February 21, 2005
What happens when a haughty, rakish aristocrat and a prim, beautiful schoolteacher are stranded in a deserted country inn together during a snowstorm? They fall in love, of course. But as all this takes place in fewer than 100 pages—and as this is a fairly conventional Regency-era romance—the story doesn't end so quickly or easily. Instead, Frances Allard denies her feelings, pushes Lucius Marshall away by refusing his offer to join him in London and, when they're coincidentally thrown together again in Bath, attempts to ignore him—all of which makes Lucius try even harder to get her attention. A devastating secret from Frances's past keeps her from giving in, even when Lucius proposes marriage, but this secret turns out to be so unsurprising and so easily surmountable that Lucius's 200 pages of pursuit hardly seems worthwhile. Readers will feel some satisfaction when this well-matched duo eventually come together, and as usual Balogh peppers her tale with vibrant, amiable secondary characters, including a handful of Frances's colorful schoolteacher friends and Lucius's merry sisters. However, this romance, which launches a new series focusing on the young ladies' academy where Frances works, is far more forgettable than Balogh's popular Bedwyn family Regencies.
December 1, 2004
There are consequences when Frances Allard, a teacher at Miss Martin's School for Girls, spends a few passionate nights with the charming gentleman who saved her from a blizzard. The first in a quartet of Regencies about the school.
Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 15, 2005
When an author has created a series as beloved to readers as Balogh's Bedwyn saga, it is hard to believe that she can surpass the delights with the first installment in a new quartet. But Balogh has done just that with the erotic yet not lascivious tale of a prim schoolteacher and a rake. Thanks to an accident while returning to Miss Martin's School for Girls in Bath after a quiet Christmas with her elderly great-aunts, Frances Allard meets Lucius Marshall, the Viscount Sinclair, who is in a black mood over his promise to his beloved and ailing grandfather that he would marry soon. Spending two days together at an almost deserted inn, an interlude Balogh delectably details, they revel in each other's company. But once the road opens up, Frances continues her journey, although the reader knows that events will conspire to throw the schoolteacher and the viscount together again.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)
January 15, 2005
Stranded in a remote country inn by a blinding snowstorm, music teacher Frances Allard and Lucius Marshall, Viscount Sinclair, give in to one night of unforgettable passion that blossoms into something unexpected -and that Frances knows can never be. A persistent hero who refuses to settle for less than love, a conflicted heroine running from a scandalous past, and a memorable cast of well-defined secondary characters refresh a classic Regency plot with humor, wit, and the sizzling romantic chemistry that one expects from Balogh. Well-written and emotionally complex, this is the first in a projected quartet of novels about four female teachers at a girls' school in Bath. Balogh ("Slightly Dangerous"), a veteran writer, currently of Regency-set historicals, lives in Canada.
Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.