A nice story about a special relationship.

If you are a sucker for a wounded hero, you'll like Vincent. This is the second in the series featuring members of the Survivors Club, a group of veterans of the Napoleonic wars.
Vincent lost his sight in battle and longs to regain control of his life despite his blindness. He is terribly handsome, "beautiful" is how Sophia describes him.

Sophia is the "poor relation" of a wealthy family who reside in Vincent's childhood village. She has taken on the persona of a "mouse". Neglected and ignored by a series of relatives, she finds it easier to blend in to the background. She finds solace and an outlet for her true witty personality and imagination through her satirical sketches. The author spends way too much time telling Sophia and us how unattractive she is. I understand the author's point that Sophia and Vincent were not aesthetically equal, but didn't need to be constantly reminded that she wasn't supermodel material.

Vincent and Sophia meet and through of a series of events agree it would be beneficial if they married. This book tells the story of their relationship. It is a very sweet story that takes the time for the romance to develop and grow. Each provides the other with support and encouragement that allow them to overcome their obstacles.

This is a lovely romance, period. There really is no drama, no relevant mystery and no single climax to the story that I can specifically remember. While I appreciate that the characters were more realistic and human than those of many romance novels, it would have been a little more interesting if a serious villain was thrown in for good measure. In place of that villain, just plain nasty relatives didn't keep things as interesting.

In summary, if you want a warm and fuzzy romance, this is a genuinely heartwarming tale and worth the credit. If you like adventure and some "swashbuckling" you may find this a bit lacking.

Rosalyn Landor is an outstanding narrator. She brings each character to life.

22 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Finally! A love based on substance and not looks

The love story got built on solid grounds. Respect, devotion, caring and giving mingled with passion lead our H/H to fall in love and it was sweet. A feel good book.

6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Putting the Wagon before the horse

Very good story about a misplaced young lady who in trying to protect a young lord from being hoodwinked by her undeserving cousin from marriage,has gotten herself caught up with a proposal to"said"young lord with gratitude once he found out she had protected him from an unwanted marriage,she had been tossed out for her interference.Together,Vincent and Sophia had created a good,loving life for eachother with him and his wealth and vast loving family and with her imagination and genius,they create a safe environment and gain the love and respect from all those aquainted with them.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Pretty awful

This is really trashy. The characters are total stereotypes, there is zero plot, and the sex scenes are cringeworthy. Yuck !

4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Very average romance story

Very predictable, repetitive, and over-written book, with the mandatory segment of unlikely eroticism. Sadly, it's like most romances written these days. I do not understand the need of authors to repeat the same information and same lame worries numerous times during the story, unless it is to pad the number of words. I find it hard to believe that a Victorian virgin who finds out about sex just hours before her marriage turns into a sex-starved creature in her marriage bed, nor does this add quality to the story. It comes across more like porn for women. Add to all this a few anachronistic touches, and the result is a book I personally did not enjoy very much. The reader did a fairly good job except when a character was described as pronouncing someone's name a certain way, she did not do that when speaking in that character's voice. That was just one small section of the book, but I think it was a very big error on her part. It made it sound like she wasn't listening to what she was saying. For that, she lost a star, but otherwise she did a good job, especially considering the tedium of the repetitive story.

4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Love Rosalyn Landon’s Narration

Mary Balogh’s Survivor series is a must listen, I’m on my second lap of them. Rosalyn Landor can narrate the heck out of a book. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry, she never disappoints.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Nice but slow

I love the hero with disability angle. MB gave his PoV justice. In the beginning, I was conflicted about the pairing with an insecure girl but I realized that it was for the better. Vincent needed somebody he could take care of instead of someone who would dictate to him or coddle him as all the women in his life had been doing. I love that in the course of the book, he and Sophia grew up.

I was okay with the Cinderella trope for Sophie. My main complaint is the constant repetition of events and phrases in both PoVs. They really slowed down the action. Also, too much introspection and narration. I love Rosalyn Landor and her voices are still excellent, but I heard too much of her in this book instead of the characters she played.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Lil' mouse

The second installment in the Survivor's Club series. Love this series and the characters. We find Vincent Hunt, Lord Darleigh fleeing his home to escape his female relatives matchmaking schemes. Before chancing a return to his estate, he stops off at the village where he was born and raised before inheriting his title. The villagers welcome him and hold a grand assembly where a local Squire and his wife set up a trap to snare Vincent and force him to marry their daughter. The seldom seen and heard niece of the wife, Sophia Fry, foils there plans and is kicked out of her aunts house. Vincent, upon learning of her plight, comes to offer her assistance and then decides suddenly to offer her marriage instead. He convinced her to enter into an arranged marriage with him. As they help each other find a place in this world, friendship and then love blooms along their path. Another book added to my Re-Read list.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Love Mary Balogh

Would you listen to The Arrangement again? Why?

Yes, it is the only Mary Balogh book I will listen to (I read all her others) because all her other audio books are performed by Anne Flosnick and I literally cannot tolerate listening to her. I'm truly shocked that anyone thinks she can narrate. Such a shame.

7 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Sweet Book

Normally I do not like sweet stories unless they are about children, but I had to change my mind about this one. Vincent and Sophia's story starts off a little rocky because of the circumstances that bring them together. From that point on the story holds your attention. You want to know how their story develops. I may even listen to this again.

Of course RL is great.

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