Simply Perfect - Simply, Bk 4 Author:Mary Balogh Tall, dark, and exquisitely sensual, he is the epitome of male perfection. Not that Claudia Martin is looking for a lover. Or a husband. As owner and headmistress of Miss Martin's School for Girls in Bath, she long ago resigned herself to a life without love. Until Joseph, Marquess of Attingsborough, arrives unannounced and tempts her to tos... more »s away a lifetime of propriety for an affair that can only lead to ruin.
Joseph has his own reasons for seeking Claudia out. Instantly, irresistibly attracted to the dedicated teacher, he embarks on a plan of seduction that leaves them both yearning for more. But as heir to a prestigious dukedom, Joseph is expected to carry on his family's legacy. And Claudia knows she has no place in his world.
Now that world is about to be rocked by scandal. An arranged marriage, a secret that will shock the ton, and a man from Claudia's past conspire to drive the lover's apart. But Joseph is determined to make Claudia his at any cost. Even if that means defying convention and breaking every rule for a love that is everything he has ever wanted - a love that is perfection itself...« less
SIMPLY BORING. I always have enjoyed Mary Balogh, but have no clue to her most recent books & storyline. This is a narrative of a bland, aging, spinster teacher who meets a Marquess who has a blind, illegitimate daughter. Shock! Gasp.
The equally bland, boring hero introduces the heroine to his daughter so that she may take her on as a student. Thus starts a most insipid romance where the hero hardly even thinks about the heroine and Simply Loves her so much that he gets engaged to the "correct & proper" Miss Portia Hunt.
There was no love felt between the two people in this book; for the blurb on the book to have advertised...Simply Unforgettable, Simply Love, Simply Magic - I just did not feel it.
Mary Balogh's work up to this time has been outstanding. Her heroes are real-life, exciting, alive. Her heroines are courageous and face unusual circumstances. In my opinion, the author came to the writing table only half awake to write this and some of it does not even read as her writing.
This book will not be added to my collection of Mary Balogh's better work.
Currently 5/5 Stars.
Amy C. (Ceits) reviewed Simply Perfect (Simply, Bk 4) on
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I have to disagree with the other two reviewers.
I 'simply' loved this book. The love that Joseph shows for his daughter is touching and at times made me cry. The relationship that develops between Claudia and Joseph starts out first as friendship, (what a novelty in a romance book.) Hope this helps!!
If you can slog through the limp plot and seemingly endless cast of secondary characters from previous books, there's eventually a touching little romance to be found here. Definitely not Balogh's best, but still worth a read.
I am a huge fan of Mary Balogh but this series was very uninspiring. I normally wait until I have all the books in a series before I read them but this series, I actually skipped a book because I was that uninterested in what happened to that character. And quite frankly, after reading this book, it wasn't that hard to figure out what happened to her.
I started this book only because I actually WAS interested in what happened to Miss Martin. From the very beginning I loved the interaction between Joseph and Claudia. You could actually feel them falling in love. Mary showed you why Claudia loved him and that makes the reader love him as well. There was no "big misunderstanding" that strains credulity, just life happening the way life does.
I read this in one sitting. A good finish to an otherwise ho hum series.