The Charm School
2 Stars

Socially inept and isolated, Isadora Peabody is an ugly duckling in a family of peacocks. Deciding to make a change, Isadora finagles her way on to The Silver Swan bound for Rio and ends up charming the pants off the surly captain, Ryan Calhoun, and his eccentric crew.

To begin with, the book synopsis bears very little resemblance to the actual storyline. Isadora doesn't "sneak aboard"; she is hired as a translator. Ryan doesn't "barely register" Isadora; he is smitten virtually from the start. The crew doesn't "teach her the charms of a lady"; she befriends them and they treat her as an equal.

***Spoilers Ahead***

The basic premise of the story has potential, yet there are several elements that grate on the nerves. To begin with, the "hero" has sex with several prostitutes throughout his acquaintance with the heroine. Technically, they aren't together yet, but it is annoying.

In addition, Ryan and Isadora's first time together occurs when she is stoned out of her mind. Can we say "dubious consent"?

Isadora is supposedly an intelligent and well-read young woman, yet she believes herself in love with a superficial and vapid moron simply because he is handsome and popular? She has several TSTL moments that risk her life and constantly accuses Ryan of abusing her when it is obvious that he is trying to ensure her safety on board.

Ryan is supposedly a charming rogue but actually comes across as a self-indulgent, foppish playboy and womanizer who is determined to rescue the family of his childhood friend (whom Ryan owned and set free) from slavery. While this appears to be laudable, it is undermined by the fact that the focus is on how this quest is Ryan's responsibility, and the affect it has on his life. Journey has no agency of his own, which is paternalistic and condescending.

Overall, a disappointing read and I'm not interested enough in Ryan's down on his luck half-brother to continue with the series.
( )

Yessss. Plain, chubby, super insecure spinster heroine. Lots of angst and self-discovery. Sweet.

I cannot believe it took me TEN YEARS to circle back to this book. While I wish skimming down wasn’t a part of Isadora’s transformation into a swan, I did appreciate her as a BBW heroine. And I like that this story has the condemnation of slavery as a major feature - too many HRs romanticize the past instead of being honest about it. And I like the realistic development between Ryan and Isadora, he doesn’t fall into instalove, their romance feels realistic and beautiful. ( )

While this was an interesting read I didn’t feel it was the best I’ve read by this author. ( )

Enjoyed this book: the feelings of a woman that does not meet her families Beauty standards, the crew of the ship realizing that Isadora could use their help and her taking it, the sense of humor of Ryan and his learning to be sensitive to her feelings, the encounters between Ryan and Isadora both when liking each other and their arguments, the strong belief of Ryan to correct slavery issues. Interesting to have an intelligent woman that her family supposedly loved her but not enough to truly help her in their own environment yet the crew could teach her. Nice settings of Boston, at sea and in Rio that each made the reader relate to being there. Enjoyed the love scene in Rio. ( )

Yessss. Plain, chubby, super insecure spinster heroine. Lots of angst and self-discovery. Sweet. ( )