An Unacceptable Offer by Mary Balogh
by Mary Balogh
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Jane Matthews has been secretly in love with the charming, very handsome Viscount Fairfax for a long time—since well before his marriage, in fact. Now he is widowed and, after a suitable mourning period, is back in London in search of a new wife and a mother for his two infant daughters. He chooses Jane, whom he finds likable and quiet and sensible and surely the ideal choice to suit his needs. When he proposes marriage to her, however, she surprises them both by saying no. Instead, she accepts the offer of his best friend. Too late—or so it seems—the viscount falls deeply in love with Jane as he comes to value her for herself.
- File Name:an-unacceptable-offer-by-mary-balogh.epub
- Original Title:An Unacceptable Offer
- Creator:Mary Balogh
- Language:en
- Identifier:MOBI-ASIN:B07N49W9T7
- Publisher:Class Ebook Editions, Ltd.
- Date:2019-04-01T18:30:00+00:00
- File Size:239.064 KB
Table of Content
- 1. Dear Reader
- 2. Praise for Mary
- 3. Title Page
- 4. Chapter 1
- 5. Chapter 2
- 6. Chapter 3
- 7. Chapter 4
- 8. Chapter 5
- 9. Chapter 6
- 10. Chapter 7
- 11. Chapter 8
- 12. Chapter 9
- 13. Chapter 10
- 14. Chapter 11
- 15. Chapter 12
- 16. Chapter 13
- 17. Chapter 14
- 18. Chapter 15
- 19. Chapter 16
- 20. Chapter 17
- 21. More by Mary Balogh
- 22. Biography
- 23. Also by Mary
Mary Balogh
Book author Mary Balogh34fans
An Unacceptable Offer was about Miss Jane Matthews, a niece of Sir Alfred Jamieson and Lord Michael Templeton, Viscount Fairfax. Jane, having met and fallen in love with Michael before his first marriage five years earlier, was determined to not let him see she still had feelings for him now that he was a widower...especially as her very vain and selfish cousin, Honor, was determined to capture his attention and make him her husband. Michael, having just ended the mourning period for his late wife, had allowed his best friend, Joseph Sedgeworth, to convince him it was time to find a new wife and mother for his two small daughters. Realizing his marriage had not been as ideal as he had first hoped, Michael was none too keen on marrying for the second time, although he had to admit that his girls did need a woman's touch. While Michael did not find Jane particularly pretty, he did find her interesting. However, he showed more interest in her cousin, Honor, than he did Jane at first...until he realized the chit was too much like his first wife. The more time he spent in Jane's company, the more he found himself thinking she would make the better wife. But when he finally proposed, she turned him down. Though Jane found she was still in love with Michael after five years, she realized not only that he did not return the feelings, he saw her only as a convenience, which was why she rejected his proposal. Two weeks after turning down his proposal, Jane accepted the one that came from Joseph, Michael's best friend. Though she knew he did not love her, and he knew she loved another, they both shared a quiet affection for each other. Once Michael heard of the betrothal, though, he was devastated, but determined to be happy for them. Too late came the realization that he had fallen in love with Jane. This book was quite sedate, with all the characters being too amiable with each other and no true antagonists. The twists and turns were a bit blase, with the drama and angst being too contrived. The passion was nothing more than a mild simmer and the chemistry underwhelming. The characters were bland at best and dull at worst. There really wasn't any controversy to overcome, which was quite unusual for such a book. Every obstacle that came up was too easily overcome. However, as the next reader will find, there was one scene near the end that was totally uncalled for and out of place between the two main characters. It just did not fit the story and was totally unfounded, which also detracted from the book getting anything higher than a three-star rating.