The Ideal Wife

The Ideal Wife by Mary Balogh

What was this book about?

Miles Ripley, the Earl of Severn has been Earl for a year and since his time of morning is over – it will be expected that he choose a wife. And being the only male in his family for many years he knows that his mother and sisters will take it upon themselves to find the woman for him. He is tired of being controlled by them and he knows when they return to town they will press him for a betrothal with a woman he has no interest in. He gets it in his head that he will marry a mouse of a woman, who is silent and has no need or desire to control his life.

Meanwhile, Abigail Gardiner is fired from her job and needs a reference in order to get a new one. She stopped one of her bosses from assaulting her friend in a sexual way and he responded by accusing her of trying to seduce his son. Abigail decides she will visit her cousin, the Earl, and see if he is willing to help. She doesn’t want money – just a reference.

When Miles sees Abigail he thinks that just what he wants has dropped into his lap. She is not overly beautiful, she seems to be pretty timid. Perfect. So he proposes marriage on the spot. And for some reason not even known to her Abigail agrees.

But of course things are not that easy. Abigail has a past that Miles doesn’t know about. It could tear them apart. Add into that the ton’s gossipy ability to bring down anyone not of their class and Abigail will definitely have a hard time. Lastly, Abigail isn’t who she pretended to be. If anyone is vocal and aggressive about their opinions it is her. But maybe that is ok – maybe Miles didn’t want what he thought he wanted.

What did you think about the book?

It had been a little while since I had grabbed a historical romance and read it. And honestly I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It made me want to get many more of them. It wasn’t too heavy in any sort of crazy dangerous plot. It was about a man who wanted control of his life, made a rash decision, and ended up with something better because of it.

The characters were likeable. The book a quick read. Definitely a great book while not being incredibly thought provoking (no overwhelming themes that I had to think to hard to get – which quite honestly I liked).

What genre would you consider this?
Historical Romance

Overall:

Question for You!
Do you like historical romances that focus more on the history or more on the relationships? Do you think a book can be carried by a good story – with no historical references other then the customs of the time?