SIMPLY SERIES di MARY BALOGH

di MarchRose

Simply Unforgettable (2005): 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.

Simply Love (2006): Simply Love, the second book in the quartet . . .

The story of Anne Jewell, the geography and mathematics teacher. She first appeared in my book "Slightly Scandalous" as the mother of an illegitimate child and the friend of Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, Lady Freyja Bedwyn's future husband. It was Lady Freyja, the secret benefactor of the school, who sent Anne to teach there. The Bedwyns will make several appearances in Anne's story. So will Sydnam Butler, severely wounded brother of Kit Butler in "A Summer to Remember." Many of you have asked me for Sydnam's story. Well, here it is . .

With more than her usual panache, Balogh returns to Regency England for a satisfying adult love story.

Twenty-nine-year-old beauty Anne Jewell is an independent woman: an unwed mother who has found contentment, if not happiness, in her life as a teacher at a girls' school.

Sydnam Butler, an aristocrat who lost his eye and right arm in the Peninsula Wars, has achieved a similar peace as the reclusive steward for the Duke of Bewcastle. Through her son's father, Anne is related to the Bewcastle family, which includes her friend Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, who wants to acknowledge her and her nine-year-old son, David, as kin, despite her stubborn independence. Joshua invites Anne and David to spend the summer at the Bewcastle estate in Wales, where she meets Sydnam.

The kindly Bewcastle clan have matchmaking in mind, but with scars both surface and deep, will Anne and Sydnam be able to open up to each other? And if so, can they hope for any real happiness? The maturity of the novel's protagonists — who grow from their difficulties and triumphs . . .

Simply Magic (2007): 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. . . .

In uno splendido pomeriggio di Agosto Susanna Osbourne viene presentata all'uomo più affascinante che abbia mai visto... e istantaneamente sperimenta il gelo del riconoscimento. Peter Edgeworth, visconte Whitleaf, è totalmente affascinante - e apparentemente inconsapevole che si sono incontrati in precedenza. Con il suo sorriso saputo e il suo sguardo seducente, Peter si comporta come un libertino; ma lui risveglia in Susanna qualcosa che non ha mai sentito prima, un desiderio che la terrorizza e la abbaglia allo stesso tempo. Istantaneamente lei sa: questo sfacciato nobiluomo è una minaccia al suo cuore... e ai segreti che conserva così disperatamente.

Dal momento in cui si incontrano, Peter è attirato dall'indipendenza di Susanna, abbagliato dalla sua carattere tagliente - lui semplicemente deve averla. Ma più la insegue, più Susanna si ritira... fino a che un gioco sensuale di tira e molla culmina in un glorioso pomeriggio di passione. Ora più determinato che mai a tenerla al suo fianco, Peter incomincia a sospettare che una storia tragica ancora perseguiti Susanna. E mentre si avvicina sempre più alla verità, Peter è certo di una sola cosa: sfiderà i misteri del suo passato per un futuro con questa creatura squisita - tutto quello che Susanna deve fare è affidare a lui il segreto più prezioso di tutti...