The Survivors' Club Series by Mary Balogh
Expect all the angst and grief
The Survivors’ Club series follows seven people tragically touched by the Napoleonic Wars. Five men were previous soldiers, injured or traumatized in various ways, one woman witnessed her husband’s torture and death, and one duke who opened his home and heart to the injured lost his son in battle and his wife to suicide shortly thereafter. This series brings all the heartache with all these folks dealing with their inner demons, and the partners they meet have their own tragic pasts that need reckoning with. We see some familiar names throughout this series, with characters we’ve met in previous Balogh books like the Bedwyns series (and its prequels) and the Simply series.
1. The Proposal by Mary Balogh (2012)
Historical romance in Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Survivors’ Club Series. We’re introduced the the Survivors’ Club by way of a familiar character, Gwen, Lady Muir. She is the widowed sister of Neville, Earl of Kilbourne from the Bedwyn prequel, One Night for Love (which was the very first historical romance novel I logged in 2021). While out for a walk in Cornwall on a visit to her recently widowed friend, she turns her ankle and is carried back by Hugo to the estate where he is staying. He is a newly titled gentleman, a son of a tradesperson, awarded after a heroic effort during the war that left many dead and him shipped home in a straightjacket. Although clearly attracted to each other, they Gwen and Hugo must deal with their respective histories, social class differences, and initial resistance to each other.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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1.5 The Suitor by Mary Balogh (2013)
Short novella that’s part of the Survivors’ Club series and serves as a prequel to Book 2 of the series. Our blind Viscount is being set up by his matchmaking grandmother, mother, and sisters. The lady they’ve brought has actually been in love with someone else and awaiting her debut into society and for that gentleman to clean up his reputation. The novella is really the romance between the lady and her prior suitor. Short and sweet. I might have missed reading this one if not for my Kindle app suggesting it to me after I finished reading Book 1 of the series. Glad to have read it because it leads up to the next book.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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2. The Arrangement by Mary Balogh (2013)
Historical romance in Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Survivors’ Club Series. We have our charming and beautiful viscount who was blinded in the war. He’s escaped his meddling family members and off on his own. A quiet young lady rescues him from being compromised into marriage by her cousin and her guardians toss her out. When our charming viscount learns this, he offers her a marriage of convenience with the knowledge that they’d someday follow their separate independent dreams. This one starts slow, as most Balogh novels do, but sometimes I enjoy reading this slow pace of falling in love and all the character-driven emotion behind it.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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3. The Escape by Mary Balogh (2014)
Historical romance in Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Survivors’ Club Series. Benedict had his legs injured in the war and now painfully walks with canes (despite having been told he’d never walk again). He’s depressed and aimless and finally coming to terms with the fact that he’ll never regain full mobility and that he doesn’t know what to do with his life (as his younger brother serves as steward to his estate). While visiting his sister, Ben meets Samantha, a recent widow who spent the past five years nursing her injured husband. She’s in deep mourning and oppressed by her puritanical in-laws. They have quite the antagonistic first meeting, but they find their way towards friendship (and eventually more). I expected to enjoy this story and I definitely did! I love how their friendship developed slowly over time and I loved learning more about Samantha’s family history.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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4. Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh (2014)
Historical romance, Regency era England. Book 4 of the Survivors’ Club series. Flavian is a viscount who suffered from a traumatic brain injury with a poor prognosis, and was betrayed by his fiancee and best friend who married each other while he was recovering. Many years later, his ex-fiancee is now a widow and his meddling mother and sister are trying to matchmake. Meanwhile, Flavian has met and danced with Agnes, a neighbor at his friend’s estate. He feels calm and at peace when with her and ultimately offers her marriage. She believes Flavian is a rake and a flirt and tries to avoid his advances, but eventually gives in. The most interesting part of this book is the strange history Flavian has with his ex-fiancee and the gaps in his memory that are slowly uncovered.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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5. Only a Promise by Mary Balogh (2015)
Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Survivors’ Club series. Ralph feels terribly guilty that his three friends followed him to war and did not survive. He’s cold and emotionless and empty. As heir to a dukedom from an elderly and ailing grandfather, he knows his immediate duty is to marry. Chloe is visiting the duke and duchess as she is the daughter of the duchess’ god daughter and attempting to serve as a companion. She hears of Ralph’s plight and proposes a marriage of convenience to him, no emotional ties, and no disappointment. Chloe’s reputation is mired in scandal, with her younger sister running off with a married man years ago, and recent speculation that her acknowledged father is not her natural father. She’s looking forward to the comforts of the countryside. However, tragedy strikes soon after the wedding and they’re bound for the London Season after all. Definitely a slow burn angsty romance with all the drama you’d expect from Balogh. And you come to adore Ralph’s grandparents through the story.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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6. Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh (2015)
Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Survivors’ Club series. The only woman of the club, Imogen, witnessed her husband’s torture and death while at war. She now lives in the dower house of her late husband’s family estate, while her aunt-in-law lives in the main house with her cousin companion. The new earl, Percy, having gained the title two years prior, is visiting the estate for the first time. He has come mainly to see if anything needs to be addressed on the estate, establish a trustworthy steward, and return to his indolent and frivolous lifestyle in the city. Imogen and Percy start with a somewhat antagonistic relationship, with neither of them communicating clearly. However, they soon start a friendship and then an affair. Meanwhile, there’s an underlying plot in town related to the issue of smuggling and the backstory of how an earl’s heir somehow found himself going to war, with his wife in tow.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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7. Only Beloved by Mary Balogh (2016)
Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 7 of the Survivors’ Club series. Last and final book of the series. As the Duke of Stanbrook, George had opened his home to wounded soldiers of war after the death of his son and the suicide of his distraught wife. After all six weddings in the past two years of all his fellow Survivors, George realizes he is lonely and in want of companionship. He thinks back to a woman he met over a year ago, a music teacher to one of his fellow Survivors (he met the lady in Book 4) and returns to her town to propose marriage. Dora is a 39-year old spinster, having given up her debut after her mother ran off with another man to care for her young sister Agnes (the heroine of Book 4). George and Dora agree on a marriage of companionship, friendship, and comfort. All of this is settled probably within the first quarter of the book, and then we move onto a quick engagement period, then a wedding, and then the journey to George’s estate in Cornwall. While these two are contented with each other, there’s still a lingering issue of George’s unwillingness to speak of the past and an ugly incident during their wedding with his late wife’s half-brother. We start to see hints of the reality (and misery) of George’s first marriage, but we have a long wait until he finally reveals himself to Dora. Meanwhile, Dora is wrestling with her own hurts related to her mother’s abandonment and it was sweet to see them make strides toward reconciliation. Overall, this was a great cap to this emotionally wrought series and a good reminder of why I love Mary Balogh’s books so much.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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