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Book Review By L. Watson
Gentle Conquest by Mary Balogh

Ralph, the young, scholarly Earl of Chartleigh permits his mother to arrange a marriage to Georgiana, the even younger daughter of her friend. Both are virgins on their wedding night and during the awkward attempts in the bedroom, Ralph is humiliated. Their marriage goes unconsummated much to Georgie's annoyance.

Ralph decides he should get some sexual experience with an opera dancer so he can finally consummate the marriage with his wife, whom he is falling in love with. Georgie has plans of her own and enlists the aid of Ralph's cousin, Roger, a notorious rake. Roger thinks the plan is absurd but helps her anyways.

Roger, meanwhile, has his eye on Georgie's bluestocking sister, Vera, who wants nothing to do with a womanizer. When Georgie's plan hits a snag, it threatens both Georgie and Ralph's marriage as well as Roger's courtship of Vera.




Plot & Themes
Time/era of story
Difficult/unusual lover? Yes
How difficult?
Marriage/Married Yes
Marriage subplot:

Main Male Character
Profession/status:
Age/status: - 20's-30's
Unusual characteristics?

Main Female Character
Age/status: - a teen
Profession/status:
Unusual characteristics:

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
City? Yes
City: - London

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
What % of story is romance related? - nearly 100%
How explicit is the sex? - vague references only - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy
Focus of story - equally on him and her
How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
How much sexing? - 3-4 sex acts
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