Book Review
Mar. 3rd, 2026 11:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariOne Night for Love
by Mary Balogh
In this regency romance, Neville, Earl of Kilbourne, is about to marry his cousin Lauren, when on their wedding day a young but poor and bedraggled woman arrives. Lily turns out to be Neville's wife, a soldier's daughter he fell in love with and married in Spain while fighting in the Napoleonic Wars and thought killed in an ambush. The wedding is called off and both Neville and Lily must adjust to their new circumstances. However, Neville is an Earl, while Lily is an uneducated commoner, and what wasn't much of a barrier on campaign proves to be a formidable hurdle in peacetime. Lily leaves Neville, becoming a companion to his aunt Elizabeth, in order to figure out her place in this world. Elizabeth in turn offers Lily the education and training she needs to navigate polite society. Thus Lily and Neville can meet as equals and re-establish their love on a new footing.
I very much enjoyed this romance. Neville and Lily truly love each other but are caught in a very difficult situation. I really liked the way they both navigate it with integrity and respect for each other. I especially liked that Lily embraced becoming educated and learning to be a lady because she wanted to understand her new world better and to base her relationship with Neville in equality, rather than just to please Neville and his family. I also liked that Lily never loses the core of herself, no matter the education or refinements she attains. Finally, I've always liked how Balogh handles her characters' emotions, and this one is a fine example of that.
by Mary Balogh
In this regency romance, Neville, Earl of Kilbourne, is about to marry his cousin Lauren, when on their wedding day a young but poor and bedraggled woman arrives. Lily turns out to be Neville's wife, a soldier's daughter he fell in love with and married in Spain while fighting in the Napoleonic Wars and thought killed in an ambush. The wedding is called off and both Neville and Lily must adjust to their new circumstances. However, Neville is an Earl, while Lily is an uneducated commoner, and what wasn't much of a barrier on campaign proves to be a formidable hurdle in peacetime. Lily leaves Neville, becoming a companion to his aunt Elizabeth, in order to figure out her place in this world. Elizabeth in turn offers Lily the education and training she needs to navigate polite society. Thus Lily and Neville can meet as equals and re-establish their love on a new footing.
I very much enjoyed this romance. Neville and Lily truly love each other but are caught in a very difficult situation. I really liked the way they both navigate it with integrity and respect for each other. I especially liked that Lily embraced becoming educated and learning to be a lady because she wanted to understand her new world better and to base her relationship with Neville in equality, rather than just to please Neville and his family. I also liked that Lily never loses the core of herself, no matter the education or refinements she attains. Finally, I've always liked how Balogh handles her characters' emotions, and this one is a fine example of that.
