Counterfeit Betrothal

Lady Sophia Bryant isn?t enjoying her first Season. She doesn?t want to get married, because her own experience of marriage is disastrous: her parents separated when she was four and neither has seen the other since then. Talking to some friends, a scheme is borne: if Sophia pretends that she wants to marry someone her parents will find ineligible, but is of perfectly good ton, then maybe they will have to join forces to talk her out of it.Step forward Lord Francis Sutton, youngest son of a duke - a duke who happens to be the Earl of Clifton?s (Sophia?s father) oldest friend. Sophia and Francis have known each other since they were very young children - and unlike characters in another author?s books I?ve been reading recently, these two really do sound as if they?ve known each other all their lives. Francis and Sophia have quarrelled all their lives, too, and even in agreeing to pretend to be madly in love they fight. It?s already apparent that this pretend engagement is going to be a lot of fun - and that Sophia and Francis are actually not as indifferent to each other as they pretend.And now we meet the principal characters of this book: Sophia?s parents, Olivia and Marcus. Although they?re the parents of a debutante, they are actually relatively young still: Marc is 40 to Livy?s 36. But they haven?t seen one another for 14 years. Olivia rejected Marc after a stupid mistake of his: drunk, he slept with a prostitute because his friends were egging him on, and he compounded his error by telling Olivia. At her young age at the time - just 21 - she?d put him on a pedestal and couldn?t cope with discovering that he was human. She didn?t know how to rebuild their marriage at the time, so she told him that she couldn?t forgive him.So how do Marc and Livy cope, meeting each other after all this time? Has time healed the wounds? Are they now two strangers? Or can they be indifferent to each other, behaving like polite acquaintances? Or is it possible that they are each still in love with the other?We get two love stories for the price of one in A Counterfeit Betrothal. Frances and Sophia?s is fun all the way; extremely humorous, and it?s entirely obvious that the two of them have bitten off far more than they can chew in pretending to their families that they are madly in love and can?t wait to be married. But... is it really all a pretence? Is it possible for two people to be quite so convincing? And will they actually be able to extricate themselves before they really find themselves in front of a vicar? But then, as Francis keeps telling Sophia, they?re both headed for Bedlam anyway.And then, in stark contrast, Marc and Livy?s story is utterly poignant. Their separation left each of them bitter, Marc because he?d pleaded with Livy for six months to forgive him, and Livy because of Marc?s betrayal. Seeing each other again is unbelievably painful for both. Being together, pretending to be the happily married couple for friends and relations - and espe

The back cover is deceiving, and I strongly suspect that the cover illustration is that of Lady Sophia's estranged parents. And the reviewers are right - this story, of a couple estranged over a one-time indiscretion (well, a one-night stand) by the father which the mother cannot forgive, is what caught the eye. Mind you, reading about Sophia's and Francis's childhood was funny. I could just imagine that little girl eagerly tagging after four bigger boys, with the older boys more tolerant of her. Balogh does childhood scenes so wonderfully.I have to admit that through most of the book, once I realized what the cause of the estrangement had been, I felt rather sorry for Sophia's father - being estranged from his wife over something he did when completely drunk, and then missing his only child growing up. I was also impressed by the fact that the couple seemed to share a bed more happily than their true feelings. In this book, particularly, you can find out more about the characters through their sexual relations, than through what they say or think. Sophia was a bit silly and immature through most of the book. I have to admit that while I understood her feelings, I also felt that she was *very very* lucky that Francis's feelings for her had changed over the years. Francis of course fully realized what he was getting into, especially when Sophia decided to insist upon an early marriage.The family relationships are wonderfully portrayed, but the true romance is not that between Sophia and Francis but between Sophia's parents Marcus and Olivia (or Marc and Livy). The flashbacks to their estrangement, the subsequent misunderstandings even after they have spent some time together at their daughter's wedding, and their genuine fears and worries about their daughter marrying so young are all beautifully portrayed. On the other hand, neither couple will stick in your mind as much as the couples Balogh creates slightly later - Carew and Samantha, Francis (another Francis!) and Cora, Bridgwater and Stephanie. And these are only from her traditional Regencies. This book is short and sweet, and it will leave you with a smile. Not one of her best, but hardly one of her worst either.Rating = 4.3 stars (points off for more attractive heroes than heroines; for less-developed and immature characters, particularly an immature Sophia)

Strangely with this book my favorite characters aren't the primary characters--at least not the primary characters as described on the book jacket. It wasn't Sophie and her suitor and their romance that entranced me. It was Sophie's parents. Her estranged parents, their problems and their undying love for one another was what made the book interesting and special. They were the ones who provided the smile at the end of the book when at long last they were reunited with a new life and an infant son. For myself it was the plot with the parents that was the best and prime focus of the book. They made the story worthwhile.

Mary Balogh never disappoints. In this heart-warming tale, there are no roller-coasting emotions but at the end of the story, you will feel such satisfaction at the outcome , such happiness in the goodness of human nature. Balogh's stories always lift your heart and spirit and trust that love and goodness always triumph in the end.