[.ca] The Secret Pearl (ISBN 1597222461)

One of Balogh's very best; poignant and heartwrenching:
There aren't many writers of historical romances - especially set in the English Regency period - who can make their heroine a prostitute, have the reader know about it right from the start of the book, and not only get away with it, but have the readers on the heroine's side from the beginning. But Balogh's done it, and more than once too. The Secret Pearl opens with Adam, Duke of Raybourne, emerging from the Drury Lane Theatre, parting from his friends, and seeing a sad-looking prostitute standing in the shadows. Something makes him approach her; despite the fact that she isn't throwing out any lures to him at all, he hires her. And, despite the fact that sleeping with prostitutes isn't something he makes a habit of, he takes her to a room in a run-down inn to use her. This, we find, is Fleur's first night as a prostitute; having gone two days without food and unable to get a job, she has decided to sell the only remaining asset she has: herself. Her client, though, makes the experience almost as bad as it could possibly be: he is clinical and direct about what he wants, and - not knowing that Fleur is a virgin - he hurts her. Afterwards, Adam does feel some guilt, and he feeds Fleur as well as giving her three times as much money as she asked for. And then he sends his secretary to ensure that she is offered a job - as governess to his daughter. His motives, he assumes, are simply philanthropic: he hates the thought of a gentlewoman down on her luck having to survive on the streets, and he feels guilty for not having realised before it was too late that she wasn't accustomed to her trade. So Fleur takes up residence in the Duke of Raybourne's estate, delighted to have found a refuge both from her life in London and from the horrors from which she ran in the first place. Until the Duke of Raybourne comes home, and she discovers that he is the same man who fills her nightmares, the man who hurt her, the man who, in her dreams, rapes her nightly. And yet, as the days go by, he is also the man who comforts her, who protects her and who offers her a safe refuge. And there are many more complications in what is already a complex story: Adam, of course, is married, and he is an honourable man who will not betray his marriage vows, despite his lapse in London - the only time he has ever been unfaithful. And Fleur is running from a murder charge. And her tormentor is even closer than she imagines. Balogh creates a wonderful, believable portrait of what seems to be an impossible relationship. Adam, appallingly scarred both internally and externally as a result of Waterloo plus private torments, and who was cruelly rough with Fleur when he hired her as a prostitute, does not seem to be the ideal romantic hero - and yet he is, in every way. Fleur, a possible murderer, a prostitute, does not seem to be the ideal heroine, either - and yet she isn't at all what she seems, although she did certainly sell herself on the streets. But how is it possible that she could fall in love with the man who haunts her nightmares? How could a decent, married man fall in love with another woman? But Balogh pulls it off so convincingly that I could barely put the book down. The Secret Pearl is a classic which will have you reading breathlessly, eager to find out what happens next. It's poignant, heartwrenching and utterly romantic, and it's a classic. I can't for the life of me imagine why Balogh's current publisher hasn't tried to reissue this; it would be yet another best-seller for her. As it is, the best you can do is to buy it second-hand, if you can get hold of it - and that's not easy, because those of us who do have it will NOT let go of it! wmr-uk

I know why this book won for best regency romance that year:
The Secret Pearl is Mary Balogh at her best. The Secret Pearl is romance at it's best! I finished this book last night hours after I should have been asleep. When I can't put the book down like this, I know it's a 5 star read. Adam is scarred from his battle in Waterloo but he is scarred on the inside too. When this Duke sees a quiet unassuming prostitute standing in the shadows of a theatre, he is drawn to her although he has remained faithful to his marriage vows since he married the current duchess 5 years before. He doesn't know why the prostitute stays on his mind after their fateful night but we find out as he eventually does that he was meant for her and she for him. The prostitute is Fleur, a lady down on her luck or so it would seem. Fate, it seems had let Adam and Fleur down for many years but smiles on Adam and Fleur on this fateful night. Of course Adam and Fleur would disagree then that fate was smiling on them. For that is the night that Fleur decided she was not going to go without food for the 3rd day in a row. She can live or die and she makes her choice to live knowing that the only thing she had to sell at that point was her body. The employment agency had all but laughed in her face when she sought employment without references. She tells Adam that she had been standing there for a day or so but noone else had wanted her. Adam doesn't wonder why as he looks Fleur over and notices her dull scraggly hair, her thin and drawn body, and her dried cracked lips. Adam and Fleur are complex characters, much more than the usual two dimensional characters we get from your average romance that is churned out every month. Even the villians aren't just evil for the sake of being evil. They are also complex and most have their reasons for their weaknesses. Adam is not a martyre. Nor is he perfect. He is simply an honorable man. (I don't want to spoil anything for those about to read the book but I don't like men who cheat so don't think you'll have to accept any less in this book if you're of the same nature. When I say honorable, I mean it in every way) Fleur has every reason to believe Adam is a monster based on her first impression of him. The romance is about how Fleur gets to know Adam and he her. But more than anything it's about two people who should have nothing in common but has one main thing in common: Neither have been loved nor cared for in a very long time although they are themselves loving and caring people. I love it when the man shares his feelings with the love of his life. And I love the way the story is told. You get her side and then his side but it's done so smoothly you don't feel any inturruptions or jerks in the telling of the love story. When he declared his feelings to Fleur and her vision became blurred, so did mine. I'll admit it. I cried. But I cried because it was such a well written book. But Mary always draws me in emotionally like that. And it's not the heavy drepressing felt emotions, the kind that I can only handle now & then. (this is a true romance, not a tear-jerker docu-drama) This is light enough for a warm all over kind of feeling. But don't be misled about this being a complex book as far as reading it goes. There are no prerequisite readings, you don't have to recall your history lessons, you do not have to read the first 100 pages before you get to the real story. This book allows one to escape to a different world that Mary is so good at delivering and as usual, you're already involved in the story from Chapter one. If you're a Mary addict like I am, then this is a must read for you. This book is definitely one of my top 5 Mary Balogh books from a list of 43 books I've already read of hers. If you're new to Mary, I urge you to get this book and catch up on your sleeping and chores before you start THE SECRET PEARL because you won't be able to put the book down once you start!

So Close to Five Stars:
I actually wanted to rate this book as a 4 1/2 star read. I loved it - couldn't put it down and was up to the wee hours finishing it - truly a mark of a great story. However, I did have a few issues with the characters that held it back from a full five stars. The plot is unique. The heroine, Fleur has reached a desperate state and is left with no other course than to sell her body for the few coins needed to buy food and pay the rent on her slum-level room. Depending on how you look at it, by either bad luck or incredibly good luck, her first and only customer is Adam, Duke of Raybourne. Suffering his own emotional and physical scars, Adam initiates Fleur into the art of sex with no awareness and therefore no consideration toward her inexperience, leaving her in agony both mentally and physically. Out of his guilt, Adam arranges for Fleur to serve as his daughter's governess. Over the course of several weeks spent at his home, Willoughby, Adam finds himself drawn more and more to Fleur even as she continues to fear him. But when Fleur finds her past catching up to her, she is surprised to discover not only an ally in Adam but a comfort as well. As I said, I loved the story, and for the most part, I loved both the hero and heroine. But a few issues kept me from giving this book a five star rating. First of all, I found Adam far too forgiving and accepting of his wife and her disrespect for him as her husband. While I admire his determination to honor his marriage vows, he teetered on the edge of doormat for me because he suffered so much with little defense for himself, willing to sacrifice his own life and happiness for a woman who was far from deserving of such a man. And honestly, I thought that Adam didn't need the scars he'd received during Waterloo to make him a haunted and tormented hero. He had enough emotional baggage from his dysfunctional marriage that his physical disfigurements seemed almost over-the-top. In fact, I would have like to see Adam as a very handsome man who constantly fought off the attentions of women because he felt honor-bound to his wife. I found Fleur a bit too passive for me. She endured unwanted advances from more than one character with no complaint, and at a crucial point in the story, she fled when she should have remained, causing herself more pain and worry. Granted, her history and situation did much to show us how trapped she was and how powerless to help herself. Her motives for prostituting herself were sound, and I admired her spunk in not giving up. I just wish she'd had a little more fire rather than resigned acceptance of the hand fate had dealt her. I agree very much with SJM's review regarding Fleur's continual feelings toward Adam. While I completely understand her initial revulsion and fear, the fact that these feelings continued through a good healthy portion of the story set me to wondering if these two would ever find a loving place. Then, when her feelings did turn, it was rather sudden and abrupt. Kind of like a light switch. I would have preferred a more gradual thaw that progressed a bit more rapidly. All that being said, the romance between these two characters was excellently drawn. The sexual tension was at a fever pitch, and I really wanted these two to find happiness with each other. Too, within some of the least sexually intense scenes I've ever read in romance novels (kissing only), I felt an incredible heat between Adam and Fleur. A romance of epic proportions, I really ached for them when they were separated. Add to this the fact that I couldn't put the book down, I do highly recommend it. A fabulous read all the way around.

I'm in the minority here!:
I would rate this Mary Balogh no higher than 3 stars. I wish I knew what it is about Balogh, that I can only read & enjoy her short Signet Regency novels (Tempting Harriet, The Temporary Wife, etc.), but when I try to read her longer works (the "Slightly" series, etc.) she falls flat (for me). This is one of her longer romances (although still a Signet Regency), and I didn't like it! I thought Fleur's disgust & fear of Adam, while completely understandable given their first encounter, were emphasized for too long, and thus I never believed her falling into love/sexual attraction to him at the end. I also felt Adam should have been more take-charge with his wife, and there should have been a scene of him kicking his brother's ass. Come on, ladies, the scenes where Adam keeps offering to call another dr. for his obviously consumptive wife, and she keeps refusing (I believe there are five times that he asks)-- it would have made me admire him more if he had just brought the damn dr. to her instead of constantly asking if she wanted him to!!! And couldn't he have at least given his brother a good strong put-down, verbally? No, he just lets him sleep with his wife and never reproaches either of them...he "understands"! Aaagh! It wasn't making me sympathetic to him, it just wasn't REAL! I never felt that Fleur "took off" as a heroine, she seemed too bland & insipid to me. All in all, pretty disappointed with this one.

An Intense Read:
A Regency about a young innocent woman running from a covetous relative, forced out of desperation to sell herself into prostition on the streets of London. How could she know that she'd pick exactly the right person for her first customer, or rather, that he would pick her? Later hired by an unknown benefactor as his daughter's governess, she's shocked to discover it's the one man who knows about her past. But she doesn't understand what he now wants from her. Will he force her to become his mistress - the mistress of a married man? This book is an intense, rather heavy read with complicated characters and a hero with a bit of a martyr complex. I found the man almost too good, but he was someone you'd want at your back. The heroine was smart and independent. The story didn't dumb the characters down, nor obviously force situations to work a certain way. I felt the pain of their impossible love and was glad it was a romance, and would therefore have a happy ending!