A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh

Genre: Regency

Publication Date: December 2009

One Word Review: Okay

Author Website: www.marybalogh.com

Synopsis: Reginald Mason is wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by title, a factor that pains him and his father within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family, Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left her brandished as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.

Kathy’s Review: This was just okay for me. I thought the summary sounded interesting and the whole idea of the story was original. It ended up falling flat for me though. I liked Anna and Reggie, but the story was so short I had a hard time really getting to know them. Everything happened rather fast, and jumped around from past memories to current and the book wasn’t near long enough to really develop the story or characters. I think Balogh was trying to go for a big twist ending that was predictable right from the start, which made it lose some of its charm since it’s clearly obvious what’s going on, even though the characters are trying to act naive. Maybe if it had been told in a different manner I would have liked it better. Also, there is one detailed (albeit short) love scene that really could have been left out, or tamed down. There were also a few descriptions that were a little tacky. If the book were longer I think the relationship really could have been built up and the story better developed. As it was, it felt more like Anna and Reggie’s relationship was all based on lust (and a little friendship) and hardly anything more.

Bookworm Rating: 2.5