Only a Promise

April 20, 2015
The fifth Survivor’s Club Regency romance (after Only Enchanting) introduces a fine specimen of Balogh’s trademark wounded heroes: Ralph Stockwood, Earl of Berwick, who returned from war scarred inside and out. Unable to forgive himself for the deaths of his school chums, he has little interest in society but knows he must eventually secure an heir. While visiting his grandmother, Ralph meets her young companion, Chloe Muirhead, who believes herself to be unmarriageable. Chloe surprises them both by proposing a loveless but mutually respectful alliance, and Ralph accepts her offer, promising her a secluded life in the country. But when Ralph’s grandfather dies, the young couple become the Duke and Duchess of Worthingham, and Chloe must face the family scandal that caused her to flee London. As her cold husband becomes a pillar of strength, Chloe begins to yearn for more than passion in the dark, not realizing Ralph feels the same way. No one does a marriage of convenience like Balogh, and this series entry will leave the reader longing for the next book.

April 1, 2015
Fighting Napoleon, Ralph Stockwood suffered devastating loss and now feels dead inside, but as the sole heir to a dukedom, he needs a wife; when a family friend suggests they marry, she seems as good a choice as any, since love is off the table. When Ralph Stockwood went to war with his three best friends, he was an idealistic 18-year-old, but watching them all fall in battle and nearly dying himself has left him a shadow of the vibrant, charismatic young man he was. However, his grandfather, a duke, is fading, and his grandmother has summoned Ralph to their country estate to express how imperative it is that he marry. While there, Ralph meets Chloe Muirhead, who has sought sanctuary with his grandmother, her mother's godmother, after a couple of disastrous seasons have left her practically ineligible in the eyes of the ton. After overhearing a conversation between Ralph and his grandmother on the urgency of marriage, Chloe approaches him with the idea that they marry. Since she has no desire to be in society, and he seems content in the country, they strike a bargain to wed quickly and stay at the estate, but immediately after the ceremony, Ralph and Chloe must bear unexpected responsibilities and travel to London, where they confront unpleasant gossip and drama due to Chloe's family's past scandal. Ralph is continually disconcerted by his new wife's efficient capability and brave resolve, and he discovers his frozen emotions might be thawing beneath her warm demeanor and sunny competence. Always at the edge of Ralph's consciousness is his own war-wrought trauma, which he's tried to bury but might just be able to face with Chloe by his side. Balogh continues her popular Survivor's Club series with a tender story of two strangers who agree to a loveless marriage yet develop a grand passion as they navigate turmoil together. An elegant, romantic exploration of the trauma of war and the healing power of love.

Starred review from June 15, 2015

Dismally aware that her undeserved scandalous past has destined her to a reclusive spinsterhood, Chloe Muirhead seizes her one chance for a home and a family. She impulsively proposes to Ralph Stockwood, Earl of Berwick, the battle-scarred heir to the Duke of Worthingham, who is in reluctant search of a bride. It's the perfect solution. Neither expects love, and both will get what they want. Then Ralph inherits, and the couple are forced back into the London limelight to confront the demons that haunt them. VERDICT A guilt-plagued hero who believes he is incapable of love and a brave, resilient heroine who once ran from her fears and refuses to do so again find healing, courage, and eventually love in another beautifully unfolding story. Balogh's (Only Enchanting) insightfully conceived and brilliantly executed series focuses on the difficult aftermath of war. The author lives in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2015
Chloe Muirhead resigned herself to spinsterhood after her second season in London ended up just as disastrously as her first. Fortunately, her late mother's elderly godmother, the Duchess of Worthingham, needs a companion. Despite her flaming red hair, which led to her most recent failure on the ton, Chloe manages to be nearly invisible. Ralph Stockwood, heir to the Worthingham title and fortune, saw his three best friends blown to bits in the Napoleonic Wars. Tormented by guilt and the nineteenth-century equivalent of PTSD, he is reluctant to ruin a young woman's life by marrying her. But a visit to his grandparents drives home the need for him to secure the succession to the dukedom by marrying and producing an heir. Chloe, who wants children and a home, proposes a marriage of convenience. As in the other books in Balogh's Survivor's Club series, including Only Enchanting (2014), two wounded and independent people find strength, love, and community. This entrancing tale will delight those who have read the stories of Ralph's close friends, as well as readers new to the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)