Simply Magic by Mary Balogh

I'm faring much better with this new series by Balogh than I did with the last one, although I think Mary Balogh is far too enamored of her beloved Bedwyns. They just keep popping up, over and over and over again. I hope her next book (or series) deals with some other group of people - surely even in Mary Balogh's world, every person in England wasn't a close relative of a Bedwyn!

Simply Magic by Mary Balogh
(2007, Regency Historical) 9/22/08
Grade: 4.5

Once a charity student, Susannah Osborne is now a teacher at a girl’s school. When she meets Peter, Viscount Whitleaf, she thinks he’s frivolous and without depth, but as she gets to know him better, she finds that he’s more than he appears. Surprisingly, they become friends - but can their relationship survive when Susannah’s past comes between them?

This was my favorite of this series so far, mostly because the hero and heroine were so appealing. Peter is the nice guy hero rarely seen in romance, a hero who puts everyone else’s needs before his own. Susannah was strong and warm as well. And the book gives them a lot of time to simply be together, and spend time talking and getting to know each other. (Although the teacher’s at St. Martin’s are awfully quick to jump in bed with their heroes, at least this time the heroine waited until she got to know the hero.) There is a little bit of Bedwyn overdose towards the end, but thankfully, it’s kept at a minimum. Overall, this book was just a joy to read - there wasn’t a lot of plot, but the characters were just so delightful, I enjoyed every page.

I guess I've accepted that romances today all take place in a slightly fantasized historical setting, where heroines don't need to worry about the consequences of sex. I like a good sex scene, but you lose a bit of historical accuracy when heroines don't seem bothered by the prospect of unwed motherhood.