Book Review: One Night for Love - by Mary Balogh

Synopsis: I consider One Night for Love to be the first of two prequels to Mary Balogh's Bedwyn family series of regency romances. Neville Wyatt, Earl of Kilbourne, is literally moments from marrying his lifelong friend and adopted cousin, Lauren Edgeworth, WHEN the woman he married and left for dead two years before comes rushing down the aisle to stop the wedding. Our heroine, Lily Doyle, is a mess, having traveled across the peninsula, over the channel, and through the English countryside to make her way back to her beloved husband. Poor Lauren, the jilted bride, and the rest of Neville's family are shocked and appalled to learn of his marriage to a virtual nobody on a battlefield in Portugal. What follows is a long and heart-rending story of how the two long-lost lovers truly find one another and are able to allow themselves to love each other again.

It is very difficult to describe this book. It is the first Balogh novel I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, thorough is a good word to describe Balogh's writing. She weaves myriad characters into the story as well as providing a rich setting for the action of the story. And yet, you don't ever feel as though you've been mired in too much flowery language or bored with a detailed account of every leaf and twig the characters pass along the way.

The central plot involving the hero and heroine is very, very simple. Their marriage and subsequent joining were an affirmation of life in the midst of the war and death surrounding them. I found the back-story of their time in Portugal very moving. They are torn apart by death, only to be reunited again unexpectedly. Their feelings for one another didn't change, but Lily must still struggle with finding her place in an English society that judges harshly those with no blue blood and formal education. She has to leave Neville, the one thing she loves the most, in order to grow into the woman who can truly be his wife. If that makes sense. Like I said, it is a very difficult book to describe.

Interestingly, one of my favorite things about this novel was the cast of secondary characters. I especially liked Elizabeth, Neville's 36 year old spinster aunt. She made a wonderful champion for Lily among the vicious members of the ton. I also enjoyed the little romance between her and the Duke. I also really liked Gwendoline and Lauren, who didn't want to like Lily, but were strong enough to admit that she really was a good person. They come to like and accept her over time.

I gave this book 4 stars.