A Proper Marriage

Vicar Humbley #1

by Debbie Raleigh

Forced to cast aside her free-spirited ways when she marries Adam Drake, a renowned goverment member, Adele Morrow, believing Adam to be very dull and boring, discovers a very different side to her new husband when he transforms himself into a dashing rake. Original.

Genres: Regency, Romance, Historical, Regency Romance, Historical Romance, Marriage Of Convenience, Traditional Regency

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Debbie Raleigh is also known as Deborah Raleigh & Alexandra Ivy

Reviews

[iva · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. It was like we were given a glimpse into the marriage between Addy and Adam. Adam starts off as a rather stuffy, overbearing control-freak. Luckily, he realizes the error of his ways when he not only notices Addy’s coldness towards him, but her missing love of life. He misses the vivacious girl he had admired from afar before they were married. Addy is rather subdued as the story begins. Their marriage had been arranged since they were children and at times she felt forced into it, she still tries to please her husband. During their brief marriage she has begun to paint Adam as an ogre. Their childhood vicar comes for a visit and helps the two realize the error of their ways and provides them with some great advice to get their marriage back on track. I especially liked his suggestion that Adam play the rake with his wife. I liked the growth that both characters went through and watching them come to appreciate the other and fall in love. I did feel like this was more of a glimpse into their marriage, there isn’t really any other plot going on besides the two coming together. Which was fine, I enjoyed their story. I thought Addy and Adam had great chemistry and they had some very nice moments. Now I need to track down copies of the next two books in the series.

Content: Clean, PG. While they are married and Adam appreciates his wife’s physical charms and there is no doubt he desires her, it is all kept on the cleaner side. Any intimacies are kept behind closed doors.

Reading Order:
Book One: A Proper Marriage
Book Two: A Convenient Marriage
Book Three: A Scandalous Marriage

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't particularly like books where the entire conflict can be resolved if the characters would bother to have an honest conversation with each other.

Unfortunately, the book was made worse by it constantly trying to blame the heroine for the problems in the marriage. She literally did nothing wrong. Her husband was a controlling jerk who treated her like a child and then basically abandoned her. But the end of the book was like, and she learned her lesson she actually wanted a quiet marriage. The problem is, she never actually wanted otherwise, she just wanted to be treated like a person and to have her husband actually care about her. It was extremely frustrating to read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read following the early days of marriage between opposites in old England, arranged by their grandparents. Their vicar, with an incredible sweet tooth. visits in London before his retirement. His talks and lessons to the newlyweds guild them to discover their mutual love and admiration despite their childhood differences.

[Crystal Alexander-Bentley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down.

[Jaqueline Cavalcante · Rating 5 out of 5]

On my heart ;)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of their relationship they both made mistakes and it was fun to watch the characters realize that they really appreciated what they had, after they started communicating better.

[Lisa Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adele Morrow lived an eccentric, free-spirited existence before her role as wife to a noted scholar forced her to conform to a life of dull duty and order. Outwardly the very model of propriety, she secretly longs to be carried off by a dashing rogue. . . .

At first quite pleased with his quiet, unassuming wife, Adam Drake is now unhappy and bored. He realizes it's his turn to change - but the conservative scholar will need a great deal of tutoring to become a daring rake!

This is a book about misunderstandings in a relationship. Raleigh skillfully controls the pace of the story and keeps the extraneous side plots to a minimum. There are three books in the "Vicar Humbly" series.

[Tasha Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really charming story.
I really loved the fact that the courtship happened after marriage, rather than before. I'm kind of a fan of stories about couples who either fall in love all over again, or for the first time
after they've been married a while. Especially in the " marriage for convenience " storylines.
The characters were charming and the overall tone of the novels were pleasant and humorous !!
I found my copy at a second hand store. I liked the first novel so much that I immediately looked for and ordered the other two additional books.
This was a feel good read for me, without a lot of drama or intricate subplots. Just enjoyable and fun.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming Regency Romance with whacky relatives, intelligent, witty dialogue, and amusing situations woven into the romance.

[Natália Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito bom. Achei bem engraçado e leve. Recomendo!