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Sullivan #3
Tempting Harriet
Now a wealthy widow, Lady Harriet Wingham faces a passionate temptation in the person of Lord Tenby, the man whose scandalous seduction she had once resisted and who now wants her again--but as a mistress, not a wife. Original.
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1994
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590 people want to read
About the author
Mary Balogh
200 books6,357 followersMary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting. She also enjoys watching tennis and curling.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
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November 21, 2018
3.5 stars / C+. Read for the November prompt in the 2018 TBR Challenge - "Cover Girl" - read a book with a lovely or horrible cover. I kinda drew a blank so picked a random book off the TBR.
Tempting Harriet is the final book in a trio which are all linked through the friendships between their heroes and heroines. It’s an older Balogh title (originally published in 1994), and there are elements within it that I suspect some readers may find problematic today; but the author’s emotional intelligence and insight into what makes people tick is operating at full force, presenting a couple of principal characters who are flawed and who make ill-advised decisions and judgements before they are able to reach their HEA.
I’ll admit now that this month’s prompt – to read a book with a lovely or hideous cover – rather stumped me. I read pretty much exclusively on a Kindle these days, so I don’t take a great deal of notice of covers; plus reading a lot of historical romance, I’m used to the half-naked, man-titty covers that are de rigueur in the genre and usually just roll my eyes and move on to the actual words. I do, however, rather like the minimalistic covers that have been given to these first-time digital re-issues of Mary Balogh’s Signet Regencies. On its own, I suppose the new cover for Tempting Harriet might be a little dull (and the colour isn’t my favourite), but taken together, they’re quite striking because they’re so simple and uncluttered. So that’s my excuse for picking this one, and I’m sticking to it!
Six years before this story begins, Miss Harriet Pope, daughter of an impoverished country parson, was working as companion to Clara Sullivan (heroine of Dancing With Clara) when she caught the eye of the young and handsome Lord Archibald Vinney, heir to the Duke of Tenby. Thrown much into his company because he was the best friend of Clara’s husband, Harriet fell head-over-heels in love, but rejected Vinney’s offer of carte blanche not once, but twice, even though she was terribly tempted to do otherwise. A couple of years later, she met and married a kind, gentle man in his fifties who wasn’t in the best of health, but whom she liked and came to love. Now aged twenty-eight and a wealthy widow with a young daughter, Lady Harriet Wingham has emerged from her mourning period and has decided to enter London society and experience some of the things she was never able to do before – go to balls and parties and musicales and perhaps find herself another husband… and she can’t help hoping that perhaps she might set eyes on Lord Vinney again.
That gentleman is now the Duke of Tenby, and being young, wealthy, handsome, titled and unattached, is the most eligible bachelor on the marriage mart. Like many gentlemen of his ilk (and many historical romance heroes!) he has eschewed marriage for as long as possible but now, owing to a promise he made to his grandmother following his accession to the title, is going to look about him for a suitable wife. His grandmother’s definition of ‘suitable’ is rigid; in addition to all the usual qualities a nobleman must have in a wife – she must be a gently-bred virgin with proper manners and the training to run a large household and estates – she must also be of appropriate rank, and in the dowager’s eyes, that means that no lady below the rank of an earl’s daughter will do for the Duke of Tenby.
But fate throws a spoke in the wheel of Tenby’s matrimonial plans when he sees Harriet again for the first time in six years, and finds himself utterly smitten all over again. Harriet has no idea that after she rejected his suggestion she become his mistress six years earlier, he’d been about to overturn all the things that had been drilled into him by his family and upbringing about his duty to the title, and offer her marriage. He stopped short, believing then that he was merely in the grips of powerful lust, although now he is fairly certain he was in love with her… and though he tries to deny it, still is.
The storyline is a familiar one - the hero has to court one woman while in love with another – but Mary Balogh doesn’t make it easy for Harriet and Tenby and examines their motivations and feelings with scalpel-like precision. The real meat of the plot is based upon a misunderstanding, and yet it’s one that I can’t quite classify as the ‘typical Big Mis’ so often found in romance novels. Yes, things could have been solved by a conversation, but that wouldn’t have been true to character for either Harriet or Tenby at the point in the story at which it occurs. Because while Tenby has decided he’s going to offer marriage regardless of his promise to his grandmother, Harriet forestalls him and, believing he’s going to offer carte blanche again, says that she’ll accept him as her lover. She knows he can’t possibly marry her, the widow of a lowly baron, but she’s unwilling to let the opportunity to experience passion with the man she’s loved for so long slip by this time. And while Tenby is pleased that he’ll at last have Harriet in his bed, part of him is really upset that she’s given in this time when she wouldn’t before.
This is just one of the things I referred to as being problematic. It’s obvious that Tenby has put Harriet on some pedestal labelled “virtuous woman”, and when she offers to sleep with him without marriage, she falls off it, he’s disappointed - and it’s a horrible double standard. Tenby is often cold and unpleasant towards Harriet – seeming to blame her for the fact that he’s attracted to her – and the terms of their affair are completely dictated by him. This is understandable in the circumstances, as is the fact that he has a house he uses specifically for the purpose of conducting love affairs – many an historical romance hero has a hidden love nest – and I wondered if perhaps it was the author’s intent to deliberately show Tenby’s bad qualities so she could eventually redeem him.
I’m not sure if she really managed that in the end. Her exploration of the emotions experienced by Harriet and Tenby during the course of their affair is incredibly well done, and nobody does this sort of relationship angst quite like Mary Balogh. Ultimately, neither character is happy about their relationship being based simply on physical pleasure, both want more but believe the other is content with things as they are. And thinking that all Harriet wants from him is sex, Tenby continues his courtship of an eminently suitable earl’s daughter while Harriet starts to despise herself because she’s compromised her beliefs.
It’s messy and complicated, and in spite of its problems, Tempting Harriet was one of those books I found myself quite glued to almost in spite of myself. It’s a difficult one to grade because on the one hand the writing is excellent and the characters, who are both flawed (Tenby moreso than Harriet, it’s true) nonetheless feel like real people who operate within the strict societal conventions of the time. On the other, Tenby can be unsympathetic, and sometimes Harriet’s internal hand-wringing gets a bit wearing. So I’m going with a C+ - not a universal recommendation, but will end with the suggestion that those who enjoy angsty stories peopled by imperfect characters whose motivations are skilfully peeled back layer by layer might care to give it a try.
Tempting Harriet is the final book in a trio which are all linked through the friendships between their heroes and heroines. It’s an older Balogh title (originally published in 1994), and there are elements within it that I suspect some readers may find problematic today; but the author’s emotional intelligence and insight into what makes people tick is operating at full force, presenting a couple of principal characters who are flawed and who make ill-advised decisions and judgements before they are able to reach their HEA.
I’ll admit now that this month’s prompt – to read a book with a lovely or hideous cover – rather stumped me. I read pretty much exclusively on a Kindle these days, so I don’t take a great deal of notice of covers; plus reading a lot of historical romance, I’m used to the half-naked, man-titty covers that are de rigueur in the genre and usually just roll my eyes and move on to the actual words. I do, however, rather like the minimalistic covers that have been given to these first-time digital re-issues of Mary Balogh’s Signet Regencies. On its own, I suppose the new cover for Tempting Harriet might be a little dull (and the colour isn’t my favourite), but taken together, they’re quite striking because they’re so simple and uncluttered. So that’s my excuse for picking this one, and I’m sticking to it!
Six years before this story begins, Miss Harriet Pope, daughter of an impoverished country parson, was working as companion to Clara Sullivan (heroine of Dancing With Clara) when she caught the eye of the young and handsome Lord Archibald Vinney, heir to the Duke of Tenby. Thrown much into his company because he was the best friend of Clara’s husband, Harriet fell head-over-heels in love, but rejected Vinney’s offer of carte blanche not once, but twice, even though she was terribly tempted to do otherwise. A couple of years later, she met and married a kind, gentle man in his fifties who wasn’t in the best of health, but whom she liked and came to love. Now aged twenty-eight and a wealthy widow with a young daughter, Lady Harriet Wingham has emerged from her mourning period and has decided to enter London society and experience some of the things she was never able to do before – go to balls and parties and musicales and perhaps find herself another husband… and she can’t help hoping that perhaps she might set eyes on Lord Vinney again.
That gentleman is now the Duke of Tenby, and being young, wealthy, handsome, titled and unattached, is the most eligible bachelor on the marriage mart. Like many gentlemen of his ilk (and many historical romance heroes!) he has eschewed marriage for as long as possible but now, owing to a promise he made to his grandmother following his accession to the title, is going to look about him for a suitable wife. His grandmother’s definition of ‘suitable’ is rigid; in addition to all the usual qualities a nobleman must have in a wife – she must be a gently-bred virgin with proper manners and the training to run a large household and estates – she must also be of appropriate rank, and in the dowager’s eyes, that means that no lady below the rank of an earl’s daughter will do for the Duke of Tenby.
But fate throws a spoke in the wheel of Tenby’s matrimonial plans when he sees Harriet again for the first time in six years, and finds himself utterly smitten all over again. Harriet has no idea that after she rejected his suggestion she become his mistress six years earlier, he’d been about to overturn all the things that had been drilled into him by his family and upbringing about his duty to the title, and offer her marriage. He stopped short, believing then that he was merely in the grips of powerful lust, although now he is fairly certain he was in love with her… and though he tries to deny it, still is.
The storyline is a familiar one - the hero has to court one woman while in love with another – but Mary Balogh doesn’t make it easy for Harriet and Tenby and examines their motivations and feelings with scalpel-like precision. The real meat of the plot is based upon a misunderstanding, and yet it’s one that I can’t quite classify as the ‘typical Big Mis’ so often found in romance novels. Yes, things could have been solved by a conversation, but that wouldn’t have been true to character for either Harriet or Tenby at the point in the story at which it occurs. Because while Tenby has decided he’s going to offer marriage regardless of his promise to his grandmother, Harriet forestalls him and, believing he’s going to offer carte blanche again, says that she’ll accept him as her lover. She knows he can’t possibly marry her, the widow of a lowly baron, but she’s unwilling to let the opportunity to experience passion with the man she’s loved for so long slip by this time. And while Tenby is pleased that he’ll at last have Harriet in his bed, part of him is really upset that she’s given in this time when she wouldn’t before.
This is just one of the things I referred to as being problematic. It’s obvious that Tenby has put Harriet on some pedestal labelled “virtuous woman”, and when she offers to sleep with him without marriage, she falls off it, he’s disappointed - and it’s a horrible double standard. Tenby is often cold and unpleasant towards Harriet – seeming to blame her for the fact that he’s attracted to her – and the terms of their affair are completely dictated by him. This is understandable in the circumstances, as is the fact that he has a house he uses specifically for the purpose of conducting love affairs – many an historical romance hero has a hidden love nest – and I wondered if perhaps it was the author’s intent to deliberately show Tenby’s bad qualities so she could eventually redeem him.
I’m not sure if she really managed that in the end. Her exploration of the emotions experienced by Harriet and Tenby during the course of their affair is incredibly well done, and nobody does this sort of relationship angst quite like Mary Balogh. Ultimately, neither character is happy about their relationship being based simply on physical pleasure, both want more but believe the other is content with things as they are. And thinking that all Harriet wants from him is sex, Tenby continues his courtship of an eminently suitable earl’s daughter while Harriet starts to despise herself because she’s compromised her beliefs.
It’s messy and complicated, and in spite of its problems, Tempting Harriet was one of those books I found myself quite glued to almost in spite of myself. It’s a difficult one to grade because on the one hand the writing is excellent and the characters, who are both flawed (Tenby moreso than Harriet, it’s true) nonetheless feel like real people who operate within the strict societal conventions of the time. On the other, Tenby can be unsympathetic, and sometimes Harriet’s internal hand-wringing gets a bit wearing. So I’m going with a C+ - not a universal recommendation, but will end with the suggestion that those who enjoy angsty stories peopled by imperfect characters whose motivations are skilfully peeled back layer by layer might care to give it a try.
October 19, 2011
One of the things that makes Mary Balogh a genius is that she has such an unlimited range of heroines. They can be rich or poor, shrewd or naive, bold or shy.
Harriet in TEMPTING HARRIET is unusual in that she's the quiet, gentle type who doesn't make a lot of fuss about getting what she wants -- but when the man she loved and lost comes back into her life, she shows amazing strength and determination in making sure that he respects her new status and gives her the lasting love she deserves. The writing is sensual, but it's always elegantly understated -- another Balogh trademark.
If you enjoy this one, look for the two earlier books in the series, DANCING WITH CLARA and COURTING JULIA. Personally I thought this one was the best of the three!
Harriet in TEMPTING HARRIET is unusual in that she's the quiet, gentle type who doesn't make a lot of fuss about getting what she wants -- but when the man she loved and lost comes back into her life, she shows amazing strength and determination in making sure that he respects her new status and gives her the lasting love she deserves. The writing is sensual, but it's always elegantly understated -- another Balogh trademark.
If you enjoy this one, look for the two earlier books in the series, DANCING WITH CLARA and COURTING JULIA. Personally I thought this one was the best of the three!
February 25, 2024
4 Estrellitas. Tenía muchas ganas de él y no esperaba mucho porque los anteriores de un modo u otro me habían decepcionado algo, por suerte con este no me ha pasado eso.
"Tempting Harriet" es el tercer y último libro de la serie Sullivan, una de las series viejillas de Mary Balogh que empezó publicando con Signet, una editorial del estilo de Harlequin Internacional, con novelas entretenidas de época y cortitas.
En particular este libro ya venía palpándose desde el anterior, cuando Harriet y Archie se conocieron. Harriet era la hija pobre de un párroco, que al quedar huérfana tuvo que emplearse como dama de compañía de la inválida Clara. Archibald Vinney, heredero del duque de Tendy, era el amigo libertino de Freddie Sullivan.
En el anterior libro, ya vimos como Harriet y Archie empezaron a enamorarse, pero la ignorancia e inocencia malinterpretaron lo suyo, lo que provocó el rechazo de Harriet ante la proposición de Archie.
En "Tempting Harriet" han pasado 6 años desde lo suyo. Harriet ha vuelto a Londres, esta vez viuda de un barón y con una niña de cuatro años. Harriet se casó con un barón mayor que ella y con un corazón débil, y aunque nunca olvidó a Archie, llegó a querer a su esposo. Tras más de un año de luto y con veintiocho años, Harriet está dispuesta a casarse de nuevo, esta vez por amor.
Archibald, ahora duque de Tendy, tiene treinta y dos años, y esta vez debe cumplir una promesa hecha a su abuela, casarse durante esta temporada y dar un heredero al ducado en el primer año. Pero las exigencias de la vieja duquesa son estrictas, debe ser una joven de muy buena posición y como mínimo, hija de un conde.
Cuando Archie y Harriet vuelvan a verse en Londres, algo estallará entre ellos, y es el amor, juvenil e inocente que ambos despertaron. Aunque Harriet es la viuda de un barón y ya no es pobre, no tiene mucho que ofrecer a Archie, y por parte de la abuela de Archie, Harriet no es la indicada, ni por pedigrí, ni por edad.
Esta vez, la duquesa viuda de Tendy ha elegido a la candidata ideal para Archie, y este hará lo que se espera de él, pero ¿como podrá hacerlo cuando Harriet esté siempre ahí tentándolo con algo más, con algo que podría ser? Hace seis años, ella no consintió en ser su amante ¿por qué ahora sí? ¿Por qué no su esposa e ir en contra de los deseos de su familia?
A diferencia de anteriores novelas, aquí no ha habido escenas desagradables, o giros enteramente desagradables. En ésta novela he visto más a mi señora Balogh, la señora Balogh a la que estoy acostumbrada, la que tanto me gusta, aquella con buenos personajes, una buena trama y un amor pasional.
El libro me ha convencido, sí. Y aunque se nota que es viejillo me ha gustado mucho, y sin duda lo considero el mejor de la trilogía.
"Tempting Harriet" es el tercer y último libro de la serie Sullivan, una de las series viejillas de Mary Balogh que empezó publicando con Signet, una editorial del estilo de Harlequin Internacional, con novelas entretenidas de época y cortitas.
En particular este libro ya venía palpándose desde el anterior, cuando Harriet y Archie se conocieron. Harriet era la hija pobre de un párroco, que al quedar huérfana tuvo que emplearse como dama de compañía de la inválida Clara. Archibald Vinney, heredero del duque de Tendy, era el amigo libertino de Freddie Sullivan.
En el anterior libro, ya vimos como Harriet y Archie empezaron a enamorarse, pero la ignorancia e inocencia malinterpretaron lo suyo, lo que provocó el rechazo de Harriet ante la proposición de Archie.
En "Tempting Harriet" han pasado 6 años desde lo suyo. Harriet ha vuelto a Londres, esta vez viuda de un barón y con una niña de cuatro años. Harriet se casó con un barón mayor que ella y con un corazón débil, y aunque nunca olvidó a Archie, llegó a querer a su esposo. Tras más de un año de luto y con veintiocho años, Harriet está dispuesta a casarse de nuevo, esta vez por amor.
Archibald, ahora duque de Tendy, tiene treinta y dos años, y esta vez debe cumplir una promesa hecha a su abuela, casarse durante esta temporada y dar un heredero al ducado en el primer año. Pero las exigencias de la vieja duquesa son estrictas, debe ser una joven de muy buena posición y como mínimo, hija de un conde.
Cuando Archie y Harriet vuelvan a verse en Londres, algo estallará entre ellos, y es el amor, juvenil e inocente que ambos despertaron. Aunque Harriet es la viuda de un barón y ya no es pobre, no tiene mucho que ofrecer a Archie, y por parte de la abuela de Archie, Harriet no es la indicada, ni por pedigrí, ni por edad.
Esta vez, la duquesa viuda de Tendy ha elegido a la candidata ideal para Archie, y este hará lo que se espera de él, pero ¿como podrá hacerlo cuando Harriet esté siempre ahí tentándolo con algo más, con algo que podría ser? Hace seis años, ella no consintió en ser su amante ¿por qué ahora sí? ¿Por qué no su esposa e ir en contra de los deseos de su familia?
A diferencia de anteriores novelas, aquí no ha habido escenas desagradables, o giros enteramente desagradables. En ésta novela he visto más a mi señora Balogh, la señora Balogh a la que estoy acostumbrada, la que tanto me gusta, aquella con buenos personajes, una buena trama y un amor pasional.
El libro me ha convencido, sí. Y aunque se nota que es viejillo me ha gustado mucho, y sin duda lo considero el mejor de la trilogía.
January 8, 2018
This book from 1994, the third in Balogh's Sullivan trilogy (after COURTING JULIA and DANCING WITH CLARA), has a hero who is not any more objectionable in his actions than hero Freddie in DANCING WITH CLARA, and the heroine here is no more a doormat than Clara was in that same book, yet I did not like this romance of blushing Harriet and slimeball Archie half so much. I forgave Clara her "doormat-iness" and Freddie his sleazy rakishness. Freddie was all messed up mentally/emotionally and Clara's father had done a number on her to make her emotionally and even physically weak.
But I couldn't find any reason to excuse either Harriet or Archie. Harriet was a beautiful and rich widow who could now find herself a wonderful partner for a second marriage. And there were many fine men in the running for that position. She also knew what it had felt like to have a good, gentle and kind man (her late husband) love and respect her. So, true to form for all us weak females, she picks a bad boy to love, because he's gorgeous and sexy and magnetic, even when she is reminded constantly by his words and his actions that he is a misogynistic pig.
And bad boy Archie? What's his excuse for being the piece of snail slime that he is? Darned if I know. Maybe most men are objectifying, womanizing jerks but just keep their most creepy thoughts private? Balogh does this guy no service by making us privy to all his thoughts about women and his use of them for only his gratification, their feelings and their needs as real people totally irrelevant to him.
I suppose Balogh's intent is such: To make us disgusted by Archie so that at the end we will feel relief and even joy that he has seen the light. Yet I found him to be an even weaker man than Original Freddie was. Nothing that happens in the story for the good of the romance or of the heroine is due to Archie's actions. He's a passive player in his whole life. If not for his deaf and aging aunt Sophie, at the end of this book he would be married to the wrong woman (but "right" in the social order), miserable in his marriage, and with Harriet a brokenhearted mess. And throughout the book, his treatment of Harriet alternated between cool/ impersonal/ salacious and cruel/unkind, with an occasional tenderness thrown in to keep her around. (And this makes me remember something that makes Archie worse than Freddie. Freddie was almost always considerate and kind in his dealings with Clara. That's something Archie cannot say about how he treated Harriet.)
And Harriet? Oh, how I wish she hadn't been addicted to Archie. They met in DANCING WITH CLARA, when Harriet was Clara's lovely, gentle, innocent, poor-genteel companion and Archie was Freddie's best friend. He tried in that book to make her his mistress, unsuccessfully, but six years later, with Harriet now a widow, he succeeds. It's complicated, as they say, because they both, apparently, "love" each other but get their messages crossed. This is a messy, nasty case of love, on Archie's part, one that is cruel and using, and, as for Harriet and her love for Archie, it felt more like a sick fascination with a sexy, magnetic man. A really huge case of lust.
I was really happy to have Clara and Freddie in this, since Balogh left me unsure about their HEA at the end of their very own book. Married and faithful to each other, Freddie a happy husband and father, Clara walking well. That was lovely, but not enough to inspire me to give this book more stars. Balogh should have written an epilogue in their book. Then I wouldn't have had to meet up with Archie again.
One more thing: There are two places in this book in which Balogh has Archie interacting well with children. I imagine these are in there to humanize and soften Archie's character. Basing my thoughts on the person he had been throughout these two books of the series, I wasn't buying it. He had been keeping that caring, loving side well hidden in a cold, self-absorbed person up to then. And (one more thing?) I really needed more grovel from him at the end.
I agree with all reviewers who mention Balogh's writing abilities as excellent, especially compared to most HR writers we have to put up with, but I did not find this as well written as another "innocent widow/womanizing rake" romance I read some years ago by Patricia Oliver: LORD GRESHAM'S LADY. In that one, the heroine at least had the excuse of a choice between straitened circumstances for her and her daughter or a life of relative luxury as the mistress of a charismatic rake. And the writing is really good. Oliver, of course, had rather sleazy 1990s-style heroes in her books, but I always enjoyed her writing. Considering that Balogh has given us some slimeballs also, I'd say the two authors can be compared here.
But I couldn't find any reason to excuse either Harriet or Archie. Harriet was a beautiful and rich widow who could now find herself a wonderful partner for a second marriage. And there were many fine men in the running for that position. She also knew what it had felt like to have a good, gentle and kind man (her late husband) love and respect her. So, true to form for all us weak females, she picks a bad boy to love, because he's gorgeous and sexy and magnetic, even when she is reminded constantly by his words and his actions that he is a misogynistic pig.
And bad boy Archie? What's his excuse for being the piece of snail slime that he is? Darned if I know. Maybe most men are objectifying, womanizing jerks but just keep their most creepy thoughts private? Balogh does this guy no service by making us privy to all his thoughts about women and his use of them for only his gratification, their feelings and their needs as real people totally irrelevant to him.
I suppose Balogh's intent is such: To make us disgusted by Archie so that at the end we will feel relief and even joy that he has seen the light. Yet I found him to be an even weaker man than Original Freddie was. Nothing that happens in the story for the good of the romance or of the heroine is due to Archie's actions. He's a passive player in his whole life. If not for his deaf and aging aunt Sophie, at the end of this book he would be married to the wrong woman (but "right" in the social order), miserable in his marriage, and with Harriet a brokenhearted mess. And throughout the book, his treatment of Harriet alternated between cool/ impersonal/ salacious and cruel/unkind, with an occasional tenderness thrown in to keep her around. (And this makes me remember something that makes Archie worse than Freddie. Freddie was almost always considerate and kind in his dealings with Clara. That's something Archie cannot say about how he treated Harriet.)
And Harriet? Oh, how I wish she hadn't been addicted to Archie. They met in DANCING WITH CLARA, when Harriet was Clara's lovely, gentle, innocent, poor-genteel companion and Archie was Freddie's best friend. He tried in that book to make her his mistress, unsuccessfully, but six years later, with Harriet now a widow, he succeeds. It's complicated, as they say, because they both, apparently, "love" each other but get their messages crossed. This is a messy, nasty case of love, on Archie's part, one that is cruel and using, and, as for Harriet and her love for Archie, it felt more like a sick fascination with a sexy, magnetic man. A really huge case of lust.
I was really happy to have Clara and Freddie in this, since Balogh left me unsure about their HEA at the end of their very own book. Married and faithful to each other, Freddie a happy husband and father, Clara walking well. That was lovely, but not enough to inspire me to give this book more stars. Balogh should have written an epilogue in their book. Then I wouldn't have had to meet up with Archie again.
One more thing: There are two places in this book in which Balogh has Archie interacting well with children. I imagine these are in there to humanize and soften Archie's character. Basing my thoughts on the person he had been throughout these two books of the series, I wasn't buying it. He had been keeping that caring, loving side well hidden in a cold, self-absorbed person up to then. And (one more thing?) I really needed more grovel from him at the end.
I agree with all reviewers who mention Balogh's writing abilities as excellent, especially compared to most HR writers we have to put up with, but I did not find this as well written as another "innocent widow/womanizing rake" romance I read some years ago by Patricia Oliver: LORD GRESHAM'S LADY. In that one, the heroine at least had the excuse of a choice between straitened circumstances for her and her daughter or a life of relative luxury as the mistress of a charismatic rake. And the writing is really good. Oliver, of course, had rather sleazy 1990s-style heroes in her books, but I always enjoyed her writing. Considering that Balogh has given us some slimeballs also, I'd say the two authors can be compared here.
January 1, 2018
I think I am being generous with four stars. Probably more like 3.5. But I have fond memories of this book, which I read earlier this year. Tenby, the hero is a typical Duke, straightlaced and emotionally unavailable and almost inevitably, therefore, I am A Fan. His realisation that he is in love with Harriet was great.
Harriet was a well-drawn heroine, reluctant to allow herself to be drawn into an affair, but then finding she liked it very much. The push and pull of her morality was well done. This is more traditional Regency than Baloghs other books, but the sex was still fairly on page and pretty good.
However, there were some problematic elements in the writing. Tenby goes off on one and shakes Harriet about when he confronts her about her appearance at his house. Her head is described as flopping this way and that and then he blames her for it. Some of the writing is quite stark and a bit jarring in the midst of an historical love story - one particular description about 'working her passage' has, sadly, stuck in my head.
All in all, though, I raced through the book in a couple of reading sessions and wasn't bored.
Harriet was a well-drawn heroine, reluctant to allow herself to be drawn into an affair, but then finding she liked it very much. The push and pull of her morality was well done. This is more traditional Regency than Baloghs other books, but the sex was still fairly on page and pretty good.
However, there were some problematic elements in the writing. Tenby goes off on one and shakes Harriet about when he confronts her about her appearance at his house. Her head is described as flopping this way and that and then he blames her for it. Some of the writing is quite stark and a bit jarring in the midst of an historical love story - one particular description about 'working her passage' has, sadly, stuck in my head.
All in all, though, I raced through the book in a couple of reading sessions and wasn't bored.
January 7, 2018
This author's early works show a disturbing relationship with sex on the part of her characters. I can't tell if it is religious self-flagellation or something more sinister. Although I'm not sure motivation matters when this is the end result.
There is always something a little off about portrayals of physicality between characters, and no matter the book some rape-like or verbally abusive scene has to come into it.
This was an exhausting journey through hang ups and double standards. It may have been somewhat period appropriate, which I do prefer for attitudes to be, but it went on ad nauseam.
And the barriers to their being together were not big enough for this to be dragged out so long.
The Duke was an indecisive d*ck. I liked the little girl.
There is always something a little off about portrayals of physicality between characters, and no matter the book some rape-like or verbally abusive scene has to come into it.
This was an exhausting journey through hang ups and double standards. It may have been somewhat period appropriate, which I do prefer for attitudes to be, but it went on ad nauseam.
And the barriers to their being together were not big enough for this to be dragged out so long.
The Duke was an indecisive d*ck. I liked the little girl.
July 22, 2017
The Duke of Tenby (an earlier version of Wulfric Bedwyn)!
December 26, 2018
Archie is despicable and nothing excuses his behavior towards Harriet.
She was a paid companion when they first met and a Baron’s widow the next time around. His intentions never changed, and weren’t never honest.
Only Mary Balogh could make this couple work. Not my favorite, but a good read.
She was a paid companion when they first met and a Baron’s widow the next time around. His intentions never changed, and weren’t never honest.
Only Mary Balogh could make this couple work. Not my favorite, but a good read.
July 7, 2022
A bit too much talking (thinking) about sex (for a book of this genre). The main idea was not totally impossible, yet was done not too well. I finished it only because I was skipping repetitions, etc.
July 22, 2017
Don't like the characters nor the story
The hero is too high in the in-step and dishonorable. The heroine is weak bordering on stupidity.
When Harriet was 22, penniless and working as a paid companion she had still been sensible enough to turn down an outrageous offer from the hero to be his mistress.
Six years later when she has been elevated to a status of a respectable lady of the ton with money of her own you would have thought being someone's mistress and subjected to the humiliation of being told in business-like manner their term of association would be the last thing to happen to her. But that's exactly what she allows to happen in the name of love for someone she has had no reason to love at all.
I think I love and respect the younger, penniless Harriet than the more mature, wealthy and supposedly respectable Harriet.
This is the first and only romance I have read so far when 50% into the book I wished the hero and the heroine would leave each other and end up with someone else.
The hero is too high in the in-step and dishonorable. The heroine is weak bordering on stupidity.
When Harriet was 22, penniless and working as a paid companion she had still been sensible enough to turn down an outrageous offer from the hero to be his mistress.
Six years later when she has been elevated to a status of a respectable lady of the ton with money of her own you would have thought being someone's mistress and subjected to the humiliation of being told in business-like manner their term of association would be the last thing to happen to her. But that's exactly what she allows to happen in the name of love for someone she has had no reason to love at all.
I think I love and respect the younger, penniless Harriet than the more mature, wealthy and supposedly respectable Harriet.
This is the first and only romance I have read so far when 50% into the book I wished the hero and the heroine would leave each other and end up with someone else.
March 24, 2015
Probably my least liked book from this series because Harriet was such a doormat.
June 9, 2017
This book had a unique set up. However, mid-way through, Tenby's trail of one bad decision after another started, which was quite exasperating (and infuriating).
March 16, 2017
My only wish with early Balogh is that we get more of the good stuff before the very end. This one in particular. Oh well, they're all very well written. :-)
April 8, 2014
I hate both characters with a passion to be quite franck. I don't know what they fell in love with in each other. The woman is pretty and the man is quite attractive. really?
Anyway. then they decide to have an affair together and the whole book revolves around how one principled woman engages in an affair with a man courting another, and how the man who loves one woman cannot marry her because of his grandmother... tedious.
Anyway. then they decide to have an affair together and the whole book revolves around how one principled woman engages in an affair with a man courting another, and how the man who loves one woman cannot marry her because of his grandmother... tedious.
avoid
June 20, 2022Self note
Avoid - doormat h, h pining for the H for years. Manwhore H. She loves him more.
Avoid - doormat h, h pining for the H for years. Manwhore H. She loves him more.
August 23, 2008
Tempting Harriet was an enjoyable regency romance. The hero and heroine met each other during Balogh's novel, Dancing with Clara, and I have been looking forward to reading their story. I was not disappointed, although the book uses a couple of storylines that I do not enjoy. One of those was the hero who was too socially superior to the heroine for marriage to be a consideration, and the other was that of the hero becoming betrothed to another woman while carrying on a relationship with the heroine. These issues did not bother me as much as they normally would because the book was well written, and I really liked both the hero and heroine.
Resisting extreme temptation, Harriet Pope turned down two offers to become Archibald Vinney's mistress in Dancing with Clara. Now Harriet is the widowed Lady Wingham, and Archie is the Duke of Tenby. Archie has finally decided to give in to pressure from his relatives and take a wife. When he attends a ball, he is shocked to encounter Harriet, whom he has not seen in six years. Both parties immediately discover that their attraction to one another has not waned. After a few innocent meetings, they try to keep their distance, and Archie begins courting another lady who is acceptable to his family as his duchess. Finally, Archie and Harriet are unable to resist their attraction any longer, and they agree to meet privately. Archie realizes that he has always loved Harriet, and he is prepared to anger his family by marrying her. Archie doesn't have a chance to voice his proposal before Harriet tells him she will be his mistress. Archie is hurt that Harriet doesn't want more from him, and he makes a cold, unemotional agreement to have an entirely physical relationship. Archie and Harriet become intimately involved, but both regret the lack of emotional commitment. Just as Archie offers marriage to someone else, he and Harriet reach the point where they are unable to keep their emotions at bay when they are together. They know that their time together must end, and Archie lashes out at Harriet in hurt, ending their relationship on an unhappy note. Archie prepares for a loveless marriage, and Harriet faces a future alone. She feels that she is unworthy of a husband after succombing to desire for Archie. In order to find happiness together, Archie and Harriet must overcome the obstacles that separate them.
Archie and Harriet were both sympathetic characters, although I felt somewhat irritated by the hero's belief that the heroine was not suited to be his duchess. I didn't enjoy reading about Archie's intent to marry another, but I liked the way that he never doubted his feelings for Harriet. He cared for her enough to be hurt by her apparent acceptance of a completely physical relationship. I liked Harriet and was touched by her distress when she believed that she meant nothing to Archie.
Resisting extreme temptation, Harriet Pope turned down two offers to become Archibald Vinney's mistress in Dancing with Clara. Now Harriet is the widowed Lady Wingham, and Archie is the Duke of Tenby. Archie has finally decided to give in to pressure from his relatives and take a wife. When he attends a ball, he is shocked to encounter Harriet, whom he has not seen in six years. Both parties immediately discover that their attraction to one another has not waned. After a few innocent meetings, they try to keep their distance, and Archie begins courting another lady who is acceptable to his family as his duchess. Finally, Archie and Harriet are unable to resist their attraction any longer, and they agree to meet privately. Archie realizes that he has always loved Harriet, and he is prepared to anger his family by marrying her. Archie doesn't have a chance to voice his proposal before Harriet tells him she will be his mistress. Archie is hurt that Harriet doesn't want more from him, and he makes a cold, unemotional agreement to have an entirely physical relationship. Archie and Harriet become intimately involved, but both regret the lack of emotional commitment. Just as Archie offers marriage to someone else, he and Harriet reach the point where they are unable to keep their emotions at bay when they are together. They know that their time together must end, and Archie lashes out at Harriet in hurt, ending their relationship on an unhappy note. Archie prepares for a loveless marriage, and Harriet faces a future alone. She feels that she is unworthy of a husband after succombing to desire for Archie. In order to find happiness together, Archie and Harriet must overcome the obstacles that separate them.
Archie and Harriet were both sympathetic characters, although I felt somewhat irritated by the hero's belief that the heroine was not suited to be his duchess. I didn't enjoy reading about Archie's intent to marry another, but I liked the way that he never doubted his feelings for Harriet. He cared for her enough to be hurt by her apparent acceptance of a completely physical relationship. I liked Harriet and was touched by her distress when she believed that she meant nothing to Archie.
August 4, 2017
Harriet, as a penniless 22-year-old companion, turned down the offer to become the mistress of a wealthy aristocrat, even though she was really drawn to him. Years later, after the death of her first (much older, of course) husband, she's now a widowed baroness, and she and her former admirer, now a duke, meet up again. The duke is about to propose, but before he can, Harriet asks him to be her lover... Both believe they'll get satisfaction from the arrangement, but both end up feeling frustrated, because their desire for emotional intimacy is not being met.
Usually when romance characters make stupid decisions, I get annoyed with them, and with their authors. But in the case of Balogh, she always establishes her protagonists' characters, especially their weaknesses, and does such a good job of showing how their differing backgrounds/expectations/beliefs often leads to the misunderstandings which in turn lead to the stupid decisions, that I take real pleasure in watching the process. And of course you always know that the protagonists will work it all out in the end.
A fun birthday present to myself!
Usually when romance characters make stupid decisions, I get annoyed with them, and with their authors. But in the case of Balogh, she always establishes her protagonists' characters, especially their weaknesses, and does such a good job of showing how their differing backgrounds/expectations/beliefs often leads to the misunderstandings which in turn lead to the stupid decisions, that I take real pleasure in watching the process. And of course you always know that the protagonists will work it all out in the end.
A fun birthday present to myself!
August 26, 2023
The final book in the Sullivan trilogy doesn't disappoint. Another flawed hero, Archie was Freddie's friend in Dancing With Clara, where he was the cad trying to persuade Harriet to become his mistress. Years later, she is a widow with a four year old daughter and they meet again. He is being pressured to take a wife but Harriet is not high up enough on the social ladder to be considered a prospect for a duke.
We follow their story where the reader knows how totally miserable they both are but they don't really know how to tell each how they feel.
I loved seeing the couples from the previous two books in the trilogy. Julia and Daniel are in London, with Julia expecting their third child so we only see fleeting glimpses of them. Finally, near to the end of the book we see Freddie and Clara at Ebury Court, at home with their three children. Freddie is now a doting husband and father, Clara fit and well. Harriet visits, followed by Archie who has come to redeem himself.
All in all, a very satisfying end to the Sullivan trilogy.
We follow their story where the reader knows how totally miserable they both are but they don't really know how to tell each how they feel.
I loved seeing the couples from the previous two books in the trilogy. Julia and Daniel are in London, with Julia expecting their third child so we only see fleeting glimpses of them. Finally, near to the end of the book we see Freddie and Clara at Ebury Court, at home with their three children. Freddie is now a doting husband and father, Clara fit and well. Harriet visits, followed by Archie who has come to redeem himself.
All in all, a very satisfying end to the Sullivan trilogy.
Want to read
July 20, 2017I have no desire to read this book after reading this review: https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R18B...
I can handle a jerk hero as long as there is a redemption arc and a damn good grovel, but horrible behavior the entire book (has no respect for women, is involved with a mistress when story begins and goes to her after seeing Harriet, tells Harriet after they are involved that she isn't good enough to be his wife/duchess and becomes engaged to another woman, and the only reason he doesn't marry the other more suitable woman is because she runs off with someone else) followed by a short apology? Nope. Sorry, but I just don't think I could believe a HEA after that.
I can handle a jerk hero as long as there is a redemption arc and a damn good grovel, but horrible behavior the entire book (has no respect for women, is involved with a mistress when story begins and goes to her after seeing Harriet, tells Harriet after they are involved that she isn't good enough to be his wife/duchess and becomes engaged to another woman, and the only reason he doesn't marry the other more suitable woman is because she runs off with someone else) followed by a short apology? Nope. Sorry, but I just don't think I could believe a HEA after that.
August 28, 2023
One impatient moment for Harriet ends up costing her dearly and her heart suffers but if she didn’t mess up, we wouldn’t have this book. It was good but then in the end Balogh has to provide this resolution in a way that does not make our hero feel very heroic. She has done this same thing in a few other books and it’s frustrating, leaves the ending a little less satisfying. But it’s still a good ending and I liked what the MCs said to each other.
Read
October 29, 2008Notes from the archive:
LOL he was an idiot of course but I really wanted to read their story and in the end I was hesitant to say I didn't like it because I really like Harriet when we met her in Dancing With Clara and I was looking forward to read their story... It was a difficult book to read because it's so hard on the heroine...
I'm thinking I'll have to reread it one of these days ;-)
LOL he was an idiot of course but I really wanted to read their story and in the end I was hesitant to say I didn't like it because I really like Harriet when we met her in Dancing With Clara and I was looking forward to read their story... It was a difficult book to read because it's so hard on the heroine...
I'm thinking I'll have to reread it one of these days ;-)
November 1, 2017
Three and a half stars.
Six years ago Harriet Pope was a penniless nobody, companion to a lady, when Lord Archibald Vinney caught her eye; unfortunately all he offered her was a position as his mistress, which she declined. Now she is the widowed Lady Harriet Wingham and quite, quite wealthy after her older husband died of a heart condition. After living quietly in Bath both before, during and after her marriage, Lady Wingham has been persuaded to come to London for the season, and perhaps find a new father for her daughter Susan.
Six years ago the Duke of Tenby, formerly Lord Archibald 'Archie' Vinney propositioned a beautiful young woman, he had intended to return and offer her marriage when his grandfather's death called him back home. Although he would never admit it, he has never forgotten Harriet and now, as his family expects him to marry and produce an heir within the year, he thinks of her more often.
Harriet and Archie meet totally unexpectedly at a ball and both are struck anew by the same feelings. But even as a Lady, Harriet is still beneath Archie's station and his family, particularly his strict grandmother, would never countenance such a match. Following their meeting, each re-examines their feelings and choices six years ago, Archie decides that he hasn't been in 'lust' for six years, he has been in love and the reason he hasn't proposed marriage in all that time is because no-one compares to Harriet. This time he is going to do what he should have done six years ago and propose marriage. Harriet had a good, loving, kind marriage to Godfrey and she feels great affection for him, but he never made her feel the way Archie does and she decides that as a widow she has certain freedoms that a young unmarried woman does not, if Archie asks again she will agree to becoming his mistress.
What follows is a comedy of errors as Archie and Harriet embark on a clandestine affair which neither of them really wants whilst Harriet is courted by any number of eligible suitors and Archie is boxed into proposing for an eligible young woman by his grandmother. Only the influence of a meddling octogenarian could possibly help these tow ninnies.
This was originally published in 1994 and has been skilfully (I think) brought up to date, there is one sticky point with an issue of consent, I have no idea how the original went (it may have been exactly the same) but I got the feeling that there had been some fairly clever tap dancing done to retain the scene but make it millennial-appropriate. I've just read some older reviews and I'm none the wiser!
Anyway, it was okay, I enjoyed watching the two of them entering into a relationship they don't really want and then dealing with their disappointment/ feelings when they get exactly what they allegedly wanted.
Six years ago Harriet Pope was a penniless nobody, companion to a lady, when Lord Archibald Vinney caught her eye; unfortunately all he offered her was a position as his mistress, which she declined. Now she is the widowed Lady Harriet Wingham and quite, quite wealthy after her older husband died of a heart condition. After living quietly in Bath both before, during and after her marriage, Lady Wingham has been persuaded to come to London for the season, and perhaps find a new father for her daughter Susan.
Six years ago the Duke of Tenby, formerly Lord Archibald 'Archie' Vinney propositioned a beautiful young woman, he had intended to return and offer her marriage when his grandfather's death called him back home. Although he would never admit it, he has never forgotten Harriet and now, as his family expects him to marry and produce an heir within the year, he thinks of her more often.
Harriet and Archie meet totally unexpectedly at a ball and both are struck anew by the same feelings. But even as a Lady, Harriet is still beneath Archie's station and his family, particularly his strict grandmother, would never countenance such a match. Following their meeting, each re-examines their feelings and choices six years ago, Archie decides that he hasn't been in 'lust' for six years, he has been in love and the reason he hasn't proposed marriage in all that time is because no-one compares to Harriet. This time he is going to do what he should have done six years ago and propose marriage. Harriet had a good, loving, kind marriage to Godfrey and she feels great affection for him, but he never made her feel the way Archie does and she decides that as a widow she has certain freedoms that a young unmarried woman does not, if Archie asks again she will agree to becoming his mistress.
What follows is a comedy of errors as Archie and Harriet embark on a clandestine affair which neither of them really wants whilst Harriet is courted by any number of eligible suitors and Archie is boxed into proposing for an eligible young woman by his grandmother. Only the influence of a meddling octogenarian could possibly help these tow ninnies.
This was originally published in 1994 and has been skilfully (I think) brought up to date, there is one sticky point with an issue of consent, I have no idea how the original went (it may have been exactly the same) but I got the feeling that there had been some fairly clever tap dancing done to retain the scene but make it millennial-appropriate. I've just read some older reviews and I'm none the wiser!
Anyway, it was okay, I enjoyed watching the two of them entering into a relationship they don't really want and then dealing with their disappointment/ feelings when they get exactly what they allegedly wanted.
July 2, 2020
Eis um clássico do romance regencial, muito bem escrito, com direito a duque e amor "impossível" frente às regras da sociedade rica e aristocrática da época. Aqui, Archie e Harriet, o casal introduzido no livro Dancing With Clara, após seis anos, tem uma segunda chance para amor. Ao se reencontrarem, ela viúva e ele prestes a fica noivo com uma jovem escolhida a dedo como se espera de um duque, se tornam amantes. É claro que ambos os corações estavam comprometidos e que esse arranjo não iria perdurar. Contudo, com uma mãozinha da adorável tia Sophie e do próprio destino, Archie terá a chance de seguir de vez o seu coração. Uma ótima leitura. Eu amei a senhorinha Sophie, ardilosa e totalmente ciente do amor entre Archie e Harriet. Bem, como uma boa leitora e romântica incurável que sou, eu queria que Archie tivesse pisado em alguns espinhos, se é que me fiz entender. Achei o moço muito indeciso e voltado para as suas próprias necessidades, mas eu o perdoei por duas tentativas abortadas de resolver as coisas como deveriam. A heroína, por sua vez, é muito conformada para o meu gosto. Entretanto, o casal funciona muito bem. Foi gratificante rever os casais Daniel e Julia (Courting Julia) e Freddie e Clara (Dancing With Clara) felizes e cheios de filhos. Faltou um epílogo, queria mais dessa série. 4.5 estrelas.
December 9, 2017
I have waited for quite some time for this pairing and it did not disappoint. Mary Balogh has provided a wonderful end to this three-part series.
Harriet misunderstands tremendously. Archie, although a duke, allows duty and familial pressure to overshadow his own wants and desires.
Ultimately, love prevails in the end, but there is a feeling that if one thing changed, the ending would have been quite different. That saddens me.
It was delightful to see Daniel and Julia and Freddie and Clara living their respective HEAs. One trusts and believes that the same will befall Harriet and Archie if they appear in other books.
Of course, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to other readers. Why? It's Balogh of course. You can't go wrong spending an evening ensconced in her writing. You just cannot. It is impossible.
Harriet misunderstands tremendously. Archie, although a duke, allows duty and familial pressure to overshadow his own wants and desires.
Ultimately, love prevails in the end, but there is a feeling that if one thing changed, the ending would have been quite different. That saddens me.
It was delightful to see Daniel and Julia and Freddie and Clara living their respective HEAs. One trusts and believes that the same will befall Harriet and Archie if they appear in other books.
Of course, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to other readers. Why? It's Balogh of course. You can't go wrong spending an evening ensconced in her writing. You just cannot. It is impossible.
January 24, 2018
After reading the first couple of chapters, I was completely and utterly disgusted with Tenby. I hated this hero. He was not only a misogynist, but he had no backbone and took no responsibility for his actions - and he was apparently a Duke. I had little faith in redeeming him. I couldn't figure out why the heroine, Harriet liked him so much. I think it had less to do with love and was more of a infatuation. Tenby or Archie (his first name), offered for Harriet twice, as his mistress - which is ridiculous, since Harriet was single and honorable at that time.
This happened in the past, because when the story starts, Harriet is widowed after marrying an elderly man, and she is a mother. This type of heroine is so unlike the cookie cutter, but this also meant that she was relatable - at least I found her personality very similar to my own outlook. She has experience, knows responsibility and is generally quite mature, but she is still naïve and innocent in dealing with her infatuation with Tenby. She is quite attracted to him, but for what reason (other than his "magnificent" body), I am not sure. I don't think she knows either. Which is why she offers to be his mistress, after finding out that it is acceptable for widows to engage in extramarital activities.
Knowing what happens in Tenby's mind, is both a blessing and a curse. He is not a nice guy. He's quite selfish and emotionally immature. He is in lust with Harriet, and passingly considers marrying her (even if her pedigree is far below what he considers acceptable), just for the sex. With Harriet's offer, he accepts - but with mixed emotions. Once Harriet becomes Tenby's mistress, I think that really marks the turning point of the relationship. It allowed them to really learn what they needed and was looking for in their life -
I ended up forgiving Tenby, because he showed a lot of growth by the end of the book. He is not "my hero", but I think he learned a lot by the end, and made the necessary changes to be a good person. I know people like him in real life, so he felt very realistic. I will mention that there is a little bit of aggression and sex stuff that is questionable in this book. It's something that I think some modern readers would find distasteful and strange. For one, I felt like Harriet was an inactive participant in the sex during their affair, and I could find an argument for coerced sex. At the same time, I think it had more to do with her experience and her religious upbringing, that made the affair less than pleasurable.
Aunt Susan, was instrumental for Tenby to gain some perspective, and I am glad for her intervention. Her methods were a bit unconventional, and sometimes downright cruel, but all ends well, I suppose.
I think this book is worth a read. It shows off Ms Balogh's skills as a writer to create characters so different from the usual HR tropes, and successfully put them together- realistically.
This happened in the past, because when the story starts, Harriet is widowed after marrying an elderly man, and she is a mother. This type of heroine is so unlike the cookie cutter, but this also meant that she was relatable - at least I found her personality very similar to my own outlook. She has experience, knows responsibility and is generally quite mature, but she is still naïve and innocent in dealing with her infatuation with Tenby. She is quite attracted to him, but for what reason (other than his "magnificent" body), I am not sure. I don't think she knows either. Which is why she offers to be his mistress, after finding out that it is acceptable for widows to engage in extramarital activities.
Knowing what happens in Tenby's mind, is both a blessing and a curse. He is not a nice guy. He's quite selfish and emotionally immature. He is in lust with Harriet, and passingly considers marrying her (even if her pedigree is far below what he considers acceptable), just for the sex. With Harriet's offer, he accepts - but with mixed emotions. Once Harriet becomes Tenby's mistress, I think that really marks the turning point of the relationship. It allowed them to really learn what they needed and was looking for in their life -
I ended up forgiving Tenby, because he showed a lot of growth by the end of the book. He is not "my hero", but I think he learned a lot by the end, and made the necessary changes to be a good person. I know people like him in real life, so he felt very realistic. I will mention that there is a little bit of aggression and sex stuff that is questionable in this book. It's something that I think some modern readers would find distasteful and strange. For one, I felt like Harriet was an inactive participant in the sex during their affair, and I could find an argument for coerced sex. At the same time, I think it had more to do with her experience and her religious upbringing, that made the affair less than pleasurable.
Aunt Susan, was instrumental for Tenby to gain some perspective, and I am glad for her intervention. Her methods were a bit unconventional, and sometimes downright cruel, but all ends well, I suppose.
I think this book is worth a read. It shows off Ms Balogh's skills as a writer to create characters so different from the usual HR tropes, and successfully put them together- realistically.
July 2, 2019
This is a touching romance that explores some of the deeper issues of being human. Why is it painful to have casual sex with someone you love? Why do people feel doomed to go down a certain path even knowing they will be unhappy? Author Mary Balogh explores life's tough dilemmas wrapped up in an entertaining romance.
Protagonist Harriet is a widow who decides to spend a season in London. She encounters her old crush, now a duke and finds her feelings for him are still alive. However she is not suitable material for a ducal marriage. Is she brave enough to have an affair? The author envelopes you in Harriet's inner world so you feel her fear and anxiety as she enters unchartered waters.
There are no cliched characters in Mary Balogh's world. The 'other woman' is not an evil harpy but has her own poignant story. The late older husband was not a tyrant but a kind man who loved his wife. It's really good quality story telling.
Protagonist Harriet is a widow who decides to spend a season in London. She encounters her old crush, now a duke and finds her feelings for him are still alive. However she is not suitable material for a ducal marriage. Is she brave enough to have an affair? The author envelopes you in Harriet's inner world so you feel her fear and anxiety as she enters unchartered waters.
There are no cliched characters in Mary Balogh's world. The 'other woman' is not an evil harpy but has her own poignant story. The late older husband was not a tyrant but a kind man who loved his wife. It's really good quality story telling.
dnf
October 29, 2019This particular title didn't work for me. So far, it's mostly just boring. There's no actual chemistry between Harriet and Tenby, just as there wasn't in Dancing with Clara imo. While I didn't particularly like that book, Clara and Freddie did have a connection, and their relationship dynamics were unique and complex, whereas Tempting Harriet has a hackneyed relationship dynamic. Tenby's a rake who has fEeLiNgS for Harriet but doesn't think Harriet's social standing, even now that she's the widow of a baron is worthy of him, and she's obsessed with him because he's hot? They don't seem to have interesting conversations or anything else to draw them together aside from both being attractive. It's just not what I'm here for.
July 25, 2017
I did not liked the main characters in this book. Harriet is a doormat. Tenby is a jerk. He shows no respect for women at all. To compare him to Wilfrid Berwyn is an insult. I do not understand what Harriet loves about this man. Mary Balogh is one of my favourite authors but this story did not touched me. Its angered me.
December 30, 2011
I would have given it four stars, but for some reason the storyline made me tense, hence a three rating. The heroine was not likable and the sex scenes were not pleasing to me. Just something wrong with this book.
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