Mary Balogh, Huxtable Quintet Books 1,2,4,5; Marriage, Seduction, Angel, Affair

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Mary Balogh, Huxtable Quintet Books 1,2,4,5; Marriage, Seduction, Angel, Affair. This novel introduces the Huxtable family—three sisters, a brother, and a male second cousin—whose lives are dramatically altered when the young brother, Stephen, unexpectedly inherits an earldom. The story focuses on the second daughter, the widowed Vanessa Huxtable Dew. Mary Balogh, Huxtable Quintet Book 1: First Come Marriage Mary Balogh is a prolific Welsh-Canadian historical romance novelist, and First Comes Marriage is the initial novel in her Huxtable Quintet series, focusing on the lives and loves of the newly aristocratic Huxtable family. Mary Balogh Biography Mary Balogh (born Mary Jenkins) grew up in Swansea, Wales, and moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1967 for a two-year high school English teaching contract. There, she met her husband, Robert Balogh, and settled, eventually becoming a school principal and raising three children. Writing Career : She began writing as a hobby in the evenings, with her first novel, A Masked Deception, published in 1985. After two decades of teaching, she retired in 1988 to write full-time. Genre & Style : She specializes in historical romance, primarily set in the Regency era of England (1811-1820). Her work is known for its exploration of complex characters, including "fallen" or unconventional heroines, with themes of passion often preceding the recognition of love. Accolades : A New York Times bestselling author, Balogh has written more than one hundred novels and novellas and has received numerous awards, including a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award. Huxtable Quintet Book 1: First Comes Marriage This novel introduces the Huxtable family—three sisters, a brother, and a male second cousin—whose lives are dramatically altered when the young brother, Stephen, unexpectedly inherits an earldom. The story focuses on the second daughter, the widowed Vanessa Huxtable Dew. Plot Summary : The eligible Viscount Elliott Wallace (Viscount Lyngate) arrives in the quiet village of Throckbridge to deliver the news of Stephen's inheritance and help the family join society. Initially intending to propose to the eldest sister, Margaret, to solve his own need for a wife, he is intercepted by Vanessa, a daring widow who offers herself in her sister's place to save Margaret from a loveless union. Elliott accepts the unconventional proposal, and what starts as a marriage of convenience between two seemingly mismatched strangers quickly ignites with unexpected passion and leads them to uncover a secret connected to the Huxtable family's past. Main Characters : Vanessa Huxtable Dew : A spirited, practical widow who offers a marriage of convenience to protect her sister. Elliott Wallace (Viscount Lyngate) : An irresistibly eligible viscount who is duty-bound to his family's obligations and needs a wife for his own urgent mission. Themes : The book explores the development of love and passion within a marriage of convenience, the importance of family, and the challenges of adjusting to a new social standing. Mary Balogh, Huxtable Quintet Book 2: Then Comes Seduction New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh sweeps us back in time to an age of scandal and glittering society—and brings to life an extraordinary family: the daring, passionate Huxtables. Katherine, the youngest sister—and society’s most ravishing innocent—is about to turn the tables on the irresistible rakehell sworn to seduce her, body and soul.... In a night of drunken revelry, Jasper Finley, Baron Montford, gambles his reputation as London’s most notorious lover on one woman. His challenge? To seduce the exquisite, virtuous Katherine Huxtable within a fortnight. But when his best-laid plans go awry, Jasper devises a wager of his own. For Katherine, already wildly attracted to him, Jasper’s offer is irresistible: to make London’s most dangerous rake fall in love with her. Then Jasper suddenly ups the ante. Katherine knows she should refuse. But with scandal brewing and her reputation in jeopardy, she reluctantly agrees to become his wife. Now, as passion ignites, the seduction really begins. And this time the prize is nothing less than both their hearts.… Mary Balogh, Huxtable Quintet Book 4: Seducing an Angel In a time unlike any other, a family you’ll never forget . . . Meet the Huxtables—three headstrong sisters and their dashing brother—each searching for love that’s always a shocking indiscretion away. . . . In her magnificent new novel, New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh sweeps us into a world of scandal and intrigue—glittering Regency England—and introduces the youngest Huxtable: Stephen, the only son. Here Stephen will risk his reputation and his heart as he enters a scandalous liaison with the infamous beauty intent on seduction. But when passion turns the tables on them both, who can say who has seduced whom? He must be wealthy, wellborn, and want her more than he wants any other woman. Those are the conditions that must be met by the man Cassandra Belmont chooses for her lover. Marriage is out of the question for the destitute widow who stands accused of murdering her husband and must now barter her beauty in order to survive. With seduction in mind, she sets her sights on Stephen Huxtable, the irresistibly attractive Earl of Merton and London’s most eligible bachelor. But Stephen’s first intriguing glimpse of the mysterious, alluring Lady Paget convinces him that he has found the ideal woman to share his bed. There is only one caveat. This relationship fueled by mutual pleasure must be on his terms.As the two warily circle each other in a sensual dance of attack and retreat, a single night of passion alters all the rules. Cassandra, whose reputation is already in tatters, is now in danger of losing the one thing she vowed never to give. And Stephen, who wants Cassandra more than he has ever wanted any woman, won’t rest until she has surrendered everything—not as his mistress—but as his lover and wife. . . . Mary Balogh, Huxtable Quintet Book 5: A Secret Affair Born a commoner, Hannah Reid has been Duchess of Dunbarton since she was nineteen years old. Now her husband is dead and, more beautiful than ever at thirty, Hannah has her freedom at last. To the shock of a conventional friend, she announces her intention to take a lover—and not just any lover, but the most dangerous and delicious man in all of upper-class England: Constantine Huxtable. Constantine’s illegitimacy has denied him the title of earl, so now he denies himself nothing. Rumored to be living the easy life of a sensualist on his country estate, he always chooses recent widows for his short-lived affairs. Hannah will fit the bill nicely. But once these two passionate and scandalous figures find each other, they discover that it isn’t so easy to extricate oneself from the fires of desire—without getting singed.