Book Reviews of First Comes Marriage (Huxtables, Bk 1)

Well done! Once begun, I was hard pressed to put this down and finished it in two days. I found myself smiling as I read through the first half of the book ... this is so reminiscent of a Jane Austen story. The characters are all quite likable and it quickly becomes obvious that no one is exactly as they present themselves to be!

Most delightful of all is knowing that we can read the newest installment every month! Katherine's story might be a frolic and it will be interesting watching Stephen struggle through growing pains. You just know Margaret and Crispin are fated to meet again ... but when will we be given Constantine's story, I wonder? He just cannot be the villain he seems!

So much to look forward to! I'm already on the waiting list. Are you?

This was definitely not a keeper for me...it moved very slowly and I didn't like the "hero" at all. However, it was well-written and I hope the series improves from here.

I am a big Mary Balogh fan but this book just didn't seem to live up to her other series. I just didn't feel the desire and conflict between the main characters. It left me feeling let down but i will continue the series.

Mary Balogh shifted back to her "darker" side with this book, and I enjoyed it immensely! It reminded me of her older novels, like Secret Pearl, where the hero Elliott is so burdened with troubles and new responsibilities at home that he rarely allows himself to enjoy himself. But his feelings run very deep and are quite profound, no matter how little he allows himself to let them show. I found the heroine Vanessa to be wonderfully refreshing and enjoyable, and LOVED that she was rather plain, not a beauty at all. (I get so tired of every heroine being stunningly beautiful, with a gorgeous, perfect figure. Vanessa is more like us "normal folk," and I appreciate that!)
There's some great twists in this story, and it's also a nice set up for the upcoming novels featuring Vanessa's sisters and the villain in this book, Constantine. Dull? Not at all. Not even close! I found myself sneaking back upstairs when I should have been working so I could read another chapter or two. This story is back to Mary's best, with realistic characters facing very real problems, and handling them in quirky ways that added the twists I enjoyed so much in this book. Not quite as good as some of her best, like "More Than A Mistress," "Tempting Harriet," "A Christmas Promise," "Snow Angel" and "A Certain Magic,"--if you haven't read these, you're missing out on some of the best Romance ever written!--but First Comes Marriage is the first book of Mary's since Slightly Tempted that I've enjoyed as much as some of her older ones.

I enjoyed this book. It had its moments when it was a bit dull, but in general it was very well written. I look forward to reading the other books in the series. I am especially interested in what really happened with Con. The author did a very nice job of weaving a bit of mystery into the book.

~ A good start to Balogh's new series - not as strong as the Bedwyn kick-off, but enjoyable (3.5 stars) ~

I am an almost-always faithful Balogh fan and I was not disappointed in Book 1 of the Huxtable Quintet, FIRST COMES MARRIAGE. Though I had some complaints which I have detailed below, on the whole I found the book very enjoyable and worth a quick rush to the bookstore (forgive me, Amazon.com) and the postponing of my schoolwork.

HUXTABLE FAMILY:
The Huxtable family is made up of four siblings; both of their parents are deceased (for 8+ years). Margaret Huxtable is the eldest at 25 years old and her story is in Book 3 (AT LAST COMES LOVE). Vanessa is the second eldest at 24 and she's featured in this book; she is technically no longer a Huxtable as she married Hedley Dew and is now Mrs. Dew, a widow (for details about her marriage, scroll down). Katherine is 20 years old and is the heroine of the next book (THEN COMES SEDUCTION). And finally there is Stephen, the youngest and the only boy; he's 17 years old and is the hero of the final book in the Huxtable Quintet (SEDUCING AN ANGEL).

MAIN CHARACTERS, Vanessa and Elliott:
Mrs. Vanessa Dew (24) has been a widow for over 1.5 years when we meet her. She's considered "the plain one" in the family - her siblings are all very good-looking. At first I found her difficult to get a handle on, which is not usually the case with Balogh characters. In the end I found her very likable, however. I do tend to be drawn to the unusual or quiet heroines, and the "plain Jane" aspect definitely delivers that. Vanessa is wonderfully forthright though and I greatly appreciated that when a problem or misunderstanding arose between her and Elliott, she addressed it and talked to him about it instead of letting the issue fester.

Balogh writes her as a very happy, cheerful woman who finds joy in making others smile and laugh and is almost always doing one of those herself. She also spars sometimes with Elliott and from the beginning will not let his airs effect her - and makes him know it. This combative side of her seemed to me to sometimes clash with her character of cheerfulness personified (which is at times a little much), and I think that some of these inconsistencies are what made it difficult for me to get attached to her right away. I'm not sure whether the disparity lessens as one reads on or I just stopped paying as much attention, but either way in the end I did like and enjoy her as a heroine.

Elliott Wallace, Viscount Lyngate and heir to a dukedom (29), is not a very likable hero at the beginning of the book. He comes of as a condescending and quite pompous a** - though Vanessa quite wonderfully keeps him in line at times and in such an innocent and forthright manner so that it doesn't even seem like that's what she's trying to do, but rather she's just being honest and speaking her mind (*great* setdown speech on p73!). He's serious and isn't very light-hearted; he used to be more so, but in the last few years various shocks and realities of life have changed him into a pretty dour and unsmiling man.

Balogh repeats certain scenarios and characters and in the hero and heroine of FIRST COMES MARRIAGE one sees similarities to her past creations. For those of you have read (and *LOVED* of course, because how could one not?!) SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS, the last book in the Bedwyn series, you will recognize Christine Derrick in Vanessa. You will also see traces of Bewcastle and Aidan Bedwyn (the hero of the first Bedwyn book, SLIGHTLY MARRIED - also SO *great*!) in Elliot. I liked all three of those characters, but Balogh would either have to write Vanessa and Elliott just as vividly or she would have to write them differently enough to not make comparison inevitable, and she did neither.

COMMENTS:
~ Several laugh-out-loud moments; good chemistry between the hero and heroine and I did think they were well-matched. Not Balogh's best characters or pair, but still very strong and resulting in a good read.
~ The secondary characters were well-written and I am much looking forward to the other Huxtable siblings' love stories. I liked Lady Lyngate, Elliott's mother, and Vanessa's ex-parents-in-law were very sweet.
~ The "marriage of convenience" premise between Elliott and Vanessa is very, very weak - what propels them into marriage is not really reason enough to do so, however such a marriage is necessary for the plot and one feels like that's more of the grounds for having it than anything else. Basically, just don't examine it too closely, but rather suspend belief (and enjoy the scene where it's decided upon, since it's *highly* enjoyable and laughable!!).
~ I DO like heroines who are not drop-dead gorgeous (or gorgeous at all), but it definitely was repeated far too often and by far too many people that Vanessa was plain, not pretty, not beautiful, etc. The exchanges between her and Elliott on the subject were sweet (once he stopped continuously expressing amazement in his thoughts that he was attracted to her) and not de trop, but the 20 billion other mentions by almost every character in the book ...

VANESSA'S PREVIOUS MARRIAGE:
I'm ashamed to admit it and I know that it is so unlike real life (which is why I'm reading these books, lol), but I don't like there to have been a strong previous claim on the hero or heroine's affections/heart, so for those of you who are wondering about Vanessa's first marriage ... they were married for a year; he was sickly the whole time (they knew he had consumption before they married); though Vanessa did love Hedley, it was not a passionate romantic type of love.

I enjoy this author, and she had some excellent character development (you could actually see them gradually change their minds), but oh, the angst! There was just too much drama for my taste; it felt more like a soap opera. But I will read the next one in the series in the hope that the thread amongst the characters gets better. But to stand alone, this one is lacking.

England 1800s. This is the first in a series, but I read the 2nd book first. Although they were written to stand alone, I think it would have been much more enjoyable to read them in the correct order. There are a few characters that I now say "Oh - that's why" as I read it.
The actual story is very nice. Not my favorite by this author (I love the Slightly series), but a good start for this series. Vanessa (heroine) is extremely "nice" while Elliot is all potential in action. The romance develops nicely and i LOVE that the conflicts are not ones that fester when they could have been easily solved by simply talking. I would recommend this to any who enjoy a good historical romance.

thought it was great, loved that whole series

This book was a historical romance and an almost Cinderella story. It is about a family that goes from pinching their pennies to becoming one of the wealthiest families of the ton.

Nice story albeit a bit tame and predictable. Interesting characters and good interaction.

I wasn't impressed with the first Mary Balogh book I read. But, I kept hearing good things, so I decided to give her another try. I'm glad I did. I could not put this book down! I loved her descriptions and the storyline. While there were the usual misunderstandings associated to expected in a regency romance, I found it refreshing that they weren't drawn out. The characters actually talk to each other and work out their differences instead of staying made over something silly. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Great series by great author.

This book like all of Mary Balogh books is a very enjoyable read. This is the first book in her Huxtable family series. If you like Mary Baloghm, you will love this book.

This book was a pleasant surprise. The premise of the story concerns a small family of three sisters and a brother who are rescued from poverty by a fortuitous death in the family, and distant family ties, that turn their brother into an earl overni...more This book was a pleasant surprise. The premise of the story concerns a small family of three sisters and a brother who are rescued from poverty by a fortuitous death in the family, and distant family ties, that turn their brother into an earl overnight. All three sister's are marriageable, one being a widow with a mind of her own. Of course, the viscount that delivered the good news take an almost instant dislike to eachother, and sparks fly throughout the book between them, before and after they decide to marry for convenience.

Ms. Balogh has a talent for writing in a way that keeps you involved in the story. Surprisingly, this wasn't just a piece of fluff that I could just page through mindlessly. I had to concentrate to read this story. She does throw in some mystery, and supporting characters abound. I grew to dislike Margaret, the oldest sister, as she seemed selfish even as she was sacrificing for her family. I was tired of her woe is me outlook on life. Last but not least, my interest was piqued from the second we first meet Con; he is enough to keep me interested in reading the rest of the series.

enjoyed it