Customer Reviews

The Education of Mrs. Brimley

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The Education Of Mrs. Brimley is a sensational debut novel by Donna MacMeans.

Emma Heatherston flees London after she overhears her uncle's plans for her future. She runs to Yorkshire to be a teacher at The Pettibone School for Young Ladies. There Emma takes on a new role as widow Emma Brimley. Emma's first night she meets her neighbor the notorious Lord Nicholas Chambers.

Lord Nicholas Chambers likes his quiet peaceful life painting in the countryside. His first meeting of the Widow Brimley intrigues him. For a widow there is something innocent about Emma.

Emma is shocked to learn that besides literature she is to teach bedroom etiquette. Emma turns to Nicholas for help. But this help has a price. Nicholas makes a deal with Emma, he will answer all her questions if she poses for him.

What starts out as a test of wills turns into a love of a lifetime. But can Nicholas protect Emma when her Uncle finds out where she has been hiding?

The Education of Mrs. Brimley is a superb novel. It's witty, tender and passionate. The characters feel like old friends by the time you are finished. I am really looking forward to the next book by this author.

In the "Education of Mrs. Brimley" we find desperate run-away Emma Featherstone fleeing from a wicked uncle bent on selling her to a rich husband or brothel, whichever pays better.
She runs to the Pettibone school for girls, and lands a job as their new teacher after inventing a dead husband and credible references so she could fullfill the requirements of widow for the application.
Once she arrives she finds that she is to teach mroe than literature and poetry, she's to teach the girls to prepare for their wedding night. Valuable knowledge for women who are their for one purpose only, to land a suitable husband and produce heirs. She's shocked, but agrees to play the helpful widow and teach them all she knows, which is nothing.
Her tutor becomes the infamous rake "Lord Nicholas Chambers" aka Lord Bedchambers, who trapses women in and out of his house on a regular rotation. Or so the gossip goes.
Nicholas enjoys the idle gossip of his affairs, it affords him the privacy to paint in peace. Until Emma arrives on his doorstep and requests instruction, lessons that he's very ready to give.
Through the pages of this wonderful first-book by Mrs. Macmeans we see the growth of both carachters as they learn to give their hearts and love one another fully.
Mrs. Macmeans delivers a very funny, sensual and heartwarming romance in "Mrs. Brimley" and i cannot wait for her next book!
She is an auto buy author for me! She should be for you too!

Emma escapes London and evil uncle by pretending to be widow and taking a teaching job at the Pettibone School of Young Ladies. Beside her standard classes, she has to teach sex education. Since has no knowledge she seeks out the Lord Nicholas Chamber for some much-needed information. He suggests a trade - she will pose for him and he will answer all her questions. This novel was very funny, sensual with a dash adventure. Enjoy! Looking forward to her next novel, 'The Trouble with Moonlight' due out June 2008.

If you enjoy this genre, I would also suggest; Forever Yours by Janmarie Anello and How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins, The Heir and the Spare by Maya Rodale and Spirited Away by Cindy Miles.

The Pettibone School for Young Ladies in Yorkshire, 1876 is seeking a new teacher. Emma Heatherston lives in London with her Uncle George and Cousin Penelope but finds it necessary to leave London and thus applies for the position. She forges the signature of Lady Cavendish, a prominent and influential woman in London, on a letter or recommendation and is hired by the school. To disguise her identity, she takes on the name of Emma Brimley, widow. When Emma arrives at the school, the headmistress informs her that they want someone to teach bedroom intimacies for new brides to their older students. Being a virgin, Emma knows nothing of these matters.

Emma is warned by the headmistress that the man living on the estate adjacent to the school is a debaucherous and reclusive artist and that women call on him all hours of the night. The headmistress warns her that association with Lord Nicholas Chambers could place the school's reputation in jeopardy.

Emma, devoid of bedroom intimacies, visits Lord Nicholas for a book that may contain the type of information she needs after finding that the school has no such book in its library. When she arrives at Lord Nicholas' estate she is mistaken as a model he hired but who has not shown up.

Emma Brimley is desperate for information and Lord Nicholas is desperate for a model he can use for his entry in the Royal Academy Exhibition in London. Both are desperate and are thus motivated to form an alliance--an alliance that puts Emma and Lord Nicholas in water way over their heads.

The situation becomes progressively more complex as the story unfolds, making The Education of Mrs. Brimley a lively book that captivated my interest in the beginning and didn't let go until the very end of the book when all of the conflicts are satisfactorily resolved. It made me feel good all over.

What I liked most about the book is that Emma is both innocent and feisty, which is the driving force to the dilemmas. Emma and Lord Nicholas are strong characters who evoke laughter and tears but are always interesting and exciting. And the sexual tension is Ooh la la right up until the moment when they, well, you'll have to read it.

The Education of Mrs. Brimley is a book that must be read. It's a debut novel but Ms MacMeans writes like an experienced pro being both eloquent and evocative in her style that makes you just love the story and the characters. I can't wait for her next novel, The Trouble With Moonlight, which is previewed at the end of The Education of Mrs. Brimley.

I loved this book! The two leads (Nicholas, the rake a.k.a. 'Lord Bedchambers', and Emma, a runaway virgin posing as an experienced widow) were great, and so perfect together. The secondary characters were all great too. They were well developed, interesting, and perfectly cast. The sexual tension and awakening that goes on in this book can be cut with a knife. Very steamy stuff. There is no question about the passion and underlying emotions that these two have for each other. There is one scene in his studio where he uses his paint brushes that sets the pages on fire. These two falling in love became very believable.

The story does require one small 'reality pill' to be swallowed, and that is you have to imagine an all girls school teaching sex education and bedroom ettiquette -- tastefully of course -- back in 1876 England. I personally found it a fun topic that brought on lots of laughs. The story never slows. It's a page turner historical romance fans will certainly enjoy. I will look forward to this authors next book!

Leighton-on-the-Wold, Yorkshire, England 1876

THE EDUCATION OF MRS. BRIMLEY is a splendid first book by Donna MacMeans! As delightful a tale as this book is, the future writings of Ms. MacMeans are sure to be bright. The characters are well detailed and lovable and the plot keeps you interested from the first page to the last.

Bravo Ms. MacMeans!

The Education of Mrs. Brimley was fantastic! Over the past few months, I've bought several historical romances that I just couldn't get into, but this book has reawakened the bookworm in me! I could not put it down! The story is about Emma, running away from her scheming uncle, decides to pose as a young widow to secure a teaching position. Imagine her surprise when she finds out she has been hired to teach sexual education! Slightly hard to believe considering we are talking about the late 1800's in England, but it made the story interesting and a lot of fun! She must seek out the help of Lord Chambers, notorious for his supposed womanizing and the fun and games ensue! I will definitely read more books by this author!

Emma Brimley is starting her new position at the Pettibone School for Young Ladies with secrets under her bonnet. Not only is she hiding from her unscrupulous uncle who wants to sell her to the highest bidder, but she also feels forced to lie to Pettibone's headmistress about being a widow. She needs anonymity and to maintain her ruse so she can keep her position at the school and continue to evade her scheming uncle.

But then she finds out the reasons Cecilia and Beatrice Higgins were so emphatic about hiring an experienced matron: she's to teach the older girls about more intimate marital duties than simply running a household. Desperate, Emma strikes a bargain with Lord Chambers, an artist whose estate borders Pettibone's property. He'll answer all of her questions about physical intimacy if she will pose for him to paint. She soon finds herself not only in danger of losing articles of clothing in exchange for his worldly knowledge, but also of losing her heart.

In The Education of Mrs. Brimley by Donna MacMeans, the seductive exchange between Emma and Chambers is exquisitely written. It has the depth and emotional pull that showcases the author as a master storyteller. With so many people and circumstances conspiring against them, these likeable characters build a connection that's both tender and enduring. As I was reading, I sometimes felt that Chambers was a bit of a lunkhead, but it added a dash of realism that made him a very endearing hero. This was a very enjoyable debut novel, complete with an interesting plot, a yummy bad boy hero, a menacing, devious villain and a comfortable flow. Everything is nicely balanced and a pleasure to read. I'm looking forward to more books from Ms. MacMeans.

4 1/2 Kisses, 1 Pepper

~Lindy
Reviewer, TwoLips Reviews, LLC
www.TwoLipsReviews.com

A NEW IDEA! I loved the plot. I have never read a book that was this fun and daring. You have a prim virgin who needs sex lessons in order to teach virgins about "the intimate relations between a husband and a wife." Picture the beauty and the beast but not about learning to move through a curse but having a desire to paint and he wants to paint the female form. It made me laugh, cry, and want to run too when the danger of the story shows up. It was awesome and I feel as though I've lived precariously through her. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT.
This one has found a home in my collection!.

I loved this debut novel by Donna MacMeans. I went out and bought the rest of her books and am looking forward to reading them all. Very refreshing plot - Emma's character jumps off the pages as so true to life and sincere, as does Nicholas Chambers. I highly recommend the book.