Obviously, jary all gets sorted out and they live Happily Ever After, but in the meantime, this book got on every one of my nerves. The Viscount and the Vixen. Their newfound love had developed slowly after that night when, finding themselves unexpectedly alone together, they had kissed. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.
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Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Privacy Overview. Necessary Always Enabled. The MC's didn't even spend a lot of time in each other's company because they were always part of a larger group of people when they were together.
Robert also seemed particularly hateful and cynical. He kept accusing Elizabeth of being a greedy gold digger but never elaborated or never used his logic to ask her why she often seemed puzzled at his accusations. The heroine was also a bit lacking in common sense because she never asked him why he made such accusations. The storyline was livened up a little by the inclusion of a wannabe OW and a wannabe OM.
The OW was a vicious bitch who kept chasing after Robert and warning off every woman who spoke to him more than 3 times! The OM was a wonderful man; in fact, I almost wished Elizabeth had ended up with him because he had the requisite characteristics of a hero: he was tall, dark, handsome, rich and he proposed to her! But Mr. Mainwaring the wannabe OM was also the H's best friend and Robert refused to divorce Elizabeth to allow her to re-marry.
My final bit of exasperated eye rolling occurred after the MC's discovered how they'd been duped by his uncle and her father. Robert apologized for the way he'd treated her when they'd met again and he told her he still loved her so much that he'd been celibate all these years they've been apart! The stupid heroine refused to reconcile with him: "What are you saying?
Good-bye, Robert. And I thank you very much for coming. Mary Balogh. A Chance Encounter Kindle Locations Severn House. Kindle Edition. This scene was awful. She actually forced him to leave and if it hadn't been for the intervention of her brother then the MC's would've continued to be estranged. Robert had to kidnap her to prevent her from leaving to go work for a new family as their governess.
Elizabeth's rationale for her behaviour was her fear of being hurt and disillusioned again. I found it understandable but also unacceptable because it made her seem like a such a weakling. And, she had been a very strong heroine throughout the story, so the author's plot twist made her character appear to be somewhat inconsistent. But, the H redeemed himself by persuading her and grovelling once again: "I can't," she whispered. I am afraid to love again.
Look ahead, Elizabeth. Ten years. Twenty years. Can you bear to think of the emptiness? I cannot. I need you and I believe you need me just as much. Come back to me, love. This was fairly good and could've been fabulous if the middle bulk of the story hadn't been so focused on boring everyday stuff with even more boring minor characters.
Safety information: There's no cheating. Both MC's had been celibate during their separation but the author did include the wannabe OM and OW to add jealous angst to the storyline.
This is the H, Robert: This is the heroine, Elizabeth View 2 comments. Nov 04, Twiggy rated it it was ok Shelves: historical-romance , annoying-heroine , spoilers , not-a-keeper , just-ok.
Well normally I love Mary Balogh, but this is one of her earlier books and just made me want to scream. As other reviewers have pointed out this is based on a big Misunderstanding, which makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever.
The heroine Elizabeth Rossiter is working as a Companian to the 18 year old Cecily. The nearby manor is occupied by the owner and some guests. It turns out that one of those is the Marquess of Hetherington and that he and Elizabeth have a Past. The first pages and so are Well normally I love Mary Balogh, but this is one of her earlier books and just made me want to scream.
The first pages and so are related to their meetings in company, the fact that he seems to hate her, and some reminiscences and flash backs etc. When Elizabeth's nephew falls ill, she panics and says that she must get home as soon as possible. Heatherington announces that he will take her as after all she is his wife.
They then have a squabble about whether or not they are divorced and he tells her that they are not and in fact they are still married.
Problem No 1: divorces were only obtained through act of paraliament and could not ever be done 'quietly' None of Elizabeth's friends or employers have an issue with her living apart from her husband. The h and h go off to see the nephew and get on ok although she is uncomfortable and does eventually chase him off.
She loves him but would rather suffer his absence. The h returns to her life of servitude. The hero comes after her and asks her why she left him for money.
She denies it and tells him that he abandoned her. They part acrimoniously. It occurs to the heroine after she has chased the h off that he may have believed what he said and there may have been a misunderstanding. They suspect their father and the H's uncle had conspired to keep the lovers apart. She writes to Heatherington asking him to come to her.
She gets a brush off response from his secretary. She closes her heart and decides to take another position with a man she identifies as a mean spirited lech. The h turns up , tells her he has discovered the truth and that he didn't have his secretary write to her in those terms and in fact has been to London, Scotland and Paris within the past 2 weeks. He loves her , it is all a misunderstanding, they can make a go of their marriage.
She accepts it's a misunderstanding and that it was not his fault but rejects him out of hand the reasons were beyond me She is all set to go off with the creep but instead finds herself with Heatherington as they drive off to Devon and after a bit of a kiss and conuddle , they all live hea.
By the end of the book I was ready to bash the heroine's head in. The whole premise on the misunderstanding appeared to be that the uncle did not think the h was good enough for his nephew who should marry a wealthier woman etc. This is all very well, had the separation been achieved before they married but was entirely pointless thereafter. It was hard to credit that the uncle would have been so pompous and yet was willing to tolerate the thought to divorce socially ruinous or else the thought that there would be no legitimate heir to the title thereafter.
Also if the h's father had been so interested in money, he would have revisited the plan after the hero inherited his money. Ridiculous and annoying. Nov 27, Renae rated it did not like it Shelves: cat-signet-regency , read-in , genre-romance-hist-regency. I love Mary Balogh. I adore her! She is my favorite historical romance author. Well, all her books except this one. Imagine the lackluster offspring of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion , but with an extra-large dose of screamingly aggravating melodrama.
A Chance Encounter is one sustained Big Misunderstanding that goes on for 6 years and an entire novel. It's absurd and made me want to tear my hair out. This book is so terrible and nonsensical an What.
This book is so terrible and nonsensical and unbelievable. What was Balogh thinking? Elizabeth and Robert met and fell in love in their salad days, and then they eloped. Shortly after the wedding, something Bad happened, and they were separated by evil relatives, who made each believe the other had abandoned them.
They then spend the next 6 years hating each other, until they meet by chance at a country ball. They then spent the next pages hurling insults at each other and otherwise being nasty. Did it ever occur for them to sit down and say "Dearest, why the fuck did you abandon me two days after our elopement? Obviously, it all gets sorted out and they live Happily Ever After, but in the meantime, this book got on every one of my nerves. This was especially the case because for some reason Balogh only gives readers Elizabeth's point of view.
Imagine being stuck inside the head of an emotionally unstable, bitter woman who refuses to think rationally about anything for the entire book. It was terrible. What the fuck, guys. There has never been such a case of manufactured conflict as this one. May 17, Gilgamesha rated it liked it. I have not read one book that has handled the misunderstanding trope as well as Duran in the Duke of Shadows View all 3 comments.
This is third in my journey through Mary Balogh's earlier novels the one's that are available at all , and it's my favorite so far, despite the story being entirely dependent on people not communicating, something I do not like.
Elizabeth yes, she's really named Elizabeth, and her personality is the wit of Elizabeth Bennet combined with the practicality of Elinor Dashwood with the quiet suffering of Anne Elliot works as a companion to a young girl in a country town. Said town bubbles over with excitement at the news that Mr. Mainwaring is arriving to his home in the area and bringing friends with him.
The small town anticipates romantic possibilities and new diversions. Mainwaring's friend, Robert, is a handsome, charming earl, who Elizabeth unfortunately already knows and hoped never to see again. Details are not revealed until near the end, but it's clear that they were once together and he broke her heart. Second chance romance is never my favorite trope, precisely because it almost always relies on the lovers not communicating, which is not a sign of a healthy relationship.
Expect these two not to communicate despite so many situations just screaming for them to do so. Still, despite all of those flaws, I totally got the feels with this one. Balogh's skill at developing the secondary cast is improving immensely, and I delighted in almost everyone introduced. The way that the Rowes accept her as one of their own even once they learn the truth is lovely and exceedingly open-minded for the time.
Rowe's Cinderella jokes with Elizabeth are precious. Elizabeth's charge Cecily is adorable and naive, but not the empty-headed flibbertigibbet of Persuasion. It's a whole town of nosy, caring people, and I would totally move there. And, though the fact that they won't talk is frustrating as are a couple of problematic lines , I did really feel for the relationship between Elizabeth and Robert. They're both so angry, but he finds it hard to stick to that anger and not default to his more jovial personality.
Initially, I did hope she would go with Mainwaring, rather than Robert Denning, but he won me over in the end. It's more melodrama than I typically like, and it may be tied into my love of Austen's novels and characters but I had a hell of a lot of fun and some feels so whatevs.
Jan 02, Christine rated it it was ok. Very unbelievable. Since the backstory is told through a series of rather annoying flashbacks, it wasn't until the end that I realized just how far-fetched the premise really was.
That would only make sense if they actually did get a divorce, but since they didn't she was told they had a divorce, he knew better , the premise was utterly unfathomable. A new ebook edition of one of Balogh's earliest Signet Regencies, with a young lovers parted through misunderstanding thrust unexpectedly together again plotline. I usually don't have A new ebook edition of one of Balogh's earliest Signet Regencies, with a young lovers parted through misunderstanding thrust unexpectedly together again plotline.
I usually don't have much patience for a "misunderstanding tearing the apart" plot; the misunderstandings so often could be cleared up with just a short conversation between the parties. But perhaps because this novel is written entirely from Elizabeth's point of view and thus readers are not privy to Robert's motivations , the misunderstanding here worked for me.
As did the echoes of both Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. Possibly the least overwrought long separation, big M isunderstanding HRs out there - none of the revenge nonsense that many of the other ones typically employ - but is still true to its type, which is why I like it.
Not a 5 because the ending last 10 or so pages should have just been cut out. Which begs the question of what good is a story such as this without even a decent ending But I do like my share of angst, confusion, and not real betrayal, so I'm giving this a 3. Mar 13, Tina rated it it was ok Shelves: romance-historical , zreads.
I hate to rate this book as low as I do because really, it is not a bad book. Prosser, a man in his early forties, Elizabeth estimated, balding and slightly paunchy, strolled over and conversed with her for a few minutes, though she could not ba,ogh afterward what had been the topic.
Hetherington pushed himself lazily into a standing position. ItIs Robert she whispers. In fact, little else had been talked about for two days past. Mainwaring was not as taciturn or as top-lofty as he had at first appeared. They then have a squabble about whether or not they are divorced and he tells her that they are not and in fact they are still married.
It would be such a splendid match for her. Too Scot to Handle. She was not going to be made ashamed just because he obviously disapproved of a servant-and one dressed drably in gray-dancing with his friend. I have heard nothing in the last few weeks but speculation on which girls will be the lucky brides of our two gentlemen visitors. She was very reluctant to admit to a previous acquaintance with Hetherington.
Rowe had ushered the three gentlemen and a lady into the drawing room and was performing the introductions. I started reading her current books and worked my way backwards through at least of her stories! Only Elizabeth knew that he was capable of subordinating all else to his personal interests. Marquesses emcounter the Masquerade.
She determined that she would perform her duties as chaperone with extra diligence. She was reliving that first meeting at a particularly crowded and stuffy ball.
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