Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Ms. Balogh,

I’ve been on a hot streak of enjoying good books lately. All good things come to an end sometime, but I’m sorry it had to end with Simply Love. I’d been looking forward to Anne Jewell’s story since I first encountered her in Slightly Scandalous, expecting that a Mary Balogh Regency era romance featuring an unwed mother is sure to be good and heartwrenching. Unfortunately, like Jayne, I didn’t find Simply Love as compelling as I’d hoped, and since I don’t disagree with Jayne’s opinion of the book, I will expand on the reasons why. But first, to borrow Jayne’s plot summary:

“Simply Love” involves two characters familiar to long time readers of Mary Balogh's single title “Slightly” series. Anne Jewell is the unwed mother introduced in “Slightly Scandalous” who became a teacher at a school for young ladies in Bath. Sydnam Butler is the younger brother in “A Summer to Remember.” He had wanted to be a painter but headed off to the Peninsular Wars to prove his manhood. There he was captured and tortured by the French leaving him with one arm, one eye and …

Dear Mrs. Balogh,

Most of us have been eagerly awaiting Sydnam Butler’s HEA for years. I know I have. I just wish that I could have gotten it without dragging the whole Bedwyn and Butler clans into the story as well. Having read, or in the case of Lady Morgan, attempted to read each of the individual Bedwyn books, I can assure you I have read a gracious plenty about the Bedwyns. I neither need nor wish to have each and every one, plus spouses and children — both natural and adopted — along with all the members of the Ravensburg Butler family, trotted out in every book to convince me of their felicity and fecundity. But it did make reading the book much easier when I could skip whole scenes of sugary sweetness, Bedwyn style.

“Simply Love” involves two characters familiar to long time readers of Mary Balogh’s single title “Slighty” series. Anne Jewell is the unwed mother introduced in “Slighty Scandalous” who became a teacher at a school for young ladies in Bath. Sydnam Butler is the younger brother in “A Summer to Remember.” He had wanted to be a painter but headed off …