New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh returns to the seductive world she knows so well–Regency England–in a new novel filled with her trademark wit, sensuality, and breathtaking storytelling. With this, the first in a dazzling new quartet of novels, Balogh invites us into a special world–a select academy for young ladies–a world of innocence and temptation. Drawing us into the lives of four women, teachers at Miss Martin’s School for Girls, Balogh introduces this novel’s marvelous heroine: music teacher Frances Allard–and the man who seduces her with a passion no woman could possibly forget.…

They meet in a ferocious snowstorm. She is a young teacher with a secret past. He is the cool, black-caped stranger who unexpectedly comes to her rescue. Between these two unlikely strangers, desire is instantaneous…and utterly impossible to resist. Stranded together in a rustic country inn, Lucius Marshall, who is the Viscount Sinclair, and Frances Allard share a night of glorious, unforgettable passion. But Frances knows her place–and it is far from the privileged world of the sensual aristocrat. Due to begin her teaching position at Miss Martin’s School in Bath, Frances must try to forget that one extraordinary night–and the man who touched her with such exquisite tenderness and abandon.

But Frances cannot hide forever. And when fate once again throws them together, Lucius refuses to take no for an answer. If Frances will not be his wife, he will make her his mistress. So begins an odyssey fraught with intrigue, one that defies propriety and shocks the straitlaced ton. For Lucius’s passionate, single-minded pursuit is about to force Frances to give up all her secrets–except one–to win the heart of the man she already loves.

Once again this incomparable storyteller captures a time and a place like no other. And in Lucius and Frances, Mary Balogh gives us her most unlikely lovers yet–a nobleman in search of the perfect wife and an unconventional woman willing to risk everything for an unforgettable love.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Pardon the pun, but this book was "simply forgettable" for me (2.5 stars)
Comment: The first in Mary Balogh's Simply Quartet, SIMPLY UNFORGETTABLE was unfortunately not so for me. I am a huge Mary Balogh fan, but this is my least favorite book of hers and I actually had to stop myself from skimming parts at the end (which is just unheard of for me). Meanwhile, I have continued on to the second book of the Quartet, Simply Love, and found that book highly enjoyable - I recommend just skipping to that one.

The middle section of this book was actually quite enjoyable; it was in the beginning (read my comments below) and in the end (which is supposed to be the best part!) that things fell apart for me. The section that takes place in Bath is fun to read and the interactions between Frances and Lucius are enjoyable, but once things move forward after that ... the book lost me and by the end, I was so sick of the back and forth that like I said above, I had to stop myself from just skipping to the end and finishing it already.

PROBLEM WITH THE PREMISE:
This is a matter of personal preference, but I don't usually like the "one night of passion with a stranger" premises in historical romances. I don't read many contemporary romances, but I don't mind them in that genre. However, when you're dealing with a historical romance, it just doesn't really fit with the times unless the woman is "loose," which of course the heroine never is. When the author writes a heroine who is supposedly prim and proper (Frances is such a heroine), it's very hard to have that type of character engage in one night of passion with some mystery man and maintain a sense of continuity or cohesiveness with how she's supposed to be the rest of the time.

SIMILAR BOOKS:
If you like books where the hero and heroine have one night of passion as strangers and later fall in love, check out the following:
~ Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh (Bedwyn Family, Book 2)
~ The Secret Pearl by Mary Balogh
~ When We Meet Again by Victoria Alexander (Effington Family, Book 10)
~ Her Highness, My Wife by Victoria Alexander (Effington Family, Book 5) - premise isn't exactly the same, but similar enough
~ Let It Be Love by Victoria Alexander (Effington Family, Book 11)
~ It Happened One Night, anthology - I haven't read it, but I think it is similar

BOTTOM LINE:
Balogh is a wonderful author, but from this book you wouldn't perhaps know it. Skip it and read one of her other books: you can skip to SIMPLY LOVE, which is second in the Simply Quartet; read The Secret Pearl, a great stand-alone; or settle in to enjoy the wonderful Bedwyn series, starting with A Summer to Remember (Bedwyn prequel) and Slightly Married (Bedwyn Book 1).

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Just wonderful!!
Comment: Simply said...one of the best series and authors I have ever read. To the woman who reviewed this in 2005...if you knew anything about natural talent you would know it's just there. You don't need to practice everyday of your life. Since this is a piece of fiction as well, I'm sure Frances did practice once she started to perform in public, but we don't need to know that. We do need to know that Frances and Lucius end up happy. Again, Brava to Ms. Balogh for a great series of historical romances.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: REALLY, REALLY Unforgettable
Comment: Mary Balogh has outdone herself in this story. She has made the characters very real and very human. I feel for Frances and, at the same time, think that Lucius is charming and endearing. Who wouldn't fall for him. I didn't hesitate when I purchased this book, knowing that I would find it well written and able to hold my attention from cover to cover. I have read many of Mary Balogh's books and have been enthralled by each one. I hold her as one of my favorite Romance novelists along with Stephanie Laurens, Victoria Alexander, Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn. I would recommend this or any of her other books to anyone who enjoys romance novels.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Simply Unforgettable
Comment: A man and a woman meet in a snowstorm, have a brief romantic interlude and both have trouble forgetting each other after they go their seperate ways.
The struggles to straighten out their feelings and finally get married are a bit too long drawn out - the man is really obsessive about the woman - but it all works out in the end.
Linda Sheean

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Customer Rating:
Summary: wonderful book
Comment: Very sweet story about one of the teachers at Miss Martin's School for girls that is introduced to us in the Bedwyn series. Though this book doens't actually have any of the Bedwyns in it- it is still a wonderful book and well worth the read.

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