WEB OF LOVE

Author: Mary Balogh ISBN: 044024305X 7/2007 (Reprint) HISTORICAL Publisher: DELL
Time Period: Regency, Brussels - Battle of Waterloo

He’d served with her husband on the battlefield—and secretly desired her for years. Yet for Dominic, Lieutenant Lord Eden, Ellen Simpson has remained tantalizingly out of reach—until she is widowed by the war. Suddenly pursued by the dangerously handsome nobleman, Ellen is stunned by the depth of attraction he arouses in her. Soon their friendship flames into something deeper…and as scandal ignites, marriage seems the only solution. But Ellen has a secret—one she can share with no one—that prevents her from fully opening her heart to Dominic. Until he devises his own plan for the ultimate consummation of their passion—and the woman he is determined to possess at any cost…

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

What's old is new again, since this Balogh tale was originally released in 1990. Unfortunately, the time span has not made WEB OF LOVE any better.

The best I can give this one is lukewarm. There are lots of characters, but the most interesting ones are not the main hero and heroine, but a step-daughter and wounded soldier. There is scandal and gossip while betrothals come and go, but no one really appears to care. There is excessive background on everyone and everything, as well as plenty of descriptive scenes. But, all of that detail only serves to make me drowsy as the plot is ho-hum, as is/are the love story(ies). There is too much going on and yet none of it all that exciting.

The good news is, that this is an earlier work and I am happy to say the author only got better. In WEB OF LOVE I can see glimpses of the fabulous author Balogh was destined to be. She just wasn't quite there yet, when she wrote this one.

Shannon Johnson