His Saving Grace

by Julia Parks

The dashing new vicar of Pixley finds his world turned upside down by Grace Edgewood, the head of a progressive school for young ladies, and is determined to expose her as a menace to English society, but his plan backfires when he finds himself falling in love with the spirited beauty. Original.

Genres: Regency Romance

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

Reviews

[QNPoohBear · Rating 1 out of 5]

Adam Havenhurst is the newly appointed vicar in Pixley, near his older brother, the Earl of Foxworth's, hunting lodge. Adam is looking forward to striking out on his own and repenting for his past life of dissipation. When he encounters a local school teacher, Grace Edgewood, he is instantly attracted to her. He decides she will be a temptation but as a vicar he will try to resist such a temptation. Grace is struck dumb by the handsome vicar. Confident and capable, she's never reacted this way to a man before. What a lot of bother! With her older friend and co-teacher Margaret in love with Grace's uncle and a bunch of silly schoolgirls on hand, Grace should have enough of romance. Grace decides to throw herself into her teaching. The subjects taught at her progressive school are rather unusual. They include Greek, Latin, swimming (*gasp*) and possibly soon fencing (The horrors). When the villagers begin to gossip about Grace's reputation based on her curriculum, Adam feels the need to intervene. Unfortunately, his attraction to Grace causes him to open his mouth and insert his foot. It seems that he will never get her to love him, especially not once his rakish brother and meddling mother arrive. Grace is furious with Adam for telling her what not to do and she's determined to teach him a lesson on love that he'll never forget.

I really really wanted to like this book. Grace's school sounds amazing. I would love to have attended a school like that if I were a 19th century girl. I thought any teacher of such a school would automatically be an appealing heroine. Instead I found Grace annoying. She's quarrelsome and stubborn and she's also really lacking in common sense for a teacher. I hated the way she handled the situation with Adam and the Earl. Her actions made her vastly unappealing. I did not much like Adam either. One minute he's lustful and the next he's priggish. His reactions are based on his emotions and never once does he display any sense. I finally liked him for a moment near the end. I did not understand what the heroine saw in the hero. He never revealed his true self to her. The secondary characters are far more interesting, especially Grace's two big brothers. I would recommend this to those who like more passionate romances and not to those who like the Georgette Heyer style.