Review: The Marriage Agenda by Sarah Ballance

Title: The Marriage Agenda
Author: Sarah Ballance
Source: Entangled Indulgence
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: August 18, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 3

There's a scandal brewing in Washington...

Knox Hamilton wants his father’s recently vacated Senate seat, but the only way his conservative constituents are going to vote for Knox is if he loses his playboy reputation. Which means Knox needs a wife. There’s only one woman with whom he's willing to share his life, but after the way he broke things off with her, will she give him another chance?

Chloe Lochlan's job is on the line. If she doesn't grab a big headline, she'll be ousted from her gig at the major newspaper where she works as a reporter. Knox's offer of marriage chills her to the bone. He already crushed her heart once and she has no intention of letting it happen again. But being with him gives her the kind of access to top tier social events rarely granted to media, access that could land her the story of a lifetime. When the truth she uncovers threatens to destroy the man she still loves, will she bury the story...or his career?

This was a fun read and was a nice change from an overly serious political romance I had tried to read.  While the concepts of bribery, environmentalism, and political fraud are serious, the story had plenty of light and fun points to balance it all out.  Chloe is an amazing character, but I don't think I'll ever quite understand why she agreed to marry Knox to begin with.  I'm glad she did and it turned out to be a wonderful thing, but it didn't look that way at first.

Knox was an interesting character as well.  A handful of cliches mixed with some more unique characteristics lead to a great character.  While he is afraid of love, he's working towards overcoming that - even if he doesn't realize it yet.  His move to help Chloe at the end really shows how great of a guy he is.  He would be a catch for any girl.

The scandal that Chloe digs up is personal on multiple levels, and she knows that it will hurt a person she loves deeply.  But the journalist in her knows that it must be brought to the public's attention so they know what their politicians are doing.  The investigation is mixed in very nicely and it isn't really the center of the story.  Sarah Ballance doesn't dwell on it more than she needs to in order to tell Chloe and Knox's story.

Overall, this was the perfect mix of intrigue, politics, and romance.  Knox left me a little wanting for a good chunk of the story and some of the sex scenes (or lack thereof) seemed to be drawn out or repetitive though.

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Other reviews for Sarah Ballance:

An Unexpected Sin: 3 Rating

Blog Tour Review and Giveaway: An Unexpected Sin by Sarah Ballance

Title: An Unexpected Sin (Sins of Salem #2)

Author: Sarah Ballance
Source: Entangled - Scandalous
Genre: Historical Fiction - Colonial
Length: Novel
Release Date: April 14, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 3

Salem, Colonial

The moment the stranger’s dark eyes meet hers, Anne Scudder’s world is immediately overthrown by chaos. That single flare of desire is immediate, driving away all notions of propriety. Instead, Anne is consumed with sinful thoughts—ones that no unmarried girl should ever have for a man who isn’t her husband…

But Josiah Cromwell is no stranger.

It’s been six years since Josiah stole kisses from Anne, his best friend’s younger sister. Six years since Josiah left after his best friend’s death, burdened by the knowledge that he was responsible for destroying Anne’s family. Now he’s returned to claim the woman he can’t live without. But even as their desire threatens to consume them both—body and soul—the dark workings of suspicion and witchcraft are afoot.

Because in Salem, too much passion can lead a woman to ruin… and condemned to death.

This is my first historical romance set in the Colonial period - more specifically during the Salem witch trials. I always thought this was a very interesting period of time.  Sarah Ballance managed to capture the time period perfectly for me.  The accusations flying, innocent people accused, not defending anyone for fear you'd be named next.  It was a very tense period in which to live.  These issues all touched the story of Anne and Josiah in different ways - ways they could have been disasterous.  It was very nicely pieced together.

The downfall of this novel was the period language.  I know they spoke this way, but when it was also narrated this way, it was a little rough at times.  One word in particular seemed to grate on me, verily.  When used in dialog it was very fitting but it was thrown in elsewhere just a little too often.  The blame Josiah places on himself was a little over done and I did get tired of hearing about how unworthy he thought he was.

Overall, this was a good shot at the period for historical fiction.  My issues with the book may not bother other readers at all - some may even enjoy them.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Author Bio:

Sarah Ballance is a multi-published author of contemporary, historical, and supernatural romance and romantic suspense. She's been married to her own romantic hero for what he calls a "long, long time" (and no, he'll never hear the end of saying that). Together they have six children ... and clearly too much time on their hands. She currently writes for Entangled and has upcoming releases from both Entangled and Samhain Publishing.

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