Simply Unforgettable (original 2005; edition 2006)

Originally posted at Once Upon a Chapter

Frances Allard is on her way back to Miss Martin's School for girls where she teaches. Frances spent her Christmas break with her two elderly great aunts. The weather is making a turn for the worse when her carriage is over taken by a speeding hellion. Just a short way down the road disaster strikes. The hellion has had to stop and Frances' driver is unable to stop in time. The carriage ends up in a snow drift but Frances is rescued by Lucius Marshall, Viscount Sinclair.

The turn in weather makes travel impossible so Frances, Lucius and their drivers seek shelter in an inn. The innkeepers are away but they have left behind Wally, a pretty much useless servant. Frances and Lucius spend the next few days bickering, laughing, frolicking, learning each other and loving. Both Frances and Lucius understand that once the weather improves they'll be saying good-bye. It's this knowledge that allows Frances to take the risk and live in the moment.

When the time comes; however, Lucius doesn't see why saying good-bye is necessary. Frances is an independent woman and won't live as someone's mistress or even as a kept woman. She can only accept marriage and that isn't an option. Lucius must marry by summer's end and is all but betrothed to another. Frances doesn't want to leave Bath or her teaching position. Fate has other ideas and keeps throwing them together.

Lucius is a strong male role and at times was almost overbearing. Really he was just a determined man who knew his woman was holding back and needed to help fix it. In the end he was a caring man who would do anything to see Frances happy. Frances spends so much time worrying how every thing is going to turn out that she forgets to live. She is content where she is and won't allow herself to reach for happiness, so Lucius reaches for it for both of them. The secondary characters added greatly to the book as well. I found myself wanting to know Lucius' family more. Frances' colleagues were just there enough to make me wonder what secrets their stories hold. I'm looking forward to finding out!

Simply Unforgettable is the type of book that will ruin all others for awhile after you finish it. It is that good. Balogh takes a standard stranded together themed book and twists and shapes it into something new and stunning. Lucius seems doomed to a marriage with someone else and Frances has a mysterious past that stands between them. I was worried about her past and if it was really as big a deal as we were being led to believe. I wasn't disappointed. It isn't an insurmountable problem but it wasn't a small problem either.

Simply Unforgettable is great for someone looking to slip to London for a tea or soiree. If you've read the Wallflower series by Lisa Kleypas, I don't doubt for a minute you'll love Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh! ( )

I hadn't ever read Mary Balogh before. This book was in the clearance section of a local used book store. So I figured, for $1, why not try it out?? It was good! I enjoyed the story line. The characters were fun and I could really feel the tension between Frances and Lucius. When I read historical romances, I have to ignore some of the issues that I find unbelievable. This book was no exception. Unvelievable scenarios aside, this was a very good book! ( )

I often read paranormal romance, but this weekend I thought I would try something a little different. I am most delighted to say that I throughly enjoyed Mary Balogh's masterpiece and intend on reading the rest of her books in this series. Nothing says love like a man, Lucious Marshall, saying that her love, Frances Allard, is Simply Unforgettable. And it will be a very long time before I forget what a wonderful love story was told. 5 stars. ( )

Three years ago, Frances Allard left her past behind to become a teacher at Miss Martin’s school for girls in Bath. One Christmas after visiting her elderly great-aunts, Frances’s carriage gets stuck in a snowstorm. Behind her is Lucius Marshall, Viscount Sinclair, a man who has just been admonished to settle down and take a wife. When his carriage knocks hers off the road, he is obliged to escort her to a mostly abandoned country inn. Two days is all it takes for them to cast a spell over each other, but Frances will not be his mistress and Lucius knows his grandfather has his ailing heart set on Lucius’s marriage with Portia Hunt. Three months later, Frances and Lucius meet again by chance, but he knows this time that he can’t let her slip away from him again.

This is the second book I’ve read by Mary Balogh and I found it just as enchanting as the first (Simply Perfect). We know from almost the beginning that Frances has “a past” which is preventing her from saying yes to marrying Lucius or even allowing him to court her, but that doesn’t stop his journey to win her over from making us fall in love with him. He’s a little too arrogant in his knowledge of what’s good for her, but the thing is, she does want to do everything he tries to get her to do, including marry him. She just has to break down the boundaries of her past first, and only by forcing her into society again will that happen, although Lucius doesn’t know it at the time. I did think Frances’s issues with her past a little exaggerated once we learn what they are, but this is not a romance which is heavy of external plot, nor does it matter.

Besides the characters, I also liked how this book portrays the struggle of contentment versus happiness. Contentment is generally relatively easy to attain. I’m content when I’m reading or thinking about history. I’m happy when I’m with Keith, and believe me, it was difficult and risky to get where we are today, and it’s going to be still more difficult to get where we want to be. It’s absolutely worth it. In this book, Frances is content as a schoolteacher and might even be content with her other beau. Lucius could be content with Portia and children. Together, they would be happy but it’s hard and risky to get there. I like that. It rings true to life and reminds us why taking risks to go after what we really want is so worth it. Doesn’t have to be a person of course, it’s true in all aspects of life.

Overall, I found this to be a moving and enjoyable novel. Definitely a worthy read for anyone who would like a little more romance in their lives. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=975 ( )

Quite a lot of fun this is a story of a teacher with a past and a vicount who are thrown together and find themselves very attracted but the problem is their status in life. He's not willing to give her up and she's not willing to be a mistress!

She's a teacher and a fine singer. There were some moments though where I had to wonder about the historical accuracy of some of the attitudes and that broke the reading spell for me.

Pretty predictable but I enjoyed the ride. Almost a 4* read for me but not quite. ( )