Title: Simply Magic Series: Simply Quartet #3
Author: Mary Balogh
Published: February 26, 2007
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 433
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:On a splendid August afternoon Susanna Osbourne is introduced to the most handsome man she has ever seen . . . and instantly feels the icy chill of recognition. Peter Edgeworth, Viscount Whitleaf, is utterly charming—and seemingly unaware that they have met before. With his knowing smile and seductive gaze, Peter acts the rake; but he stirs something in Susanna she has never felt before, a yearning that both frightens and dazzles her. Instantly she knows: this brash nobleman poses a threat to her heart . . . and to the secrets she guards so desperately.
From the moment they meet, Peter is drawn to Susanna’s independence, dazzled by her sharp wit—he simply must have her. But the more he pursues, the more Susanna withdraws . . . until a sensual game of thrust-and-parry culminates in a glorious afternoon of passion. Now more determined than ever to keep her by his side, Peter begins to suspect that a tragic history still haunts Susanna. And as he moves closer to the truth, Peter is certain of one thing: he will defy the mysteries of her past for a future with this exquisite creature—all Susanna must do is trust him with the most precious secret of all...
This is another quiet, comfortable romance from Mary Balogh. Simply Magic is easy-going and honest, a story of two grown-ups figuring out both themselves and each other. At this point I wonder if I’m starting to sound like a broken record, since nearly all of Balogh’s romances fall neatly into the “mature and understated” category. But, well…if you do it well, why fix it? Granted, this Simply series is far from the author’s best. But it makes for easy, light reading.
The story here is between Susanna, an orphan who’s a charity-student-turned-teacher (think Jane Eyre at Lowood). She’s invited to spend two weeks with her friend, a former teacher who is now a singing star with a titled husband (see: Simply Unforgettable). While there, Susanna meets Peter, a very kind and humorous viscount who decides he wants to be her friend. And though Susanna was inclined to dislike Peter, she soon realizes she enjoys his company very much, and that maybe she wants to be more than his friend. Cue sexytimes, forgotten family scandals, and lots of waltzing.
Something that I liked right off the bat was how unfailingly nice Peter is. He’s one of the kindest, most considerate heroes I’ve ever read in a romance novel, and he was instantly likeable. Showing your wealthy protagonist chopping wood and walking a yappy terrier for a lonely old spinster is 10/10 my catnip, and even more so because I find it somewhat rare in historical romances. Authors are too caught up with the “scoundrels” and the “rogues” and the “rakes” and don’t remember that nice guys existed in the 1800s, too. Granted, Peter has his own issues to sort through over the course of Simply Magic, but learning how to be a decent person isn’t one of them.
Susanna, on opposition, was perhaps a little more nondescript. I don’t feel that I know much about her, aside from her tragic backstory—no mother, distant father, left orphaned at 12, homeless in London, etc. I think possibly Balogh makes the mistake of thinking that giving a character a history is sufficient character building. It’s not, of course, and usually I can expect better from this author. But as I said, this isn’t her best series. I usually love Balogh’s heroines, but Susanna was lovely yet unforgettable in the end.
And of course, because this series is adjacent to the Bedwyn saga and its prequels, there were lots of the author’s prior characters in Simply Magic. Honestly at this point, it’s getting a bit hard to keep track of everyone, and I think maybe the reasons this book (and series) suffers so much is because Balogh is trying to stretch Bedwyn & Friends well past their limit. Another problem is that the timeline of this book covers some of the same periods as the previous book, Simply Love, and it was jarring to see the same scenes and conversations rehashed, word-for-word. Like I said, the author is stretching the material too far.
In any case, I enjoyed reading this. I think Peter’s character was the stand-out for me, but overall it was a fun, easy-going book that satisfied me, even if it didn’t wow me. Aside from one failure, I find that Balogh is a reliable author, and I was reliably entertained by Simply Magic. Not the author’s best, but still worth my time.
