This book is the beginning of a new series about 4 teachers of a girl's school. It's loosely connected with the Bedwyn's as the school has an anonymous benefactor that we know from previous books that it's Freyja Bedwyn.
Balogh uses a well known plot device in several of her books. She brings the hero and heroine together during a storm (or a similar event) and leaves them stranded in an inn somewhere for a number of days during which they proceed to fall in love. It seems to me she is recycling her plots instead of writing something new but I have to admit that even a recycled Balogh is more to my tastes than many other books out there.
In this book Frances, one of the School teachers, is forced by a storm and a carriage accident to stay at an inn for a couple of days in the company of Lucius marshall, a viscount. The attraction between them leads to a 2 day affair and when the storm is over Lucius wants to continue the affair but Frances refuses to be his mistress.
I really like Frances - she was a nice woman with some skeletons in her closet but determined to live up to past mistakes and overcome them.
Unfortunately I didn't like Lucius all that much. He kept deciding what was best for her and procedeed to influence events to bring her closer to him and to make her accept his marriage proposal.
I was particularly annoyed when he decided to invite all those people to the singing recital without consulting her and when it was obvious she was expecting a small event just for the family.
Of course in the end things turned out for the best and Frances faced her "nemesis" but I still think it should have been her call to decided when and why and not him forcing her hand.
I was much more annoyed with Lucius atitude than with Portia Hunt's which was cold but not particularly spiteful towards Frances.This doesn't mean I would like to see her paired up with Attinsborough (correct me if I'm wrong but isn't he in One Night for Love and One Summer to Remember?). I'm looking forward to see what's in store for him too.
Having said all this in the end I think Balogh writes an engaging story with attractive characters and I'm curious about the other books in this quartet.
A B.
This will be another author for me to try, after having heard about her from all of you! ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Balogh is on every romance reader must read list. I just wish I could find some of her traditional regencies for you, they are so good!
ReplyDeleteOra, cá está outro livro que decidi mandar vir do BookDepository e que deverá chegar amanhã, mais uma vez, foi um tiro no escuro, e se como tu dizes o Lucius acaba por decepcionar um pouco :S hummmmm eu, por regra, acho as personagens masculinas mais fascinantes... :S espero que, mesmo assim, o livro me convença o suficiente para ler mais algum da Mary Balogh nos próximos tempos!!!
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Ela tem uma backlist enorme e desde o One Night For Love que os livros têm como personagens alguém que já foi personagem secundária num dos livros anteriores.
ReplyDeleteOs meus preferidos são o One Night For Love e o A Summer to Remember destes mais recentes e os Bedwyns que vêm a seguir~também são favoritos de muita gente.
Pois... hummmmm... esta autora começou muito bem!! :)
ReplyDeleteDevorei o livro num abrir e fechar de olhos... e gostei imenso da personagem do Lucius... embora, realmente, dê a impressão que ele manipula as coisas de forma a conseguir o que pretende, fiquei com a sensação de que, na verdade, ele apenas é a força que move aquela relação para concretizar algo que ambos sabem desde a primeira noite e da qual France parece "fugir"... tal como Lucius também eu acho que ela é "cobarde" e também como ele me convenço, com o desvendar de todo o mistério que a rodeia, que ela não fugiu da sua vida, mas fugiu para a vida que merecia!
Excelente!!!
Mais uma autora a entrar na lista das "a ler"... vou tratar de mandar vir o livro seguinte desta série!! :)
Ah ainda bem que gostaste, já estou em pulgas para saber se gostas dos outros também. A minha história favorita foi a segunda.
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