First Comes Marriage: Number 1 in series (Huxtable Quintet, #1) (Huxtables)

by Mary Balogh

The arrival of Elliott Wallace, the irresistibly eligible Viscount Lyngate, has thrown the sleepy village of Throckbridge into a tizzy. It soon becomes clear that Elliot seeks a convenient marriage to a suitable bride, and desperate to rescue her eldest sister Margaret from a loveless union, Vanessa Huxtable - a proud and daring, a young widow - offers herself up instead.

In need of a wife, Elliott takes the audacious widow up on her unconventional proposal while he pursues an urgent mission of his own. But then a strange thing happens: as the wedding night approaches they become inexplicably drawn to one another. And, as intrigue swirls around a past secret - one with a striking connection to the Huxtables - Elliott and Vanessa are uncovering the glorious pleasures of the marriage bed and discovering that when it comes to wedded bliss, love can't be far behind.

• ISBN10: 0749942819
• ISBN13: 9780749942816
• Publish Date: 1 April 2010 (first published 1 January 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Piatkus Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amanda]

I probably should have thrown First Comes Marriage back to the library gods by page 48, but I was bored and sick and didn't feel like doing anything else. For that purpose, it works. I guess.

If it had only been the clunky language and lackluster story telling, I might have been able to enjoy the book. The story wasn't quite believable (even in a fictional historical romance sense), but I could have muddled through it if it hadn't been for one overriding fact.

Vanessa is continually described as plain, not lovely, not beautiful, not pleasing, etc. Except maybe when she smiled and was animated. Even Elliot commonly remarked to himself that he had no idea why he was sexually attracted to Vanessa because there was nothing remarkable about her. Because of course she had brown hair and had small breasts and wasn't as pretty as her sisters.

Really? Why must this be a THING in romance?

Elliot tells Vanessa she's pretty even as he questions it himself and then when she expresses disbelief, he says he's not lying. Even after finishing the book, I'm still not quite sure what he saw in her. Most of his thoughts regarding her were negative and not flattering for the majority of the book.

I didn't particularly like Elliot. Vanessa was tolerable. I skimmed some parts because the narrative went on and on and I rolled my eyes, groaned, and skipped ahead. Unless someone can convince me otherwise, I'm not inclined to continue reading anything more by Mary Balogh.