I saw so many great reviews for “Simply Unforgettable” by Mary Balogh that I was intrigued by the story. Balogh is an author I have tried to read in the past but didn’t quite get into. I liked the plot behind “Simply Unforgettable” and I enjoy romance novels where teachers are the main heroines.
Frances Allard was a great heroine. She is a teacher at an all-girls school. She teaches girls that don’t come from high society families. She loves her job and working with her students. Frances is also a very talented singer. She is a very gifted songstress. During the Christmas holiday she is visiting her aunts when on her way back to her school, her carriage suffers an accident. Lucius Marshall is both the cause and the help in this incident. Lucius and Frances rub each other the wrong way and soon they are at odds. Lucius offers Frances help and she has no choice but to accept as a big snow storm hits.
When Frances and Lucius spend the next couple of days together there is a notable class difference between them. But soon they realize that they really enjoy each other and find the good in each other. Lucius gives Frances the holiday that she has always wanted and although Lucius is not ready to say goodbye, Frances realizes that there is not future for them. Lucius feels rejected by Frances and can’t understand why she doesn’t want to see him after an intimate night that they shared.
Frances and Lucius part ways and they each carry on with their own lives. She goes back to teaching and he goes back to his home. Lucius realizes that it’s time for him to marry and he realizes it’s his duty. He seems to have someone in mind when fate intervenes and Frances meets his grandfather. Frances and his grandfather develop a great relationship. She also plays chaperon to his younger sister and also develops a good relationship with her.
So, this is where I started to struggle… I felt that the drama that followed Frances and Lucius was very drawn out. There was so much that happened in the first part of the book but then everything that followed was very drawn out. Even after Lucius reconnects with Frances, she starts to imagine that he is only interested in exploiting her signing talent and he only wants her as a mistress.
Overall, the story was cute but I would have enjoyed it more if it were shorter and there was an actual problem instead of self-created problems. I am confident that Balogh fans will enjoy this story and I plan to hear the next one in the series.
Rosalyn Landor was a great narrator. I thought she really understood the characters and their emotions. She made the story enjoyable to hear.
**Audiobook provided by Publisher**