Irresistible

Author: Mary Balogh
Published: October 2, 2007 (Berkley)
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 6/10

This was my first Mary Balogh. I've heard nice things about her and I remember she gave a nice blurb for Lauren Willig's Secret History of the Pink Carnation, one of my favorite random discoveries. I found that the writing was nice, but the story was a problem, and the blame falls mostly on the bullheadedness of the heroine. Yes, I like historical romances with a sassy, forward-thinking heroine, but this was ridiculous. Sophie wasn't really forward-thinking. She just liked being on her own.

Sophia Armitage was a friend, indeed. She had agreed to help Sir Nathaniel Gascoigne find a husband for his cousin Lavinia in the glittering city of London— only half hoping that she'd find one for herself. Sophia knew the odds were against her. Men simply did not seem to be attracted to her— not that way. Even her late husband had treated Sophia more as a companion than a lover. But then something shocking happened in London— Sophia found herself in the arms of Nathaniel himself! Not only did this act of indiscretion threaten their lifelong friendship, it revealed a depth of passion that defied everything Sophia believed about herself...

Sophie really annoyed me. Yes, it's nice to be an independent woman (cue: Destiny's Child), but she was independent to a point of being beyond stubborn. For a woman who's known for being practical and reliable, she didn't really think. She was being blackmailed by an army acquaintance, Boris Pinter, with her dead husband's love letters, and apparently this could've resulted in ruination for her and her family. Her niece wouldn't make a good marriage and her brother's flourishing business would suffer. The contents of the love letters weren't revealed until the very end, but the scandalous secret was pretty obvious, given that Sophie's husband didn't really care for her in that way. If he'd had a mistress on the side, it wouldn't have been such a big deal, as that frequently happened back then. Instead of discussing her problem with her supportive family, which has offered financial assistance time and time again, she decided to pawn her things and keep paying off Pinter. So stubborn.

And when Pinter demanded that she introduce him to Nathan's cousin, she turns to do so, but Nathan does not approve of such an acquaintance (Pinter was an awful man in the army, whipping soldiers under his command for his own pleasure) and gives Pinter the cut direct. Then Sophie goes off and gets angry at Nathan when she really didn't have the right to. And when Pinter demands that Sophie cut herself off from Nathan and his comrades, her dearest friends from her days following the drum, she does so and is absolutely horrible to them. Half the time, I didn't think she deserved such devoted friends.

And then after Pinter is taken care of, and all the letters are destroyed, Sophie turns down Nathan and runs off to the country! WTF??? It wasn't even one of those melodramatic twists that I enjoy; I wanted to shake Sophie and tell her she didn't deserve Nathan.

The more entertaining romance of the book is between Nat's ward/cousin, Lavinia, and his friend Eden. I wish they'd gotten a whole book to themselves. Actually, I liked everyone but Sophie and the villain.