This novel is a breath of fresh air in the historical romance genre. It is deeply philosophical and addresses such topics as death, guilt, regret, class distinctions/boundaries, spirituality and the reasons for living. Can two people from different classes and very different backgrounds succeed in a relationship? The two main characters in this book show that it is possible if you truly love each other.
Gwendoline, Lady Muir, is a widow of 7 years, and while visiting a recently-widowed acquaintance, sprains her ankle on the property of a Duke. The Duke just happens to be housing the members of The Survivors' Club, a group of people in recovery from their war experiences, and one of the members, Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham, comes to Lady Muir's aid. Hugo's title was bestowed on him for services he rendered to the crown during the Napoleonic War - he is known as the Hero of Badajoz- and he is not comfortable with his elevation in status. He is from a very wealthy middle-class family and has little respect for the aristocracy. So it is a difficult twist of fate for him as he falls in love with Lady Muir. He has to adapt himself to her world in order to give his sister the chance to live life to the fullest and experience the upper class lifestyle of the ton. But fitting in to the ton is not enough for their relationship to last, and Gwen ultimately must attempt to fit into his world as well. Ultimately they make it work.
I enjoyed the interactions of the characters a great deal. They were realistic and have substance. My only issue with the writing was that sometimes the language used was too modern for the 1800's, and occasionally phrases like "head over ears" were used instead of "head over heals". Mary Balogh is Welsh and lives in Canada, so that may explain some of the figures of speech, but the book was published by Random House in the US. So you would think that the editors there would have caught the inconsistencies.
This book would be rated R for sexuality, but the love scenes are not gratuitous. The book is solidly based on the development of the characters as people and not the development of their sexual relationship, as is so common in the romance genre. The characters spend time together and their relationship develops through dialogue covering deep and heartfelt topics.
