Historical Romance Book Club discussion

⭐️⭐️⭐️WARNING THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS ⭐️⭐️⭐️

To those of you who have read this book let’s discuss Devlin’s Actions.

Mary Balogh is definitely known for her thought provoking stories and she has done it again.

Click the spoiler tag to see beginning of discussion…trying to not ruin aspects of the story 😉

Right or Wrong…

(view spoiler)[ Remember Love goes beyond a typical romance and asks the reader to contemplate if our worlds are really full of “right or wrong” situations or is it not that simple and we live in a world of shades of gray with no true “right or wrong” and instead various degrees of truth. Balogh brings up the central theme of how our own actions impact our world, specifically how intent to pursue the “right” choice may not always be the “correct” response and can cause unintended repercussions. The way these concepts are presented is brilliant and I am still not 100% sure of the answer to the conflict posed in this story which is “was Devlin wrong in revealing what he’d learned of his father’s behavior?” The story definitely makes you think and consider what you would have done in Devlin’s shoes … It is near impossible to answer—at least for me, each response has its own repercussions and neither choice is easy to make, especially in the heat of the moment. The conflict between righteousness versus impropriety is definitely not always black and white. (hide spoiler)]

What do you think of Devlin’s behavior and actions after the event? What of the way his family reacted? How about the fallout the rest of the siblings faced while Devlin was battling his own?

Curious about other peoples thoughts.

I love romance books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved Remember Love!!! My only complaint is that we got too few of Devlin and Gwyneth scenes!

It seems like the father's behavior was common at that time and mostly ignored or at least not acknowledged. Therefore, I think Devlin was wrong to announce it, especially in public. It hurt his entire family and didn't do anyone any good. I think his family reacted pretty normally for the time.

Makes sense!!!!!!!!!!!

I just finished this. Great book - I do love Mary Balogh.
I think he did the right thing for him at that time. Yes, it could have been handled in a much better way by him. But in my view, the two most culpable people were the Earl and his Countess. The Countess was a coward and behaved abominably in my opinion. (view spoiler)[Sending him away and refusing to speak with him before he went; refusing to call him by his first name when he returned. I note there were no letters from his mother among the pile Ben gave him at the end. The Earl and the Countess both cared more for appearance than their son it appeared. They were going to weather a storm of opinion whether he went or stayed as the cat was already out of the bag, what on earth did banishment accomplish. (hide spoiler)]

A lovely book. I am looking forward to the rest of the series....I wonder whether it will be Pippa next (or maybe Ben...)

Susan wrote: "I just finished this. Great book - I do love Mary Balogh.
I think he did the right thing for him at that time. Yes, it could have been handled in a much better way by him. But in my view, the two m..."

I agree with you and the behavior of the Earl & Countess really bothered me. It’s like they both just threw away their son.

Debora wrote: "It seems like the father's behavior was common at that time and mostly ignored or at least not acknowledged. Therefore, I think Devlin was wrong to announce it, especially in public. It hurt his en..."

I see your point. I just felt horrible for Devlin and the treatment he received from his family. If you think about it, Devlin’s entire world imploded and his picture perfect family, was found to not be so perfect. The two people who should have supported him and all their children were too worried about scandal.