The Charm School: A Novel (The Calhoun Chronicles Book 1)

Isadora Peabody is the black sheep of her family. Dark while all the others are fair, and suffering from extreme shyness, she has never felt quite at home in 1851 Boston with her high society parents, brothers, and sisters. Ryan Calhoun has just returned to Boston after a very successful run as Captain of the Silver Swan. He's enjoying his rewards from the journey when Isadora shows up with his mother and somehow works her way onto the crew for the upcoming sailing to Rio. Despite their outward differences, the two begin to realize that they have similarities and a spark begins to develop. Whether or not Ryan can coax Isadora from her strict dress and code of conduct is the question that holds the key to their possible romance.This was the first of Susan Wiggs' books that I have read and it was pleasant reading, but not overly engrossing. I enjoyed the settings of Boston, the Ship, and Rio. Rio was especially well described and was my favorite part of the book. The storyline was fairly obvious but still interesting and I really liked Ryan Calhoun as the male lead character. I found Isadora a bit lacking in personality and too unbelievably naive about life. Recommended as a light read; good for the beach or a lazy weekend.

I am not usually a fan of 17th century English society with its restrictions and rigid rules. Despite being set in Boston, the attitudes were those of British society.. While I enjoyed the first chapters of this book, the later chapters were too repetitive and restrictive. I almost did not finish the book and never regained my earlier enjoyment.

I enjoyed the characters in this book and the storyline. I especially liked Isadora finding herself and what was important in life. I gave it 4* because some of the scene setting in Rio was too wordy/descriptive for me. Just get to the story. I did not need so much jungle description.

This is a light pirate story full of fun, rugged, and sea worn sailors who are also kind and sensitive of course! Well, most of them anyway. Not the sea captain however. There is a serious subplot about slavery that is informative and touching in it's aspects vis a vis ownership of other human beings.Another subplot concerns the stifling lifestyle that so many women lived at that time. Not only in behavior but in clothing and style as well. The timid main character sheds her awkward self as she drops the many layers of constricting clothing. As she leaves off with each petticoat, she frees herself emotional and physically from societal restrictions.A fun and interesting read.

I enjoyed this book, but I cannot say it was great writing. The love scenes were sweet and sexy, but a little sophomoric for me. Of course I've been "mature" for a loooong time. :-) Also, near the end of the book I began to be a bit sceptical about how time seems to get suspended while our heroine too easily arranges a coup and out-talks and out-smarts a man who is older and a longtime business man. I had to just read that and go on. On the plus side, I very much enjoyed the characters. Very much. Their development and Wiggs's development of them is quite good and very interesting to follow. The physical descriptions of people and places are easy to follow. I'm waffling now about the 3 stars. Perhaps it should have 4, but I can't forget that there are masterpieces out there, and this has to be compared to them, too, on some level.

Amazing charcaters. Wonderful plotting. Loved every minute of this book. A spinster from one of Boston's most respected families and a Southern gentleman turned sea captain. Excellent!!!!

Another really great book by Susan Wiggs. Love the way that the drab Leading Lady was taken in by the Rough and Ready crew and made to be a really lovable character.Fun to read and hard to put down.

She's the gauche misfit daughter of prominent Boston socialites. He's the "bad boy" abolitionist son of a slave-holding Southern plantation owner. Although they hate each other on sight, it soon becomes obvious to everyone except them that they need each other to reach their full potential. Falling in love in the lush tropical paradise of Rio de Janeiro (I'm ready to buy my ticket!), they must be prepared to face the reality of their respective families back home.This book has something important to say to all of us who have endured the "ugly duckling" years. Between the poignant tears and uninhibited laughter of self-discovery aboard a ship with a very special crew and the ugly reality of slavery in the pre-Civil War South, no reader will be able to escape with dry eyes.

Isadora Peabody was an awkward misfit in her beautiful & accomplished family. Always the wallflower at the tedious parties she was forced to attend, she seized the chance to travel to an exciting new world.Fiery sea captain Ryan Calhoun had walked away from his family's wealth & reputation. Driven by a quest to right an old wrong, he had little time for the plain, meek young woman who had come aboard his ship.But then Ryan's crew took Isadora in hand. They became her own personal charm school & transformed her into a woman no man could resist. And gave her the confidence to belive in a startling new love....I have been a fan of Susan Wiggs for a long time now & have read alot of her contemporary books, but this was a first for me. I love historical's, but not all author's who change from one genre to another to it well, but Ms. Wiggs, has succeeded with this wonderful story.I really loved the charactor of Isadora, a woman who really was born in the wrong era, she can read, write, speak in various different language's and make a man look foolish with her knowledge, but it is not a womans place to be better than a man, after all a womans role in life is to breed and look witty - this set's Isadora apart from everyone else. I felt so sorry for her, she wasn't clasically beautiful, nor was she quite so slim, but she that charm about her that you just love.Ryan Calhoun, is a man on the run from who he is or who he thinks he should be, Ms. Wiggs, has painted a picture of a man trying to be bad, but who really has a gentle nature & who wants to be loved.From the start, the descriptive writing is wonderful, the historical narative & the atmosphere keep you glued to the story & you just don't want to put this book down. Ms Wiggs, has compared her story that of Hans Christian Andersen's "the ugly duckling", & i think her story works comparatively well.This is the story of two people who equally grow into beautiful people & they have lots of fun and heartache along the way.This book was, fun,enlightening & charming.I would have liked to have seen more of the crew aboard ship included in the story, simply because they played an integral part of Isadora's re-birth so to speak, that isn't to say it detracts from the story because it doesn't, i just thought that they would have made very interesting charactors.This is a very enjoyable historical story, it's easy & fun to read & i would definately recommend this book.

I am very surprised that this book got 5 stars from other readers, there really is nothing special about this book, there are a lot of cliche's written and no great writing at all. The story line is boring, similar to that of other romantic seafaring novels, It was an o.k read but I didn't even bother finishing it, as I got really bored halfway through.Not sure what others see in the book to be honest. I have read better, in my opinion this book does not deserve 5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed the delightful transformation of shy,plump, lacking in confidence Isadora Peabody through her experience of life at sea with the radically Ryan Calhoun. Just lovely !

this is the fourth time i have read this book ....and i find something new in it every time its a must keep!

I loved this book.It shows the pain, but also the power of love and friendship. It furthermore shows that one should look for the core of a human and not his or her exterior.I did like how the hero supported the heroine in her struggle for a new identity. The story was detailed and vivid. I could imagine myself as a member of the crew of the ship they sail.There was a friendship and companionship between the heroine and the crewmembers as well as among the crewmembers themselves, the members of the Calhoun family and among Journeys' family that really touched me.The story contained no mystery, but it was suspenseful nonetheless.Although I can't judge by experience, due to a lack thereof, the story makes me believe in the power of love.