One Night for Love: A Novel

By Mary Balogh

One reckless man . . . One passionate woman.

Enter the world of Mary Balogh—the glittering ballrooms and vast country estates of Regency-era England, where romance, with all its mystery, magic, and surprises, comes vibrantly alive.

It was a perfect morning in May . . .

Neville Wyatt, Earl of Kilbourne, awaited his bride at the altar—when a ragged beggar woman raced down the aisle instead. The cream of the ton saw him stare, shocked, then declare that this was his wife! One night of passion was all he remembered as he beheld Lily, the woman he'd wed, loved, and lost on the battlefield in Portugal. Now he said he'd honor his commitment to her—regardless of the gulf that lay between them.

Then Lily spoke her mind . . .

She said she wanted only to start a new life—wanted only a husband who truly loved her. She had to leave him to learn how to meet his world on her terms. So Lily agreed to earn her keep as his aunt's companion and study the genteel arts. Soon she was the toast of the ton, every inch a countess fit for the earl, who vowed to prove to his remarkable wife that what he felt for her was far more than desire, that what he wanted from her was much more than . . . One Night for Love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9780307796097

Mary Balogh

New York Times bestselling, multi-award-winning author Mary Balogh grew up in Wales, land of sea and mountains, song and legend. She brought music and a vivid imagination with her when she came to Canada to teach. There she began a second career as a writer of books that always end happily and always celebrate the power of love.

Reviews for One Night for Love

[kazzie22 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

not a keeper

[zannerina-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A favorite Balogh!! Loved it.

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh my goodness, all the stars! This was my first Mary Balogh, and I can't tell you how excited I am to read all the rest! This made other historical romances seem overly glossy in comparison. I hadn't fully realized how female leads are hardly ever given a genuine problem to overcome, more than just an annoying family, or being poor, or not being considered a proper match for the man. Where as male leads are often given disfiguring battle scars, or severe dyslexia, or PTSD, or someone who wants them dead- something substantial to wrestle with and perhaps overcome on their way towards growth. What a missed opportunity that is to show the strength of the women! Or how there is rarely any risk of something awful *actually* happening and not just the threat of it. This is not overly fairytale and I liked it all the more for that! Adventure! Mystery! Growth! A truly good man who isn't just a thinly veiled asshole! =D This just delighted my heart all the way through!

[wealhtheowwylfing · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lily Doyle was an army brat who followed her father from one battlefield to the next all her life. When her father died he made his commanding officer, Neville Wyatt, promise to keep her safe. With the French army about to overtake them, Neville hastily married Lily so that, as an officer's wife, she would be treated well. But in the battle, Lily was killed and Neville was terribly wounded. Eventually he returned to England to take up his title as Earl of Killbourne, and even resolved to marry again, this time to his childhood friend. But just as they are about to wed--Lily bursts into the church. Because, it turns out, Lily was taken prisoner instead of killed, and has endured a year of captivity and months of hardship to be at Neville's side once more.

Neville is an honorable man, and truly cares for Lily. He immediately sets her up as his Countess, and defends her from his shocked family. But Lily has had no experience in high society, and she continually embarasses and shocks his family and villagers with her ignorance and rough manners. She feels trapped and bored, talking to people about subjects she has no interest or experience with, bound by rules she doesn't know. And so when Neville finds out that their marriage was never legally finalized, Lily refuses to legally marry him, thus freeing each of them from their unequal match. Instead, she becomes his cousin Elizabeth's paid companion; Elizabeth, a strong-minded woman with a love plot of her own, hires tutors so she may learn English and music. Lily revels in leaving behind her illiteracy and ignorance. In a passage I particularly enjoyed, Neville gets angry that Elizabeth is changing his free-spirited love by making her like all the rest of Society, but Elizabeth points out to him that Lily's fundamental character isn't changing, but rather her horizons are expanding as she learns more. Learning gives her more options, more choices, than she had before.

A murder plot is foiled, Neville and Lily confess their love, and finally they marry again, this time publicly acknowledged as equals.

I loved that this wasn't an easy Cinderella tale, nor (despite her introduction) was Lily a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. This felt like a particularly rich, dense book, with lots of relationships, side characters, and plots. The lovers weren't seperated by a misunderstanding, let alone a silly one that could have been easily cleared up. There were serious issues* that Lily and Neville had to work out, and schemes by other characters that had to be dealt with.

*Trigger warningLily was raped while a prisoner, and she, Neville, and Elizabeth all talk and think about it a great deal over the course of the novel. I don't think there's any victim-blaming (although Lily does struggle with survivor guilt) or detailed flash backs.

[spinsterrevival · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was lovely with a ton going on. Warning for past sexual assault which was hard to read about (nothing graphic but still). Lily went through a ridiculous amount here, and I’m glad that she’ll have her HEA with Neville. Since I’ve read all the different books after this already, it was interesting to see how Balogh structured the suspense/mystery happening here too. Also I’m glad I’ve already seen Lauren and Gwen get their happy endings; Gwen wasn’t shown in that great a light here. The different class systems shown here were very interesting, and I’m not sure if it worked or not at the place where Lily ended up.

[samnreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Balogh has an interesting style, doesn't she? I was not totally convinced when I read my first book by her, but this one felt utterly perfect for the moment. I adored the free-spirited and joyful (but not at the cost of her being realistic) heroine, and the hero was...doting. Devoted. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.3.75

[sarah_gruwell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Now this is what I’m talking about with a Balogh romance! Emotionally tense, well-rounded characters I love, a romance I can get behind, and attention to specific historical details to give us a great setting for the relationship all make an appearance.The primary attraction for any historical romance, the main relationship, shines in this book, along with our leads. From the beginning, Neville and Lily have an unmistakable chemistry. Their relationship starts out as a promise to take care of Lily after her father’s death. But it blossoms into something very special, even after a long separation and some serious trauma. I was engrossed by every interaction between these two.I liked that most of the drama wasn’t from the miscommunication trope that so many historical romances fall into. Nothing irritates me more. Right from the beginning, Neville and Lily both are up front and honest about their feelings for each other. It’s their different stations in life, past trauma, and self-esteem issues that impedes the blossoming love. I liked that the author isn’t afraid to explore those darker elements. What happens to Lily during her captivity truly moves the heart. I liked that her trauma wasn’t just ignored or thrust to the side so the romance can proceed without impediment. What she went through prevents her from being able to completely revel in her relationship and to meet Neville as an equal party emotionally. It does seem to be resolved a bit too soon for my taste but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the romance overall. I liked the details that Balogh incorporated with the Peninsular War, life in the army, and all the societal mores for Regency life. It was interesting to see all that went into making a lady “accomplished” for society, all that Lily had to learn on the fly and quickly. Her life traveling in the army and how the rank and file worked also added an interesting layer to the story and the characters portrayed.It’s works like this that made me fall in love with Balogh. She knows how to blend characterization, romance, dramatic tension, and period details to create a fantastic historical romance. I look forward to delving into more stuff by her!

[anniik_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is an interesting book. It's the first book in the world of the Bedwyns - while they are not in this book at all, Lauren, the jilted bride in this book, continues on to marry Kit Butler in "A Summer to Remember." While perhaps not the best written of Balogh's book, this book has its own charms. Lily is an interesting character - ethereal, beautiful, but not quite real, while Neville is honorable and kind and wants only to do the right thing. Watching Lily come into herself is interesting as well. I enjoyed this book a great deal despite the strange aura it passes on to the reader.

[misfit_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A silly, trite and oh so predictable regency romance. The story opens as Neville Wyatt Earl of Killbourne is preparing to wed his childhood friend and in walks the bedraggled Lily - the wife he thought dead and no one knew existed. Back flash to a year ago when Neville served in the military and Lily's father died and Neville married her for protection - a bit of a stretch there as her father was a sergeant and Neville heir to an earldom and a major. Oh well. They have "one night of love" and then Lily is believed to have died after suffering from a gunshot wound. Now flash back to present and Neville's got a sticky wicket on his hands with an illiterate lower class wife, although he is still in love with her. The story continues as Neville's aunt Elizabeth takes Lily in hand to teach her to read, dress and act the part of a lady and of course she's a smash and all the _Ton_ think she's the greatest thing since sliced cheese. There's also a mystery about her true parentage and she has several mysterious accidents -- is someone trying to kill her? Did I make that sound exciting enough to make you run out and buy this? I hope not, as while reasonably entertaining as a regency romance it's certainly not the best out there either. One dimensional characters (with incredibly silly names at that) and a very very predictable plot (figured most of it out before page 100) all add up to a very average read IMO, although it does well enough for when one is in the mood for a mid-work week non brain taxing read. If you are dead set on reading this, get it from the library first and then buy it if you love it.