Simply Perfect

January 21, 2008
Balogh’s lovely Regency series centering on Miss Martin’s School for Girls closes with the story of founder and headmistress Claudia Martin, an “aging spinster” past 30 who does not see marriage in her future. Two former teachers have recently made titled matches, however, and one of them sends Joseph, marquess of Attingsborough, to the school, along with his good looks, friendly manner and offer of a carriage to London. His title puts Claudia off; she distrusts his apparent interest in her school; his near-engagement to Lord Balderston’s daughter, the icily perfect Portia Hunt, makes him unavailable. For his part, Joseph, at 35, can no longer put off the need for a male heir. He is resigned to the match, but there is a very delicate matter that he needs to resolve beforehand, with Miss Martin’s aid required to safeguard his secret and his reputation. Joseph’s heart isn’t in the subterfuge, however, and as social pressures come to bear, both he and Claudia are forced to reexamine their priorities. Balogh has a particular gift for infusing the Regency romance with complex and engaging characters in challenging situations that move beyond the obvious.

February 15, 2008
Falling in love with the heir to a dukedom is the last thing practical, compassionate headmistress Claudia Martin has in mind when she agrees to take her charity students to spend part of the summer at a country estate. But fate has a way of shaking things up, and as Claudia and Joseph, the Marquess of Attingsborough, are thrown together, a wary friendship and respect expand into a love that for all its passion seems doomed from the start. Class lines are clearly drawn in this emotionally rich romance that pits a pair of beautifully delineated, appropriately conflicted protagonists against the snobbish rigidity of the social structure of the times, making the ultimate resolution to their dilemma all the sweeter. Familiar characters from earlier books add charm and a few surprises to the fourth story in Balogh's popular Miss Martin's School for Girls titles. Balogh was raised in Wales and now lives in Canada.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2008
Claudia Martin, headmistress and owner of Miss Martins School for Girls, had no use for the ton, and reserved a specialdisdain for dukes. To Claudias great consternation, Joseph, the Marquess of Attingsborough, refuses to succumb to her icy disapproval. Instead, he thaws Claudia into accepting his offer for her and two of her recently graduated students to travel with him to London. That trip turns out to be just the beginning ofhis campaign to win Claudias affections, but she iscertain she can resist the infinitely rakish Joseph. A prim and proper spinster discovers love is never sensible when she engages in a spirited battle of wits and wills with a nobleman with charm to spare. With her signature exquisite sense of characterization and subtlewit, Balogh brings her sweetly sensual, thoroughly romantic Simply quartet to a truly triumphant conclusion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)