Overall, I would highly recommend this series to anyone, but especially those who have never tried historical romance (or even romance in general) before. If you look for a bit more depth to your characters and unusual (for the time period) storylines, check this series out. Mary Balogh is a great author, and these are not the first books I have read by her. Nor will they be the last.
Alright, besides traveling a lot, I have been doing lots of reading (as always) and a series that I finished up about a month ago (again I'm very behind, sorry) is still on my mind. I'm a big fan of romance, and mostly I read contemporary romance and historical romance. The majority that I read is contemporary though, but it's always nice to spice it up with some good ole' historicals. Often historical romances can seem like the same old plot of "surly rake comprises a young woman during the season in London and is then forced to be honorable and marry her", but the novels in this Simply Quartet by Mary Balogh, follow much different patterns. This change in plot, combined with great characters and compelling writing made these novels stand out to me. All four novels follow four women who are teachers at Miss Martin's School for Girls in Bath, England. That right there is different in that our heroines are not part of the nobility. The first novel, Simply Unforgettable follows Frances Allard as she meets Lucius Marshall, Viscount Sinclair in a snowstorm where they are holed up alone in an inn. Fun things occur, but then they are to part because a Viscount could never be with a schoolteacher. Months later, Lucius decides he wants more with Frances and decides to court her. This was the first novel I read in the series (rightly so) and it was more than a year or so ago, so I don't remember the details as well, but I remember loving the "meet-cute" of the hero and heroine the most in this novel. The second book in the quartet, Simply Love follows Anne Jewell, a single mother who, with her son travels to Wales to stay with a family friend on the beautiful Bedwyn estate (the Bedwyn family series preceded the Simply Quartet and I have not read any of the novels yet, but am eager to now). While in Wales, Anne comes upon Sydnam Butler, a scarred and disfigured, yet handsome war veteran. They strike up a friendship that soon grows into a deep love. Although this was my least favorite in the series, Simply Love is where I realized another difference in this series compared to other historicals: the characters are much more mature and ACT maturely with respect for one another. Interesting, yet a dicey decision as some people (myself included sometimes) love banter and angst. But this is what makes these novels prevail--their maturity. The third book titled Simply Magic, is one of THE most well-balanced historical romance novels I have ever read. This one follows Susanna Osbourne as she joins Frances and Viscount Sinclair at his family home for some rest and relaxation for a couple of weeks. There she meets Peter Edgeworth, Viscount Whitleaf. He is instantly intrigued by her, but she takes an instant dislike to him merely because of his name and title because it deals with the biggest secret of her past. But try as she might to ignore him, they become very good friends and then lovers. Of course there is a separation period, but in finding out the secret and then some, it all comes together wonderfully. The final book in the quartet is Simply Perfect, and it is just that: perfect. Lastly we have Claudia Martin, the headmistress of the Miss Martin's School for Girls. She is a much older heroine, in her mid-late 30's--practically ancient when we are talking of the Regency era. I do believe she would be termed a "spinster". She meets Joseph Fawcitt, Marquess of Attingsborough on her way to London to bring two of her students to their new jobs, and incidently stays longer to visit friends. Claudia is first seen as cold, unfeeling, and strict, while Joseph is first seen as charming, rakish, and aloof. But slowly they find themselves discovering much more about the other, and falling in love during the process. As the final novel in this series, this was perfectly executed. I loved how mature the characters were, and it was apparent in the way they treated each other with mutual respect. Because we had the older hero and heroine, it was not as crazy-drama filled (which I admittedly like sometimes), and in that case it felt much more real.
Overall, I would highly recommend this series to anyone, but especially those who have never tried historical romance (or even romance in general) before. If you look for a bit more depth to your characters and unusual (for the time period) storylines, check this series out. Mary Balogh is a great author, and these are not the first books I have read by her. Nor will they be the last. |
Welcome!Hi all! My name is Laura and I decided to start a blog about the things I am most passionate about, namely: Food, traveling, reading, watching TV and movies, and listening to music. I'm a Midwesterner living in Nashville, and I am a librarian. Categories
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