is moderately graphic, but consensual and not violent.

There is a lot of sex and innuendo in this book. The sex is quite graphic, but not violent. The innuendo is quite coarse and descriptive.

This book is inappropriate for children. There is a good deal of graphic sex, some of which may be violent or non-consensual. The innuendo is very coarse and descriptive, and found quite frequently. The sex is the over-riding purpose of this book.

Historical Romance Novel Reviews

Friday 21 December 2007

"A Masked Deception" by Mary Balogh

No comments:

About Rankings

RATING RUBRICS

Blog Archive

About Me