Simply Unforgettable - Mary Balogh: A Review

 

BOOK TITLE: Simply Unforgettable

ISBN: 9780385338226

AUTHOR: Mary Balogh

GENRE: Romance

NUMBER OF PAGES: 204

FORMAT: Paperback

SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone

REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: A recommendation of a friend who passed on this legacy by giving me a handy paperback of this novel and insisted I read it, if not for the genre then at least for the words.

REVIEW:

          Frances Allard, a school teacher spends the Christmas that year in her aunt's house. A contented lady who finds happiness in teaching students, Frances is shown to live a simple life. But the return journey from that house in a rickety carriage and a day spent stranded due to snow gives her memory to last a lifetime.

          Lucius Marshall, a noble man, finds himself at a predicament when his horse drawn carriage collides with that of a young lady and the weather forces them to share a place at a local inn. Heavy snowfall plays havoc in their travel plans and the two contrasting, unwilling people are put together by a quirk of fate.

          Both the lead characters find their predicament initially disgusting, then they accept it in a resigned abandon, and finally are undeniably attracted to each other, as was expected in a novel of this genre. But this novel does have its quirky moments like Frances teaching Lucius to peel potatoes and Lucius helping Frances to cart off snow. The book is more about the individual scenes rather than the whole plotline.

          Much like a typical romance novel, the intimacy between the lead characters builds up slowly; with making snow men and dancing together to finally reach the inevitable. But all this activities that can be given in a dry run are described in a way that will engross even those readers who are not fans of this genre.

          The story takes an ugly turn when reality bites and noble man Lucius declares that she must leave her job and come to live with him, without a real marriage proposal. This irks the self respect of the lady and she refuses to accompany him on his harebrained plan.

          They go their separate ways and neither finds life the same again. Though filled with other people and their own responsibilities, the couple could not forget each other. A twist in the story brings them closer together geographically and the couple decide they are made for each other if fate is pushing them so close. Finally, it is left to Lucius to come back in search of his beloved and win her hand legally in marriage.

          The usual light reads and poignant moments fill the book. If asked to write a gist of the story that filled the book, it would not even fill a few lines. But the author differs from others and captivates the reader in her portrayal of scenes, deep characters, and witty lines. At the end of the book, there are a lot of dialogues and scenes worthy of retelling and the story itself becomes unforgettable.

WHAT I LIKED: Powerful scenes, excellent dialogs, relatable concepts.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: A weak man meets woman story line, not much of a serious plot (but yeah, the genre itself is for the light hearted and weak kneed)

VERDICT: Credits to be given to the author for making a simple plotline 'simply unforgettable'.

RATING: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary Balogh (rhymes with Kellogg, born Mary Jenkins on 24 March 1944 in Swansea, Wales) is a Welsh-Canadian historical romance novelist.

          Mary Jenkins was born and raised in Swansea, Wales, daughter of Mildred "Double", a homemaker, and Arthur Jenkins, a sign writer and painter. She moved to Canada on a two-year teaching contract in 1967 after leaving university. There, she met and married her Canadian husband Robert Balogh, a coroner and ambulance driver, and settled in the small prairie town of Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada. She taught high school English for a number of years, and rose to the level of school principal. She has three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian, and five grandchildren, Matthew, Shianne, Jayden, Cash, and Christo.

          As an adult, Balogh discovered the world of the historical romance as written by Georgette Heyer. The vast majority of Balogh's novels have been set in Regency or Georgian England or Wales. Although she writes historical romances, Mary Balogh's heroines are often not "ladies". Some are courtesans, illegitimate, "fallen" or "ruined" women. All enjoy passion, and often a marriage and/or a sensual connection precedes recognition of love.

Balogh began her writing career in 1983, when she wrote her first novel A Masked Deception in the evenings at the kitchen table while home and family functioned around her. A Masked Deception was accepted by Signet and published in 1985. Mary Balogh won the Romantic Times Award for best new Regency writer that year.

She is the author of more than 60 published novels and over 30 novellas and has met with critical success. She has received numerous awards, including a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Regency Short Stories in 1993 and has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.

 

 

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook.

PRICE: $6.18 for Paperback

BOOK LINKS: http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Unforgettable-Mary-Balogh/dp/0440241138