First Comes Marriage

I realised something about myself. I really need a dash of insanity in my romance novels. You know, the birth secret, the murder plot, the wicked stepbrother who wants to steal your lady love. That kinda thing. Mary Balogh's novels are placid like the still surface of a pond. Not bad per se, especially since they're very well written. In fact, dare I say it, she has a tendency of being long winded. At times, I feel my eyes drooping from the gentle pacing, the polite disagreements, the restrained tension .... there's a time and place for her books, and I'm in a place where slow, leisurely reads are just not my cup of tea. Gimme a murder plot, a kidnapping, a wicked mother-in-law. Anything!