Helpful Score: 3
~ Pardon the pun, but this book was "simply forgettable" for me (2.5 stars) ~
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. (I had this same problem with Mary Balogh's second Bedwyn book, SLIGHTLY WICKED).
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 (Bedwyn Family, Book 2) by Mary Balogh
~ THE SECRET PEARL by Mary Balogh - a spin on the "one night of passion"
~ WHEN WE MEET AGAIN (Effington Family, Book 10) by Victoria Alexander
~ HER HIGHNESS, MY WIFE (Effington Family, Book 5) by Victoria Alexander - premise isn't exactly the same, but similar enough
~ LET IT BE LOVE (Effington Family, Book 11) by Victoria Alexander
~ 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).
(http://historical-romance-heaven.blogspot.com)
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. (I had this same problem with Mary Balogh's second Bedwyn book, SLIGHTLY WICKED).
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 (Bedwyn Family, Book 2) by Mary Balogh
~ THE SECRET PEARL by Mary Balogh - a spin on the "one night of passion"
~ WHEN WE MEET AGAIN (Effington Family, Book 10) by Victoria Alexander
~ HER HIGHNESS, MY WIFE (Effington Family, Book 5) by Victoria Alexander - premise isn't exactly the same, but similar enough
~ LET IT BE LOVE (Effington Family, Book 11) by Victoria Alexander
~ 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).
(http://historical-romance-heaven.blogspot.com)
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