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The Escape
The Escape
The Escape
Audiobook11 hours

The Escape

Written by Mary Balogh

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

After surviving the Napoleonic Wars, Sir Benedict Harper is struggling to move on, his body and spirit in need of a healing touch. Never does Ben imagine that hope will come in the form of a beautiful woman who has seen her own share of suffering. After the lingering death of her husband, Samantha McKay is at the mercy of her oppressive in-laws - until she plots an escape to distant Wales to claim a house she has inherited. Being a gentleman, Ben insists that he escort her on the fateful journey. Ben wants Samantha as much as she wants him, but he is cautious. What can a wounded soul offer any woman? Samantha is ready to go where fate takes her, to leave behind polite society and even propriety in her desire for this handsome, honorable soldier. But dare she offer her bruised heart as well as her body? The answers to both their questions may be found in an unlikely place: in each other's arms.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 1, 2014
ISBN9781470392215
The Escape
Author

Mary Balogh

New York Times bestselling, multi-award-winning author Mary Balogh grew up in Wales, land of sea and mountains, song and legend. She brought music and a vivid imagination with her when she came to Canada to teach. There she began a second career as a writer of books that always end happily and always celebrate the power of love.

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Reviews for The Escape

Rating: 3.8516483021978023 out of 5 stars
4/5

182 ratings32 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Smiling, crying, shouting, screaming!!!!! I loved these books. So sweet, so lovely. I love the survivors stories. Off to read the next one!!!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I absolutely loved the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure series as a child. I felt as if I was in control of fate and it was so interesting to go back and pick another route and see where it would have taken me.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    OK story but too long
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ok, so there may have been a point where I was so sure I had read this exact book before that I had to look up my goodreads account to make sure, but the book swiftly moved off from that somewhat repetitive survivor's club beginning and into a sweet and lovely romance. I love the spark of our heroiine (with great stealth, indeed) and I appreciate the unselfpitying stubborness of our hero. I also enjoy meddling estranged grandfathers, so altogether Hooray, hooray!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sort of middle of the road for me. I liked the characters decently but didn't feel super attached. And they were kind of sweet together but I wasn't really caught up emotionally. And I tend to like road trip romances and heroes working through something significant (which this one definitely was). Balogh is a good writer, I just wasn't especially feeling this one. Not bad, just fine.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved everything about this one. Samantha and Ben were of course both damaged, and I loved how they started in one place and ended up so far away (both figuratively and metaphorically). I was so happy over their HEA, and I can’t wait to see them again down the road.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    ** spoiler alert ** This is a stand-alone, but I think it would be nice to read them in order due to recurring characters, and I’m not sure, but I think the story may build a little for each character from the beginning? This one has Ben Harper and Samantha McKay, both victims of the Napoleonic wars in different ways. Ben was injured directly in the war, where he was a Major, and now walks with the assistance of canes. Samantha is a war widow, who has spent five years nursing a husband she didn’t love after the first four months of their marriage, all without complaint, and who is now, after her husband’s death, suffering the visitation of her puritanical sister-in-law. Ben and Samantha are very different in some ways, but in some of the most important ways they are very much alike. They both feel trapped in circumstances beyond their control, and they both want to escape their current circumstances and live again. They strike up an unlikely friendship after a very rocky beginning. I really enjoyed the characters in this book (which makes me think I might like the others, as well). The secondary characters are slightly on the flat side, but are fleshed out enough that they escape that fate and genuinely add to the story. I liked that it took a while for the romance to develop. They’re both very confused characters, and in Samantha’s case, she’s been lied to by her family as to her mother’s Welsh relatives. That was a very lucky break for her, but by then I felt she really deserved it. The family she married into was so awful. I also liked the way the story developed, and I felt badly for Ben that his dream of being a travel writer was crushed when he realized he really hated the writing aspect. The ending felt reasonable, and was a different sort of HEA. I thought it was unique and cool
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Samantha McKay has spent years in a loveless marriage nursing her wounded husband day and night. Now that he has died she is watched over by her dogmatic sister-in-law who insists on severe restrictions during the year of mourning. When Samantha learns they intend to move her to her father-in-laws home where she will have no freedom whatsoever she plots her escape. Helping her is her neighbours brother, Sir Benedict Harper, survivor of the Napoleonic Wars, although virtually a cripple. She needs an escort to Wales to claim a shack she has inherited and Ben, having healed from his injuries as much as he can, is unsure where his future lies. A nice Regency romance.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is my first book read in this series by Balogh. I was intrigued with the idea of a series that is dedicated to leads that are damaged in some way or dealing with issues heavier than your usual romantic fluff. This introduction was pulled off fairly well, enough that I’m already dedicated to tracking down other volumes and bulldozing through them.The leads shined in this introduction (to this reader at least). I loved that Ben dealt with more than just his physical limitations, though they were the cause of his emotional ones as well. There was a lesser feeling of self-worth and what he saw as his offerings to a relationship that kept me intrigued.I also liked Samantha. She determined that she wouldn’t be happy in the opportunities presented to her by her in-laws so chose a dream in “wild” Wales with a man who could really only be counted as an acquaintance in the beginning. That takes balls to go into the unknown like that. I did feel that the emphasis placed on her “darker” looks and Gypsy blood was bit much, to the point of being clichéd (why can’t her darker complexion be from somewhere more abnormal like the Middle East or Native American blood?). But overall, I liked her strong inner core and dream of a comfortable, independent life.The emotional pull of this book was off the charts. Part of that was from the author, I know, as Balogh just knows how to do emotions. Yet, I think a part of it was the circumstances of our leads and their intense yearning for family, love, and peace. Ben’s handicaps and Samantha’s family situations are intense. As they start to grow closer together and develop this deep love, there’s also a powerful sense that they may not have a future and that any relationship they have is only transitory.At times, this was stressed to the extreme of being melodramatic, though. There were times where I really couldn’t see why these two couldn’t just hitch a ride to the nearest church and say their “I dos”. Maybe it’s a period thing, a Regency thing, that wasn’t coming across clearly for me. But that all made for dramatic reading!Speaking of the Regency thing, Balogh really gets this time period and brings her readers into it. Maybe it’s the intense role the Napoleonic wars play in the story and lives of the characters; that certainly comes through. Yet, she also gives us a unique and thorough look at the social mores, relationship models, and the daily lives people lived back then. The Regency period is written to death in historical romance, but in Balogh’s hands, it gets a more in-depth look and becomes more than just background fluff. This was a fantastic introduction to the Survivor’s series. I loved the characters, their emotional pulls, and the setting we see them in. At times, the story crosses into the melodramatic and the character’s backgrounds slide into cliché territory. Yet, that in no way makes this a horrible read. I look forward to continuing on this series; I’ve already made some significant headway.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An excellent book. Two adults protagonists -- smart, mature, and willing to go after what they want. The plot was believable for a regency. Very few inauthentic notes. The romance was very satisfying and I couldn't put it down (much).
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While I usually adore Mary Balogh this one was too drawn out. I kept waiting for something to really happen. I like this series though because it deals with the after effects of war on the men and women who survived. PTSD, crushed legs, blindness, etc. It was all handled very well and realistically. I liked how Balogh did not portray them as healed or cured after they find their true love, but rather the love made their life better in other ways. But this book was just too slow going. I liked Ben and Samantha both. Very well drawn characters. I found mayself skimming so it could have used about 100 fewer pages.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This historical romance had a good plot with an endearing handicapped hero who developed an honest friendship with the heroine except for denying their future but the telling of the story was so long, slow and sometimes boring. Recently widowed Samantha is nearly run down by a horse when war injured Ben tries jumping a hedge.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In some ways this story really excels, and in others, not so much. The beginning is vintage Balogh. Laying out the story's premise, leading up to the first meeting of the 2 main characters. Excellent. I started to question whether the author was rushing the story a bit, during the phase the H/H are initially in Wales. The ending came on a bit too quick and therefore seemed too tidy for a Balogh book, but it was still likeable.Regardless, I still am looking forward to the 4th installment to this series.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Part of the survivors series, but the books do tend to stand alone. Samantha, a young widow from a loveless marriage, is at the mercy of her Puritan minded in-laws. And if she moves to the home estate of her father-in-law, she will never be free. She decides to escape to the "hovel" in Wales that her late mother inherits. Accompanied by a neighbor, Ben, who was injured in the war, they embark on a platonic escapade to Wales. Only, it doesn't stay platonic, and the hovel is anything but!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sir Benedict Harper almost lost his legs after an accident during the Napoleonic Wars and he now walks awkwardly with two sticks, he dreams of dancing. When he almost runs over Samantha McKay, in official mourning for her husband who died by inches after another incident in the NApoleonic wars, she is yearning for a life, but her husband's family are determined to keep her under control. Then she remembers a house, what her mother referred to as a hovel, in Wales, a place that could give her freedom. The two of them begin a road trip to another future for them both.I liked it, loved the characters and their attitudes and wanted more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    After the loss of her husband, Samantha McKay was forced in to an extreme version of morning by her in-laws. Still recovering or at least getting used to his limitations from injuries he sustained in the war, Sir Benedict Harper was out doing his best to be his old self when he almost trampled Samantha and her dog. Apologies given and accepted, friendships could have formed if not for the overly strict in-laws. Realizing that she needed to be out from under their control, she escaped in the night with the help of Ben. Traveling together, they get to know each other and themselves a little better. Book 3... As always, I really enjoyed the continuing story of the Survivors Club. This addition to the series was no exception. I enjoyed hearing of the other survivors and how their new relationships have continued, I also am looking forward to the next installment of this series. Thank you to LibraryThing for the Early Reviewer copy of this book. MB is quickly becoming an auto buy for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Crippled Ben Harper becomes cautious friends with widowed Samantha. When her controlling in-laws decree that she must return to the family estate so they can ensure she mourns properly, she plans to flee to a cottage that she inherited through her mother. Ben accompanies her, and during the journey they fall in love. Samantha discovers she has a grandfather, and learns of the rift in her mother's family, due to misunderstandings and unforgiveness. Samantha's grandfather offers Ben a job, and gives them each time to find their own freedom and self-confidence, before deciding to marry. Good as all her books are, but not quite as engaging.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A near-miss accident by horseback leads to a collision of hearts and souls that will forever change two lives in "The Escape", Book Three in author Mary Balogh's "The Survivor's Club Series". Sir Benedict Harper's service in the Napoleonic Wars left him wounded in body and soul--his legs forever weakened and maimed. After years of emotional drifting and feeling as though he was a ship without a sail, Ben tells his fellow members of the Survivor's Club--all greatly affected by the war--that it is time for him to move forward. Beautiful young widow Samantha McKay is also a survivor, having acted as nurse as her husband lingered for five years from his own war wounds. His death gave him final release, but Samantha remained trapped by the confines of family duty and societal restrictions. Ben and Samantha have a fateful meeting when he almost tramples her with his horse as she and her dog walk along the countryside. After an angry exchange, the two part ways, and Ben later realizes that he must apologize for his behavior. Eventually, the two form a friendship of sorts, and when Samantha makes plans to steal away to a little inherited cottage in Wales, Ben reluctantly accompanies her for her protection. But who will protect their reputations? A mutual attraction sparked by snappy banter leads to a deeply passionate affair--one that takes them both by surprise, leaving them caught in a spell of mutual pleasure in each other's company. Reality must intrude, however, and the lovers go their separate ways. The truest desires of two yearning hearts cannot go unanswered for long--is there a way for Ben and Samantha to escape the lingering confinements of the past and break free for a bright and happy future together? A lovely romance from Mary Balogh that contains the charming bonus novella "The Suitor".Review Copy Gratis Library Thing
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This novel is 3 of a wonderful series. The author's vision to unite two individuals crippled physically and mentally from things out of their control. Ben was a handsome man crippled in the war and Samantha was handicapped mentally by her deceased husband and his family. They took a chance on each other. Ben's ability to assist Sam to escape her in-laws allowed them both a freedom. It gave Ben a chance to see his life from someone else's eyes and he was loved in spite of. Sam found true love with a man not looking for it. I really enjoyed this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The next in the Survivor's Club from Mary Balogh, this novel was quite interesting. It pairs Sir Benedict Harper, a man who persevered to walk again after being gravely wounded with Samantha McKay, a recent widow who spent years talking care of her wounded husband. In order to escape the oppressive clutches of her in-laws, Samantha sets off to Wales in search of an inheritance with Benedict at her side to provide protection. While both are wounded in different ways, they will only be able to claim the future they both want if they can learn to trust in each other. This was a great read, with well crafted characters.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    For me this felt like a different book than the rest of the survivors series. I as really excited for this book as the hero intrigued me a lot based on the earlier books. However, a lot of his development has happened before the story and before the series. So, while I thought this was a good story about Ben and Samantha, to me, it lacked some of the depth of the earlier books in the Survivors series. Its definitely important to read for the series but it was lacking something special that made up the earlier books.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The latest romance from Mary Balogh is as good as all the rest of Ms. Balogh’s stories. The Escape is the third book in The Survivors’ Club series. I haven’t read the first two but that didn’t impact reading the third one. The Survivor’s Club is a support group of seven people wounded in the Napoleonic wars. At first I thought a support group was a recent concept that didn’t really fit the time period, but Ms. Balogh’s nineteenth century version makes sense in this context. The hero of this book, Benedict, is one of the Survivors. His physical wounds are healed as best as they can be but his emotional wounds are not. He is drifting through life trying to reconcile himself to the fact that the life he had planned will never be. The heroine, Samantha, is also damaged. Samantha doesn’t have physical wounds but her life so far has left scars. Their story is one of two people who are determined to not give up on life when everything, and everyone, insists that they should. One of the things I like most about Ms. Balogh’s books is that her characters are intelligent. This holds true for Samantha and Benedict. Samantha is not one to adhere to society’s rules and customs. The story evolves slowly but surely and I was very anxious along the way that things might not turn out the way I wanted them to. At one point I even thought that there wouldn’t be a Happily Ever After! But everything does turn out happily for Samantha and Benedict. There’s a wonderful scene near the end where they realize a dream they both shared. There are some surprising plot twists along the way and some family secrets that come to light. But Ms. Balogh does this with her usual skill so it all happens naturally and believably.I would recommend this book for Balogh fans and for those who have never read any of her books.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A better story line than many I have read in the recent past when it comes to romance novels. Believable story and likeable characters. Still mostly formulaic with regards to the genre though. I am still waiting for the next great romance novel, I haven't read any that compare to some of the ones that came out two and three decades ago. An enjoyable, quick read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Escape was a good book, after reading some many romances in it is once once in a while to see a couple slowly fall in love. It remind me a tiny bit of Pride and Prejudice, with just a wing of modernization. I loved Ben and Samantha together.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When Samantha escapes from her home for a brief walk, she is nearly run over by a jumping horse ridden by Benedict, the Survivor whose legs were crushed during the war. Benedict is so startled that he is less than a gentleman leading to the common romance friction. However, when Samantha's in-laws threaten to remove her to their estate, she turns to Ben to flee to her own cottage inherited from her mother's family. For genre fiction, Balogh does a nice job of creating unique characters and situations even if some of the resolutions are a bit too pat, we read these types of novels for the happy endings.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    4.5 starsI have read many historical romances this summer and this may rank as my favorite so far. This is a true love story in every sense of the word. Major Sir Benedict Harper meets Samantha when his horse almost lands on her after jumping a hedge. This contentious start sets them up for a beautiful friendship as both attempt to find their place after surviving tragedy. Samantha is recently widowed after serving as nurse for her demanding injured husband for many years. Ben, also severely injured by war, has spent the past years recovering and coping and now must decide how to live the rest of his life. These are realistic and extremely likable characters whose relationship builds as the book progresses. Overall, this is a well written, beautifully plotted historical romance. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Peninsula Wars in the early 19th century sent soldiers home with various types of injuries and Mary Balogh has taken a group with different types of injuries and banded them together into a club. They convalesced together and so they meet for several weeks each year to see the progress each has made in reclaiming their lives. The ESCAPE is the story of Sir Benedict Harper whose legs were crushed when his horse fell on him in battle and though he can only walk with the help of canes, he had hoped for a full recovery. Believe that impossible now after several years, he visits his sister and meets Samantha McKay, a widow.What follows is a classic bodice ripper but so much fun!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ms. Balogh has seldom disappointed me and certainly not with this book! Her writing is generously paced, characters completely explored and evidence of their growth is laudable. Samantha's re-awakening to the world and life is a delight to read, the dialog fun and secondary characters believable and well drawn. The romance was perfect. Not rushed, not tarnished by outside conflicts or smothered by internal struggles. Ben and Samantha were true to themselves while mindful of proprieties. They skated on very thin ice in several places, but not beyond the pale, a rare pleasure in romance land these days. The plot was plausible, if a little strained toward the end. I'm not a real believer in the absence makes the heart grow fonder thing - but for these characters at that time, it worked. That they found their answers in themselves, before completely embracing each other is what I appreciated most about the book. Along with the fact they were both thoughtful regarding the other person's feelings - even when a harsh word was exchanged - was classic Ms. Balogh that keeps me re-reading her many, many books on my keeper list.Yes, yes, as the blurb implies, they had discreet sex - took a glorious break from time and allowed themselves to feel pleasure, to feel loved, to feel able to give love; but it was *not* the answer to their future, thank you O so much Ms. Balogh for living up to your work, not down to the blurb! These two people were connected by friendship and mutual understanding before they were connected by intimate relations. The descriptions of said passion were romantic and amusing and lovely. Their declarations, the joy they both bring to their commitment to one another is what lasts in memory of this book. You do not doubt the happily ever after will be much more than they envision, for better or worse, in sickness and in health ... they will find a way to enjoy the moments together.My only quibble is the Book Cover. With earnest apologies to Ms.Balogh and her lovely story, this would have been a five star book, except for the cover. And boy ... howdy, it makes my blood boil. The series is The Survivors Club. These men and women endured the worst of war and in Ben's case, were visibly scared and physically challenged.The gross supposition that we can READ about scarred individuals, the hard work of recovery, and the precious gift that love is ... but cannot look at it and part with our hard earned money is an infuriating reflection of society so many writers mock for being unable to bear the site of the wounded. Aside from my quibble. I recommend this book and encourage you to read the short novella at the end as well, it is a charming story - read it first if you prefer, I did! For myself, I will wait for the series to be completed and the reissues with covers more in keeping with the empathetic tone of the work and the dignity of survivors as well as respect for readers. Read my complete review at Pagetraveler blogspotI received a NetGalley copy in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An excellent addition to Balogh's Survivor's Club series.Sir Benedict Harper has painfully learned to walk again with the help of two canes. But he has finally, reluctantly, come to the conclusion that he will never be able to return to the army. Samantha McKay's husband recently succumbed to his lingering wounds. Now his straitlaced sister is insisting that deep mourning requires restricting themselves to the close confines of the house, with no visitors of any kind. Ben's quest for a way to occupy himself usefully meets Samantha's need to be free, leading to unexpected answers for both of them.A very affecting romance.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a story of Ben, a soldier physically recovering after been injured in the Peninsular war and returning to life as an civilian. He has to come to terms with the fact that his career is now over, and use the aid of canes in an attempt to walk. Samantha Kay is a young widow who has experience with nursing after looking after her husband for several years. Her life has been very repressed by her in-laws as they keep her financially dependant on them, she longs for freedom.After Ben and Samantha meet a very tender relationship develops and I loved how the story progresses for them both and shows how they can live again. This is a very touching story.