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Title: A Christmas Bride (Signet Regency Romance)
ISBN: 0451191447
Author:
Mary Balogh
Publicate Date: 1997-11-01
Publish: 1997-11-01
List Price: $4.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $19.79
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $9.00
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Unexpectedly delightful
If you have read 'Precious Jewel' you don't expect to like the 'heroine' of this book at all but Mary Balogh is very good at taking an unlikely and unlikeable protagonist and getting the reader to see behind the scenes. She leads you little by little to understand that Helena Stapleton is a damaged soul with a hard outer shell with which she protects herself. Edgar Downes is the brother of Cora (Famous Heroine) and has a very passionate one night fling with the dashing widow, Helena. The night has unlooked for consequences which eventually lead them into marriage - one that no one has very high hopes of. Edgar is a lovely character, lots of old friends appear from previous books and the ending is a happy one - surprise suprise. Definitely worth reading.
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2: Read A Precious Jewel first!!!!
Please do not bother to read this book unless you've read "A Precious Jewel". Even then, the only reason that I'd recommend reading this book are for readers like me that loved loved loved "A Precious Jewel" and want to see what happens next in the lives of Pris and Gerald.
A Christmas Bride isn't really all that good. It features Gerald's stepmother from the book "A Precious Jewel" and casts her as the heroine of this book. She isn't very nice. She is a tortured woman who believes herself unworthy of love or forgiveness for the sins of her past involving Gerald.
The hero is the brother of Cora from "The Famous Heroine" and I really liked his character. He was the "savior" in this book as it was Helena that needed "rescuing". The romance was awful...I did not believe that these two people loved eachother at anytime throughout the book. Helena was just too flaky and weird for me, and although they were married...I couldn't help but feel that without the pregnancy, there never would have been a wedding and that HE would have been better off! Not a great feeling to have after reading a romance novel!
The appearences from past couples from all the prequels and especially Gerald and Pris from "A Precious Jewel" make it worth the read, but do not waste your time with this one if you plan to read it all by itself.
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3: one of my all-time favorites
If you want the comfortable refined romp of a Regency romance, then this book is not for you. The heroine, Helena, is troubled and like many people who feel guilty and unworthy, she pushes away those who would be close to her, out of a combined fear of hurting someone else, and the fear of having her own shame uncovered. I lived for a long time with a family member who did just this sort of thing, so I found Helena's behavior highly credible. Nevertheless, Helena IS capable of loving and being loved, she understands that her past behavior was wrong and she wants to be forgiven for it--she just doesn't believe that forgiveness is possible. Edgar is a headstrong and rather blunt and yet patient and compassionate man who helps her to find peace. The story suggests he would behave just as honorably and compassionately toward a near-stranger: for instance, the subplot involves a young girl whose parents hope to marry her to the wealthy Edgar; she, of course, has an "ineligible attachment." (Helena implies that her own marriage to the older man was a similar arrangement, which was not uncommon for her time and social status.) Edgar takes steps to help the young couple be together, partly because it's the right thing to do, but partly just because he can. He takes similar steps to help Helena, despite her protestations, because again, it's the right thing to do. For Edgar, "love" is a verb, as well as a noun. He comes from a loving and supportive family very different from Helena's experience. Because he has committed to caring for Helena and comes to love her, his help and support are tremendously moving and dare I say, heartwarming. Their relationship isn't perfect, and Edgar acknowledges that it may not be an easy marriage, but he comes to believe he has made the right marriage, for various reasons that are clearly explained in the text, if you pay attention.
It's pretty much a cliche in romance novels, action movies and sitcoms that the two characters who bicker and snipe at each other are going to sleep together during the February sweeps. The thing I like about this book is that the characters don't spend all their time bickering and fighting. They have their on and off moments together. They are fiercely attracted to each other, physically and mentally, although it is acknowledged that they are both used to being independent and stubborn. They're just REAL. I'll admit, it's a bit of a roller-coaster ride, as Helena keeps lashing out and Edgar keeps elbowing his way into her psyche--in this as in many Balough's better books I found myself wondering whether she'd manage to patch these two together or not. But she always does, and I still get misty-eyed when Helena finally lets down her defenses. She finds the grace to say "I'm sorry," and the courage to say, "I love you." Balough doesn't usually leave the reader with happily ever after, but she always leaves the impression that the characters will be better off for the trials they went through to get together.
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4: Very Different & Interesting Read
This book has a dark side, but I enjoyed it very much. Helena is different then most of the women found in Regency novels. She believes she does not deserve love and respect. But somehow Edgar worms his way into her heart, even as she holds him an arms length away. He is determined to break through all her defenses.
But her dark secret is finally revealed and amends are begun. I found some of the revelations almost as painful to deal with as Helena did. But life is not always light hearted and occasionally it is good to read a more intense book.
Worth reading but do not expect a light hearted Christmas tale.
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5: Stunning and Original
There's certainly a gamut of opinion about this book, as evidenced by the reviews here, but, for my money, this is one of the more memorable romance novels ever written. Balogh breaks a lot of rules in this book, especially with her portrayal of the heroine, but she makes it work and gives us a deeply affecting and original story.
I bought every word of it. It's a testament to just how gifted Mary Balogh is that she can make this story so moving. As another reviewer has suggested, Helena's guilt over her treatment of her step-son doesn't seem so overwrought if we change the sex of the characters. If it was a 35 year old man regretting his attempted (more than once, remember) seductions of a five-years-junior stepdaughter we would judge him very harshly indeed. Helena's guilt and self-loathing is deserved and her attempts to cope with that guilt very believeable to me.
Edgar Downes is perfectly portrayed. What a hero! Balogh gets their "cannot be resisted" attraction, and Helena's refusal to allow herself happiness with the man, just right.
Of course this is a romance novel and the ending is unrealistic but romance novels are fairy tales reworked. To take them literally is fatal. Their message--their importance--lies in the truth at the heart of the tale. And the truth here is that forgiveness for any sin is possible.
Bravo to Mary Balogh for creating a memorable, beautiful work!
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