The First Snowdrop by Mary Balogh (1986)

I normally love Balogh's work. But this one just didn't sit right with me. I think it's because the hero rubbed me the wrong way. I get that it's a product of its time and back in 1986, when this was published, this type of hero (and his behavior) was considered romantic. I can think of other plots from the time that echo this dynamic and its toxic masculinity. But fast forward to today and it just seems to be reinforcing this dynamic that's not healthy and playing into the dysfunctional trope that surrounds the bad boy romantic hero in a way that her later novels don't. Rakes and cads pepper series like The Bedwyn Saga, the Survivor's Club, and the Westcott Family. Heck, Jasper Finley and Joshua Moore are 2 of my favorite heroes. But they also have heroines that level the playing field and there's that moment where they eat crow. What do I mean?

Our hero, Alex Stewart, Viscount Merrick is mean (sometimes down right vicious) to our heroine most of the time and yet she falls in love with him. The synopsis made it sound like Anne Parish is going to grow into a woman with a backbone, who becomes indignant with his behavior, but there was no blistering set down over his attitude and abuse. She gets angry, but there's never that moment when she realizes her own worth and right to demand better. 

Even after he realizes he was wrong about her trapping him into marriage and quite innocent in the whole thing, he still lets his pride be an excuse to become angry, take that anger out on her, to shake her, manhandle her. He continually sleeps with her (not a clean read) even as he's being hateful, and that horrible behavior is just supposed to be ignored/forgotten by the reader once he realizes he loves her and hasn't been a gentleman. He has his epiphany of how horrid he's been but he never really humbles himself. There's sort of an apology, an acknowledgement of his behavior, but it only comes after she throws herself at him, clings to him and begs him not to leave. Not ever does he act like the gentleman he's supposed to be, except in his own head.

I've read stories where a character has self-esteem/self-worth issues and I usually empathize. I just didn't get there with this story, most likely because she stayed a doormat. She got her HOA with a man who loves and treasures her, but it didn't have the same emotional heft as it might if the story was updated to match today's wisdom regarding domestic abuse. I would love for Balogh to update this story so that Alex and Anne become the couple they have the potential to be, in a healthy relationship, rather than a pair with an uneven power dynamic who link arms and happily head off to scandalized the butler. I originally have this 3 stars, but have lowered my rating to match my feelings many days after finishing the novel.

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars