Title: Simply Perfect Series: Simply Quartet #4
Author: Mary Balogh
Published: March 25, 2008
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 352
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads: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 toss 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 lovers 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…
We all know the cliche “too much of a good thing” isn’t just a cliche, and in this case, I’ve had too much. Simply Perfect is the third Mary Balogh book I’ve read in a row, and while she is my favorite Regency author, she…also tends to write very similar plots, especially in this quartet. Honestly, good luck getting me to try and differentiate between these four books, because they have all the same motifs.
And yet…I really enjoyed this book. Simply Perfect is not perfect, as the title might suggest, but is a good romance populated with likeable (if a bit bland) characters. At this point I think it’s safe to say that Balogh has become one of my go-to Regency authors, so a “miss” from her usually isn’t as dire as it might be from somebody else. This book might be a bit forgettable, but it was far from bad or even mediocre.
The protagonists here are Joseph, a marquess, and Claudia, a spinster headmistress of a girl’s school in bath. They meet due to mutual acquaintances and are then thrown together pretty often over the course of the next few months. Joseph is sort-of-engaged to a frigid heiress chosen by his ailing father, but he’s drawn to Claudia’s intelligence and honesty—and he also wants her held in educating his blind daughter. A lasting relationship between the two of them seems unlikely to thrive, but Balogh’s theme here seems to be that of fate bringing these two people back together until they can’t do anything except acknowledge that they were “meant to be.”
It’s a nice enough plot. Both protagonists are a bit older and seem to know what they’re about. There really aren’t that many obstacles impeding their HEA, either. Simply Perfect is a super understated romance, maybe so understated that it verges into the realm of sleepy and/or boring. So, you know. I don’t feel like there’s that much to talk about here?
In short: not-great by a great author, but still worth reading if you’re into a quiet, mature love story.
