The Escape

Starred review from May 26, 2014
Bestseller Balogh delivers an outstanding third installment (after The Arrangement) of her Survivors’ Club series, in which seven friends recover from physical and mental wounds suffered in the Napoleonic Wars. Sir Benedict Harper has spent six years learning how to walk again with the help of two canes. With little to connect him to society, he feels lonely and purposeless. When he encounters his sister’s recently widowed neighbor, Samantha McKay, their friendship begins a healing process for both of them. Bullied by her in-laws, Samantha escapes to a cottage in Wales, with Sir Benedict as her escort. In a twist, she rejects the marriage of convenience Balogh has used successfully elsewhere; instead, a physical relationship brings the couple even closer. As always, Balogh depicts a wounded hero with
sensitivity. This exquisitely written
Regency will appeal to Balogh’s legions of fans and can be read independently of others in the series. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency.

June 1, 2014
Sir Benedict Harper is struggling to find his place in the world after his wounds force him out of the army; in helping his neighbor Samantha McKay escape her stifling in-laws, he expects to feel satisfaction but may find salvation. After nursing her needy, difficult husband through a lingering illness to his death, Samantha hopes for a little peace but is thwarted by her sister-in-law's oppressive visit, which demands rigid expectations during their mourning. When a slight transgression finds her under the ever tightening screws of her husband's family, Samantha decides to travel to Wales, where her mother grew up. Under duress, she means to discuss her plans with Lady Gramley, her nearest friendly neighbor, but winds up meeting the lady's brother instead. Unwilling to let Samantha travel alone, Benedict agrees to help her escape her in-laws as long as she agrees to let him travel with her and see her safely to her destination. Along the way, Samantha realizes how dire the injuries to his legs were and recognizes the determination and fighting spirit that allowed him to heal enough to walk again, albeit with canes. And once they reach her mother's village, Samantha learns that many of her beliefs regarding her family were false, at first to her outrage, then to her slowly building sense of hope and possibility. Meanwhile, as feelings grow on both sides, Samantha and Benedict are wary of expressing themselves for fear of unworthiness and unrequited affection. However, Samantha's reunion with her family may offer new opportunities for Benedict, too, while giving the couple time to explore their ambitions and their emotions. Regency romance star Balogh continues her poignant Survivor's Club series with a quietly intense love story that speaks to open-heartedness, courage and faith in new beginnings.

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Starred review from June 15, 2014

Still in mourning for her faithless husband and kept a virtual prisoner by her sour sister-in-law's puritanical dictates about proper behavior, Samantha McKay finally evades her jailer and sneaks out with her unruly dog for a quiet walk, only to be knocked to the ground when a horse and his dashing rider vault over the hedge--and the man furiously blames her for the accident. Badly crippled during the Napoleonic Wars, Sir Benedict Harper, now thoroughly repentant and really quite charming, shows up at her door, though, and Samantha instinctively recognizes a kindred spirit trapped in an unwanted life. Then fate takes a hand and sends them heading to Wales and a future they never dreamed could be theirs. The salutary effects of the sea, the stark, glorious beauty of the Welsh coast, and a bounty of fascinating, well-defined secondary characters make this a story to savor. VERDICT A heroine who has never felt valued and a hero in search of a new purpose learn to take life as it comes and live each moment to the fullest. This tender, deeply insightful, and beautifully plotted romance shimmers with hope, possibility, and love. Balogh (The Arrangement) lives in Canada.

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