Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books 
 If you're going to read Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh, plan on calling in sick to work. Trust me-just do it. Either you'll need the day off to power through the book because putting it down is not an option, or you'll need time to recover from the crushing weight of your own feels and the emotional hangover you'll have. I recommend calling your boss and starting off with "I got dinner from a food truck that looked a little sketchy, and by ten p.m. the cramping and bloating had started. By midnight-well, I guess streaming is the right word, but-" At this point no more detail is required. 
 I loved this book. I read it in one sitting and it made me smile a lot and cry a little. It's the sixth book in her Survivor's Club series (all of which have emotionally devastated me in no small way) and the book I've personally been dying to read because the survivor is in question is a woman. The Survivors Club is made up of men (and one woman) who have served in the Napoleonic War and been scarred either physically, mentally, or both, and who have come together to form a support network. 
 Imogen, Lady Barclay, is the only female member of the group. She traveled to Portugal with her husband during the war. Imogen's husband was a spy, and when they were both captured she was forced to witness his torture. Imogen herself was never harmed while in captivity (although rape is discussed in this book, it's because everyone assumes that's what happened to her), she did endure the unspeakable with regard to her husband. 
 I was hooked from the slow build right through to the "everything is as okay as it can be" happy ending. It wasn't a bittersweet ending; it just acknowledged that some things are super shitty and we never totally get over them, but we can still be happy. I didn't want this book to end and when it did end, I was a little weepy because I was right there with Imogen and Percy emotionally. 
 I'm sucking up my feels hangover and going to work tomorrow because we reviewers are a tough group who take this shit on the chin. My eyes will definitely be puffy from lack of sleep, though I'm totally blaming that on allergies. 
 - Elyse