A Matter of Class

Just in time for Valentine's Day, from New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh comes yet another classic historical tale that sizzles with romance and unforgettable drama. Reginald Mason is wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by title, a factor that pains him and his father within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family, Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left her branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.
Though Reginald Mason, Senior, wishes to use Annabelle to propel his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Reginald Senior serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginald consents, and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs while their respective fathers revel in their suffering.
So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets, deception, and the trials of love—a story in which very little is as it seems.
From Publishers WeeklyAh, the arranged marriage. Can even the bestselling Balogh (Seducing an Angel) find anything fresh in this staple of historical romance? The answer, as demonstrated in this breezy tale, is yes. Reginald Mason is a dashing young rake whose spendthrift habits so outrage his wealthy coal-merchant father that Reggie is given an ultimatum: he must marry whomever his parents choose or lose his inheritance. He's soon matched with Annabelle Ashton, daughter of an earl whose property adjoins the Masons' land. Annabelle has not only ruined a proposed marriage to a loathsome marquis but put herself outside polite society by attempting to run off with a coachman. It's the perfect match: the earl needs his daughter to marry into money, and Reggie's father longs for acceptance in high society. The young couple, naturally, resent both one another and their fathers, but the author has a surprise in store for both the reader and the scheming parents. Balogh's in fine form, stripping the story to its core to give readers a fast-moving and winning romance. (Jan.)
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From BooklistFor both Lady Annabelle Ashton and Reginald Mason, marriage is inevitable, want it or not. After unsuccessfully trying to elope with her family’s coachman, Annabelle returns home in disgrace, leaving her family scrambling to find someone willing to make her respectable. Reginald is perfectly content to continue living the life of a rake, but his fed-up father finally insists that Reginald marry or he will permanently cut off his allowance. Since Annabelle’s father desperately needs money to pay off some debts, and since Reginald’s father has always wanted a connection to the upper class, the solution seems obvious: Reginald must marry Annabelle. The fact that both families have been bitter enemies for years, and that Reginald is not in love with Annabelle, doesn’t matter one whit. Balogh’s latest elegantly executed tale is rich with her usual subtle humor, deliciously romantic sensuality, and a truly clever twist on a classic Regency plot. --John Charles