I picked up At Last Comes Love by Mary Balogh from a local thrift store a while ago. It was probably before we went on lock-down because that particular store has been closed for months and only recently re-opened. I have yet to venture inside though. I picked it up because it is a Mary Balogh book. I recently discovered this romance author last summer when I read Someone to Love. I enjoyed her writing style in that book even though part of the ending was a bit problematic. So, I'm interested in exploring more books written by her. She's not an unknown author by any means but I just haven't read any of her books until recently.
At Last Comes Love is the third book in the Huxtable Quintet series but it can be read as a standalone.
Duncan Pennethrone has a scandalous past. Instead of marrying the woman he was engaged to, he ran off with another woman. However, he's back in London after his lover passed away. Now he has a secret child to support and he's about to lose every bit of his inheritance unless he gets married before his grandfather's birthday. Margaret Huxtable is considered to be a spinster but she's in no rush to get married. She would rather be alone than to enter into a bad match. However, when a run in with an ex-love causes her to lie about having a fiance, she finds herself in desperate need of a man. Luckily - or perhaps unluckily? - Duncan the Earl of Sheringford is there to help her.
I liked this book but it wasn't my favorite story. Unlike a lot of romance novels, At Last Comes Love didn't have that emotional grip on me. The romance between Duncan and Margaret was slow. It also felt like it was less about love and passion and more about settling down into a comfortable life together. That's not such a bad thing though. I did feel less invested in the romance between the two characters though.
I also thought the secret with Duncan's child was a little over the top. At the same time, I did not expect the story to go in that direction. It was interesting.
The conversations between Duncan and Margaret focused on the fact that this wasn't a love match, how Margaret doesn't necessarily have to marry him, and his scandalous past which he won't talk about so stop asking. There was not really a lot of passion between the two characters and they sort of just fell into a comfortable marriage after the wedding. Well, they're in love by the time of the marriage but I personally didn't feel the love as intensely as I would have liked from a romance novel. Their love is a quiet sort of love.
I don't have much to really say about this book. I'm still going to read more books by this author but this particular story was just okay for me. I found the beginning of the book more exciting. The middle was getting a little boring but things did pick up again by the ending when Duncan's son came into the story.
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