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A Precious Jewel Mary Balogh 9780440244639 Books

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A Precious Jewel Mary Balogh 9780440244639 Books

Admittedly, I have mixed feelings. Allow me to sing its praises first. The heroine is unconventional, which I wholly admire. Mary B has a reputation for tackling difficult situations and realistic conflicts. I love that I never know what to expect from one of her books. The heroine's plight is just such an occasion. A few authors have attempted books with "whores," and they turned their heroines into just that--whores. Mary B, instead, creates a heroine who struggles to survive and finds herself in an unexpected and undesired profession, while revealing the strength of her character to make the best of her situation instead of fall into despair and hopelessness. The courage of the heroine is commendable.

The plot is well constructed in how it shows the growth of the characters and their tendencies to fall back on what they know when they're afraid or insecure. At times, the interactions between the characters made me want to throttle them both at how they treated each other, but those interactions are what made the plot work so well in showing the insecurities and the growth.

As usual, the sex scenes are used as plot devices rather than pointless smutty moments. The physical coupling of the two changes depending on their state of mind and how confident or insecure they feel. However frustrating it was at times for the coupling to be uncomfortable for them, the experience provided insight to the current emotional state of the characters.

The ending accomplished what I wish more romance books would accomplish. Often, romance books seem to be thrown together at the end with the words of the hero and heroine not feeling genuine or convincing--somehow a sudden confession of love is enough after all of that conflict? No. With this ending, their reuniting is convincing, the words said, explanations given, and even demonstration of affection is exactly what I want to see as the final love moment. I can't tell you how many times I get to the end and say, "No, I'm not convinced. Don't trust him, Heroine! How do you know he's not lying after that crisis!?" By the end of this book, I was convinced and cheering that all heroes need to take notes from Sir Gerald. Finally a man got it right!

So, why do I have mixed feelings about this book? The mixed feelings is almost solely around Sir Gerald. I really liked his character in _The Ideal Wife_. I actually liked him a tad better than the hero in that book. He was honest, witty, and respectful. I didn't like him nearly as much in his own story, not nearly much at all. I won't go as far as to say that I disliked him, rather that I didn't actually like him. His behavior to the heroine makes perfect sense, so I have no problems about that, but he struck me as being a high functioning autistic, and that made me a tad uncomfortable. I had the distinct impression that I was reading a book about Rain Man. What's interesting is that this was not the impression from _The Ideal Wife_, nor was it the impression in the first half of this book. Somewhere around midway, he started slipping into Rain Man. If he had been that way from the beginning, maybe I wouldn't have been so uncomfortable, but once he turned half-wit, I grew steadily more uncomfortable with their relationship, namely because the heroine began to show her intelligence and love of intellect, all while he grew dafter. The intellect gap grew all the way to the end when I began to doubt that their relationship would actually work long term. Someone as intellectual as she became and someone as slow as he became would have a difficult life together indeed, and I think quite quickly it would become a mothering relationship, which we did see quite a few hints to that in the beginning anyway. I'm just not seeing intellectually they're working long term.

Another slight issue I had was the brief time we had with them in love. It was sandwiched between their master-mistress pattern with a strong enough emphasis of his being her master and her his slave that the brief time of equal love didn't seem enough to turn the tides for a long-term romance. Instead of it lasting three days, perhaps if it had lasted all summer, where they moved from master-slave to equal love with plot-driven passionate sex, I think it would be more convincing that they would have hope as a long-term couple who are destined to fall in love. When it's master-slave for half a year, love with passionate sex for three days, and then master-slave for another half a year afterwards, the entire romance is based on only three days. It was difficult for me to swallow that three days would be enough to change their lives and views of each other.

Those are my qualms, which certainly didn't detract from my liking of the book, but it did drop it a star from 5 to 4. If you enjoy unconventional heroines and plots, it's a Mary B must, and then you can decide for yourself what you make of the hero and the potential of those two making it work.


Tags : A Precious Jewel [Mary Balogh] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b> </i></b> New York Times </i>bestselling author Mary Balogh weaves a sensuous spell of romance that brings together the unlikeliest pair of lovers in the unlikeliest place of all–an infamous London house of pleasure. <b> </b>She was unlike any woman he’d ever met in the ton or the demimonde. But Sir Gerald Stapleton frequented Mrs. Blyth’s euphemistically dubbed “finishing school” for pure,Mary Balogh,A Precious Jewel,Dell,0440244633,Courtesans,London (England),Love stories,Love stories.,Nobility,Prostitutes;Fiction.,Regency fiction,Regency fiction.,Romance fiction,ENGLISH LIGHT ROMANTIC FICTION,FICTION Romance Action & Adventure,FICTION Romance Historical Regency,FICTION Romance Historical Victorian,Fiction,Fiction - Romance,Fiction-Romance,General Adult,MASS MARKET,Prostitutes,Romance,Romance - Historical - Regency,RomanceRegency,Romance: Regency,United States,best sellers list new york times;new york times best sellers;romance;fiction;regency;historical romance;historical;mistress;regency romance;victorian;historical regency romance;british historical romance;regency historical;19th century;18th century;victorian romance;romance regency;19th century romance;regency victorian romance;britain;regency era;british history;romance books;romance novels;women;relationship books;books for women;relationships;historical fiction;historical novels;romance novel,romance; fiction; regency; historical romance; historical; mistress; regency romance; victorian; historical regency romance; british historical romance; regency historical; 19th century; 18th century; victorian romance; romance regency; 19th century romance; regency victorian romance; britain; regency era; british history; romance books; romance novels; women; relationship books; books for women; relationships; historical fiction; historical novels; romance novel; best sellers list new york times; new york times best sellers

A Precious Jewel Mary Balogh 9780440244639 Books Reviews

"And if she was a whore, then he was a man who found it necessary to employ whores because he was no good at real relationships."

FINAL DECISION Complex and nuanced, A PRECIOUS JEWEL takes a difficult situation and goes deep within the relationship in order to build toward a happy ending. The story is slow and detailed, but every moment is necessary to make the progression feel real.

THE STORY Sir Gerald Stapleton is a confirmed bachelor with a distrust of marriage. He wants uncomplicated sex so he goes to a brothel for his pleasure. There he meets, Priss, a prostitute. He ends up deciding to take her as his mistress. The two grow closer which worries Gerald. His uncomplicated world is shaken when Priss tells him that she is leaving him to marry another man. Priscilla Wentworth grew up a gentlewoman, but falling on hard times, she makes the decision to sell herself. She begins to fall for Gerald even as she knows that a prostitute doesn't have a future with a client.

OPINION This is the story of a prostitute finding love, but there is no magical solution to the fact that Priss has sold herself to many men. This is not a book where the "prostitute" heroine is really a virgin, or pretending to sell herself. Priss is a working prostitute when she meets Gerald, who is a client. Balogh never turns away from difficult premises for her stories. This story is deep and complex and takes a long time to wind through the journey of these characters. The book's action takes place over more than a year's time and the characters have many challenges to face.

Priss is a likeable heroine. She is down to earth and practical. She ends up falling in love with Gerald despite knowing that there can be no happy ending for them. Gerald is a beta hero. He is quiet and more uncertain about himself than might be expected. But he and Priss are such a great combination.

I loved how these two connected and navigated this difficult situation.

WORTH MENTIONING This book takes place at the same time as the events in THE IDEAL WIFE.

CONNECTED BOOKS A PRECIOUS JEWEL is the second book in the Stapleton-Downes series.

STAR RATING I give this book 4 stars.
Admittedly, I have mixed feelings. Allow me to sing its praises first. The heroine is unconventional, which I wholly admire. Mary B has a reputation for tackling difficult situations and realistic conflicts. I love that I never know what to expect from one of her books. The heroine's plight is just such an occasion. A few authors have attempted books with "whores," and they turned their heroines into just that--whores. Mary B, instead, creates a heroine who struggles to survive and finds herself in an unexpected and undesired profession, while revealing the strength of her character to make the best of her situation instead of fall into despair and hopelessness. The courage of the heroine is commendable.

The plot is well constructed in how it shows the growth of the characters and their tendencies to fall back on what they know when they're afraid or insecure. At times, the interactions between the characters made me want to throttle them both at how they treated each other, but those interactions are what made the plot work so well in showing the insecurities and the growth.

As usual, the sex scenes are used as plot devices rather than pointless smutty moments. The physical coupling of the two changes depending on their state of mind and how confident or insecure they feel. However frustrating it was at times for the coupling to be uncomfortable for them, the experience provided insight to the current emotional state of the characters.

The ending accomplished what I wish more romance books would accomplish. Often, romance books seem to be thrown together at the end with the words of the hero and heroine not feeling genuine or convincing--somehow a sudden confession of love is enough after all of that conflict? No. With this ending, their reuniting is convincing, the words said, explanations given, and even demonstration of affection is exactly what I want to see as the final love moment. I can't tell you how many times I get to the end and say, "No, I'm not convinced. Don't trust him, Heroine! How do you know he's not lying after that crisis!?" By the end of this book, I was convinced and cheering that all heroes need to take notes from Sir Gerald. Finally a man got it right!

So, why do I have mixed feelings about this book? The mixed feelings is almost solely around Sir Gerald. I really liked his character in _The Ideal Wife_. I actually liked him a tad better than the hero in that book. He was honest, witty, and respectful. I didn't like him nearly as much in his own story, not nearly much at all. I won't go as far as to say that I disliked him, rather that I didn't actually like him. His behavior to the heroine makes perfect sense, so I have no problems about that, but he struck me as being a high functioning autistic, and that made me a tad uncomfortable. I had the distinct impression that I was reading a book about Rain Man. What's interesting is that this was not the impression from _The Ideal Wife_, nor was it the impression in the first half of this book. Somewhere around midway, he started slipping into Rain Man. If he had been that way from the beginning, maybe I wouldn't have been so uncomfortable, but once he turned half-wit, I grew steadily more uncomfortable with their relationship, namely because the heroine began to show her intelligence and love of intellect, all while he grew dafter. The intellect gap grew all the way to the end when I began to doubt that their relationship would actually work long term. Someone as intellectual as she became and someone as slow as he became would have a difficult life together indeed, and I think quite quickly it would become a mothering relationship, which we did see quite a few hints to that in the beginning anyway. I'm just not seeing intellectually they're working long term.

Another slight issue I had was the brief time we had with them in love. It was sandwiched between their master-mistress pattern with a strong enough emphasis of his being her master and her his slave that the brief time of equal love didn't seem enough to turn the tides for a long-term romance. Instead of it lasting three days, perhaps if it had lasted all summer, where they moved from master-slave to equal love with plot-driven passionate sex, I think it would be more convincing that they would have hope as a long-term couple who are destined to fall in love. When it's master-slave for half a year, love with passionate sex for three days, and then master-slave for another half a year afterwards, the entire romance is based on only three days. It was difficult for me to swallow that three days would be enough to change their lives and views of each other.

Those are my qualms, which certainly didn't detract from my liking of the book, but it did drop it a star from 5 to 4. If you enjoy unconventional heroines and plots, it's a Mary B must, and then you can decide for yourself what you make of the hero and the potential of those two making it work.