The Charm School

Rating:
Summary: It's pretty charming
Review: Wigg's makes no bones about the fact that this is an "Ugly Duckling becomes a Swan" story. The good news is that she does theme well. Isadora isn't flourishing in her setting. The theme of the book is that the freedom of a new setting and the love of a good man can make a girl beautiful both inside and out. Wigg's does it in an entertaining way. Isodora liberation in the course of the sea voyage (complete with a charming cast of characters in the crew) and in 1850's Rio (by definition liberating?)makes for a fun read with lots of great images.

The romance is also very nicely paced with growing attraction and tension between the two -- leading to some pretty sexy scenes that are guaranteed to make the reader forget everyday life.

The critics agree. The book was nominated for both a Reviewer's Choice and Francis awards. It was also selected in a readers' poll as one the ten favorites of the year.

Rating:
Summary: Charming historical romance
Review:

In 1851 Boston, Isadora Peabody feels like the ugly duckling amidst her beautiful and graceful family. When the opportunity arises for her to become a translator on the Silver Swan, a trading ship, she pulls strings with the owner, Mr. Easterbrooke. She obtains the job over the objection of the ships captain Ryan Calhoun.

On the voyage to Brazil, Isadora steals the hearts of all the crew, even the captain, as her open-eyed innocence hooks everyone. Her voyage to self-awareness and confidence turns successful as her own personal crew of instructor-sailors making up THE CHARM SCHOOL teaches her that she is a beautiful swan. In Rio, Ryan and Isadora fall in love, but sadly they have no future together because Ryan has a personal commitment to complete that could cost him his life.

Award winning Susan Wiggs is the author of over ten well-received historical romances that keep readers wanting more works from this awesome talent. Her latest novel THE CHARM SCHOOL is an excellent retelling of the classic Ugly Duckling. The exciting story line is entertaining as the decade prior to the Civil War is brought to life. The lead characters are a charming pair, but it is the support cast, especially the sailors, who will provide Ms. Wiggs with more awards and another best seller.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Not bad....but not the best
Review: I would only give it 3 1/2 stars, if half stars were allowed. The story was very sweet, and a great idea, but I usually get into my books, and never put them down, once I start a (good) book...and I have to say, I took a week to read this one.

I read the above reviews, and expected more in the book. I was waiting for more detail in her schooling, but that is where it dried up for me. Not enough detail about the sailors teaching her. It was more about her feeling sorry for herself, almost every page of the book. And that got very old... very quick.

If you want to read a better Susan Wiggs, choose Hostage and that series of three books (they are the only ones I have read so far, until The Charm School, and read all three ....in 4 days) They were so entertaining.

I think the story of the Ugly Duckling, she used in reference... with her pages in this book were more heart felt. I loved reading the sayings she had, before each chapter.

Rating:
Summary: Charming
Review: The Charm School is the first book that I've read by Susan Wiggs, and I must comment that she is an wonderful author.

Isadora Peabody is a brilliant spinster with dreams of marrying a certain young man who doesn't even know she exists. Overweight, wearing spectales, shy and smarter than any man Isadora has little chance of ever marrying or fitting into society. When she hears of a ship leaving for Rio that is owned by the father of the man she is infatuated with, she jumps at the chance to go on board and learn the ways of the shipping business.

Captain Ryan Calhoun isn't happy about Isadora's appearance on board his ship. He'll do anything (and does!) to make her miserable. He's surprised when he finds himself attracted to dowdy Isadora.

A wonderfully written novel, The Charm School is one of those romances that must be read over and over again!

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite story Of all Time!!!
Review: I Simply loved It. Isadora was shy she always felt awkard around people and I understand, but when she joined the crew of the Swan I knew that she was fed up of being treated like a freak just because she didn't fit in like the rest of her family. Isadora had a crush on a guy named Chad Eastbrook or something but he only used her to send messages to debutantes he had a eye for. So she finally signed up for a job on the Ship (how she did that you'll just have to read the book) Captain Ryan Calhoun is a scoundrel at least Isadora think he is He and the crew help her become more cofindant in hersel Ryan teaches her how to be charming and how it feels to be love (Only She doesn't figure that out until later) So when she returns to Bosto Society And Chad wants her she figures out how shallow her "prince charming"and her mother too. The Ryan Comes bak from the dead and carrys her into the night. I guess the reason I love this story is because I can relate on some form we have all felt Like Isadora did at the beginng of the book at least once in our life but reading it just makes feel less alone. This story Can cheer you up If your feeling down even though it's fiction. Can't Wait to Read The Horse Masters Daughter the sequel to Charm School.

Rating:
Summary: A great love story
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. You go Isadora!! Not only does she turn from ugly duckling to beautiful swan, she's also smart and witty. She completely went above Ryan to get on that boat. I think this book would have been just as excellent even if she didn't turn into a beauty at the end. Ryan would have loved her anyway. All she needed was confidence and the chance to get away from her rotten family.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful and Touching Adventure
Review: The Charm School is a delightful and touching adventure.

Isadora Peabody, the bookish, awkward and seemingly ugly duckling of her very proper upper crust family, longs to escape from her stifling spinster's life in 1851 Boston. She manages to finagle her way onto a ship bound for Rio De Janeiro as a much needed translator, to Captain Ryan Calhoun's annoyance. The handsome, talented and recklessly unconventional Ryan in on a secret mission of vital importance, and the last thing he needs is a very proper, dour and strong-willed female like Isadora, whose presence gnaws at the emptiness inside him.

As Isadora moves from being a timid social misfit to a vibrant, self-possessed and sensual woman-blossoming through her camaraderie with all the crew and through opening herself to the wild and sensual feast that is Brazil-the yearning in Ryan's heart impels him to act, though losing his heart puts his mission in danger.

The Charm School is a deeply moving love story that celebrates the freedom, beauty and goodness of humanity at its best.

Rating:
Summary: Actually..3 1/2 stars.......
Review: "The Charm School" was not at all what I had expected it to be...I really enjoyed this story, but for various reasons I felt somewhat disconnected to the characters. Because of this, I couldnt rate it at more than 3 and 1/2 stars. I didnt feel that the physical descriptions of the characters were thorough enough..especially in the case of Ryan. I also had a hard time feeling their love..it almost felt forced a bit...I will say that this book had some of the most romantic and original lovescenes.. I adored the fact that the first couple were made up of nothing but a single kiss...but OOOO what kisses they were!! This was a nice story and Im looking forward to learning more about Hunter in "The Horsemaster's Daughter"

Rating:
Summary: Realistic heroine
Review: Heroine:   plump/voluptuous

Frumpy, dumpy Isadora Peabody doesn't want much out of life, just to be left in peace and quiet with her many academic tomes. That, and to be the wife of Chad Easterbrook, the handsome son of another prominent Boston family. But Isadora knows this dream will never come true, for she lacks the beauty, grace, and poise her lovely sisters possess, and she will never garner Chad's attention by hiding herself away behind potted plants at every social occasion.  Instead, she comforts herself by reading travel books about far away exotic lands, and political tracts speaking out against that hated transgression against mankind: slavery.

After a putting in a particularly dreadful appearance at a party, Isadora is grateful to make the acquaintance of one Lily Raines Calhoun, a lady most anxious to find her son's ship down at the harbor. Some strange impulse prompts Isadora to lead the elegant woman to the Silver Swan's berthing, but her feeling of goodwill and accomplishment turns to shock when the pair of ladies crash an orgy of Bacchanalian proportions being held on deck.

Fiery of both hair and temper, Ryan Calhoun is a man with a mission. A man who will stoop to any level to accomplish that mission, including lie, cheat, and steal if that's what it takes to see justice done for his former-slave-turned-business-partner. Ryan's taken on sailing for Abel Easterbrook under false pretenses, and finds himself on a vessel bound for Rio minus a crewman fluent in Portuguese. When his employer makes an unfortunate visit to the ship mid-celebration during their first night in port, Ryan is certain he will lose his job, with his mother and some strange dowd in her company at hand to witness his shame!

But to his surprise, his employment is secure, and he finds himself taking the conniving frump on as a hand on his crew after she finagles the translating job from Easterbrook! The last thing Ryan wants is to be saddled with this blue-stocking female, but he needs a translator and she is more than qualified.

The timid spinster and reckless captain can't help but be thrown together during the long months at sea. And while Ryan begins the voyage by going out of his way to make poor Isadora miserable, her keen wit and willingness to pitch in with the chores soon win the handsome captain over, and he discovers that they have much more in common than he could have ever dreamed.

Life at sea was simple enough when Isadora was a disheveled dowd, but as she comes out of her shell Ryan sees her for the beauty that she truly is, and is soon faced with the dilemma of how to avoid the only attractive young woman on board a very small ship. A woman who is rapidly falling in love with him!

 What worked for me:

It's always nice to see a well-educated woman in a story, and I had the utmost respect for Isadora's astounding level of education, especially when it came to math and foreign languages, two areas I never really excelled at myself.

I thought it was endearing how our hero, gorgeous though he was, had no fashion sense and couldn't refrain from wearing clashing, loud-colored clothes, an offense made all the worse when paired with his long red locks.

Size-wise Isadora was extremely tall, plump, and unstylish at the beginning of the novel. However, trading in a life of books for a life spent climbing a ship's rigging caused her to tone up and lose a little weight. I thought that it was rather realistic, though, that Isadora did not shed her milk-toast personality as soon as she dropped a few pounds. It took her a lot longer to learn to how to have confidence in herself when faced with members of Society.

What didn't work for me:

When they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, they are referring to the title as well. A name like "The Charm School" had me thinking that this would be a novel set in Regency London, not on the high seas of the Atlantic during Victorian times.

 Isadora began the story as something of a ninny. Thank heavens her journey gave her some strength of character!

As I've mentioned before, I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes the physical side of romance. The fact that the hero bedded women other than the heroine in this story bothered me somewhat.

Some scenes in the book went beyond the bounds of plausibility, enough so that it pulled me out of the story.

Overall:

"The Charm School" is a solid read for fans of American Historicals or novels with a "caterpillar-to-butterfly" theme.
Warning: There is some coarse language, sexy scenes, and recreational drug use in this story.

If you liked "The Charm School" you might also enjoy "The Accidental Bride", "The Last Days of a Rake", "Unmarriageable", "The Bride and the Beast", "The Fire-Flower", "Suddenly You", "Enchanting Pleasures", "A Country Christmas", "The Hero's Best Friend", or "No Ordinary Princess".

Rating:
Summary: The Charm School
Review: This was the most boring book I have read in a long time. I hate ugly duckling stories. Also it drug on and on and never became interesting. I have liked most of her books a lot but not this one.