upping to 4 stars bc I think about it more fondly as each day passes.

I recently read Pam Rosenthal's The Slightest Provocation, which has some similarities with A Counterfeit Betrothal: estranged married couple reunited (after the husband slept with someone else after peer pressure, damn these persuasive peers!) and have angsty sex yet are still incapable of talking to one another about their feelings. Balogh's book also features a secondary love story (the couple's daughter gets fake-engaged to bring her parents together) anyway, I love marriage in trouble/second chance cheating stories because they are dramatic and usually cause me pain in my heart (complimentary). Balogh's book was good but I became a bit impatient - I think the romance with the daughter wasn't developed in a way where I cared about it (until the very end, where it became cute and sexy) and kept wanting to get back to mama and papa's messy situation. I'm so interested in exploring cheating as a plot line in romance because it is such a human thing! People make all kinds of mistakes - sometimes repeatedly and with little care and sometimes only once with deep regret and everything in between.

I also think Balogh could have written this without everyone literally vomiting whenever a sex worker was mentioned. But overall, this was a good book and I am enjoying working my way through Mary Balogh's extensive backlist. ( )

My rating for this story is influenced by the fact that I really don't like 2nd chance at love stories. And in this one they let the misunderstanding go on for about 20 years. That's just too much for me. I can't help thinking that someone should have tried harder years ago. But they were both so long suffering. Another thing that diluted the power of the story for me is that it contained two romances neither of which was given precedence so neither had as much page time as they really deserved. I sometimes reread the end of this one but it is not one of my favorite MBs which I reread all the time. ( )

This book is now available as part of a two volume set, [b:A Counterfeit Betrothal/The Notorious Rake|15724344|A Counterfeit Betrothal/The Notorious Rake|Mary Balogh|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351656044s/15724344.jpg|21399894].

See my review at http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/616586733. ( )

The title of the book I got via EarlyReviewers is actually *A Counterfeit Betrothal / The Notorious Rake*, and it's two novels in one -- fortunately, because I couldn't get past the deceit in the first one (the unrealistic picnic at the start where a few acquaintances -- including a known gossip -- decide to keep a scandalous secret didn't help either). Other readers may find a way to like the manipulative, spoiled heroine, or find the other characters/sub-plots of enough interest to enjoy it.
*The Notorious Rake* was good enough to overcome a problematic element. The heroine and, after getting to know him, the hero are both engaging. I liked the way the story started out, but should include a trigger warning about a determined pursuit that descends into stalking. The main characters are explored in depth (no subplots here that I recall a week later), and their mutual evolution and the growth of their relationship is satisfying. ( )

One too many daffy heroines in a row and a monster case of lack of communication. ( )