It's kind of strange. I never liked Balogh's work before. I must have tried 3 different books/stories of hers (First Comes Marriage, The Secret Pearl, and "A Handful of Gold") and couldn't get past the first few pages. I used to find her writing too dry and her plotting too slow. Then I read The Famous Heroine. I adored the hero, and although I liked the heroine, all the italics thrown into her dialogue put me off a little. All things considered though, I enjoyed the book, especially after they got married. Now I'm reading The Temporary Wife, and I am loving it. The heroine is incredibly likeable, and although the hero initially seemed like a boring stock character - cold, elegant, toplofty, and with father issues, I'm starting to like him too. I'm starting to find that Balogh has an elegant way with words and a special talent in depicting emotion. So...is it just me, or are some Balogh books just better than others? Maybe her older regencies are just more to my taste. Anyone read most of Balogh's extensive backlist and can recommend more of her work that I might enjoy? Am hoping there is more Balogh I can enjoy, and that you can help narrow down my choices. I wish so many of her older regencies weren't out of print.

Rosie, it's no secret that I'm a Balogh fan-have been since her debut-more than 25 years ago.  That book is still among my favorites of hers.  (A Masked Deception)That said, I'm not as much a fan of her current style-as when she was writing trads....Seemed-at least to me-to be a change in style when she went to hardcover and went to Delacorte. 

Her Welsh books are favorites-Longing is one.

Trads-Tempting Harriet, A Masked Deception. 

Short story: Wassail Bowl-Christmas theme. This one has been re-released alot

Can't explain the change except to say-I LIKE what she's writing now; I LOVED her earlier writing....

Thanks for the recs, Jan. I'll check out the Wassail Bowl, and hope that I will run across the others at one booksale or another. :)

It sounds like maybe you prefer her thinner, lighter books. Lady with a Black Umbrella is another funnier one.

A Matter of Class is a good one too, probably the most recent of her's that I have read.

I just started reading MB a few years ago.  I find her somewhere between Johanna Lindsey and Georgette Heyer.  I can't say I have a favorite of hers.  Once I started reading her work I read almost all the ones I could get my hand on in a very short time so they've kind of blended into each other.  Right now I have most of her earlier works on my WL.

Another one that is more recent(and should be easy to get) is "One Night for Love".  Brings in several characters and families from her more recent works-Bedwyns and others so I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.  But really liked the hero and heroine in One Night....

I am a huge Mary Balogh fan.  I find that I prefer her older works.  Another interesting thing about Mary Balogh is that characters make recurring appearences in several books.  For instance, I believe the hero of The Famous Heroine wa a friend of the heros in Lord Carew's Bride and The Dark Angel.  I loved that series.  Another favorite of mine was the First Snowdrop in which the hero's cousin attempts to seduce the hero's wife and then his story is told in the Christmas Belle.  Two of my favorite Balogh books are A Chance Encounter in which the unsuccessul suitor gets his own story in a sequel called the Wood Nymph; and the Double Wager is probably my all time favorite.  A Counterfeit Betrothal is also a good one and in the series with The Trysting Place and The Notorious Rake.  Red Rose is also a great story.  I could go on forever.  If there is any more info I can give you please don't be shy!

Oh yeah - A Matter of Class is terrific!!