SIMPLY UNFORGETTABLE

In this period piece, reminiscent of Jane Austen, a young teacher with a mysterious past loses her virginity in a one-night stand with a virile nobleman. They separate, but over the ensuing months they become obsessed with each other. Of course, numerous obstacles are eventually overcome. The pleasure derived from romance novels comes not from originality, but from the author's finesse in serving up the familiar contrivances. For the jaundiced male sensibility of this reviewer, plaudits for aplomb go to the narrator. Employing consummate taste, Rosalyn Landor makes the sex scenes erotic, the characters vivid, and the complications convincing while maintaining an overarching gentility appropriate to action set in Regency England. Y.R. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 06]