I finished "Only A Promise", Mary Balogh, Series: Survivor's Club. At the beginning of the story I thought Chloe had very low self-esteem in general for proposing to the arrogant and insensitive Ralph, but then as I continued with the story I understood very well the courage and sense of "doing something" to change her life, there was no other way but to "do it, take action" in pursuing the possibility of changing her life. I admire Chloe's humility and good heart, because at least for the things she endured from her mother and sister, by affecting her in her unconscious actions she could have rather kept some hatred towards them.
I felt a lot of repulsion for Ralph's character, I never liked this character, throughout the story I could not understand how someone can be attached for a long time to his "suffering", without caring much about the people around him. At the end I understood a little bit his behavior so attached to his "childhood memories" towards his friends.
In opposition to Ralph's character, I loved Graham's character, his way of understanding the "things in life, his philosophy of life" and his affectionate support and guidance for his sister.
Overall I didn't find the reading too heavy, I think these are things that people have to deal with in life, things like the "group or society" that we interact with to learn about ourselves and others, marriage, war, etc.
Also the story is not focused on the disembowelments and viceras of war, but rather on his reflection about it, I think.
Maybe it could be worse, how about the story of the European inquisition, being burned at the stake, just because someone thought you were a witch, or being eaten by an animal.
I find the stories quite enjoyable, sometimes I get the impression that people are a bit childish or innocent in their thinking in general, I don't know if it has to do with the degree of knowledge in general as a society.
During the reading some feelings bloomed that were not directly related to the story but made me think how many emotions we can keep without realizing that they are there just a weight, a hindrance in our life, maybe little things that I never realized they were there.
Because these two weeks I'm also a little bit with the physical discomfort of something "similar" to covid, chest discomfort, constant cough and a lot of sense of taste and smell, I have realized the importance of cleaning as much as possible or purify the feelings. I'm working as much as possible on the meditations and breathing exercises of Éiriú-Eolas, EE.
thanks