This book is easily 4.5 stars. Sometimes the best historical romances read like historical fiction right up until the leads fall believably and irrefutably in love. Then it just gets better. This is very much one of those books and because of it I’ll be reading the rest of the Bridgerton books. It was so nice to read about characters that were meant for each other, and not in the sickeningly sweet, star crossed lovers’ sort of way. Our two protagonists, Simon and Daphne, were […]
A Duke, An Earl, A Comte, and a Laird are trapped in a castle…
I came across The Lady Most Willing via the ever industrious Romance Readers here at Cannonball Read. NTE and Malin both reviewed and enjoyed this book so I thought, why not? I promptly added it to my library request list and forgot all about it, until I finished reading Rose Under Fire and needed something that was definitely the opposite of concentration camps to serve as a palate cleanser. A book in which four ladies and a duke are kidnapped by a crazy Scot during […]
Historical Romance with an Irresistible Force and an Immovable Object
My reviews of the best of Julia Quinn continue with It’s in His Kiss. The penultimate book in the Bridgerton series, if you don’t count the catch-up novella, it has one of my favourite heroines in romance, and the hero is not so bad either. The writing is, as always, deft and witty, and the banter is especially good, even for a Julia Quinn novel. The youngest child of eight, Hyacinth Bridgerton was born one month after the untimely death of her father. Surrounded by […]
A Simply Charming Gateway Historical Romance
Because starting with the eight book Bridgerton series is what I suggest, other than Courtney Milan, to anyone who wants to try out a historical romance, it seemed like a good idea to provide reviews of her best novels. Herewith are my go-to Julia Quinn review adjectives: light, deft, witty, clever, convivial, bright, romantic. I use them every time I discuss a Quinn book, and, as this review benefits from being of one of her less recent novels, I get to express all of my […]
Unexpectedly Histrionic Historical Romance
The Secrets of Richard Kenworthy by Julia Quinn
A new release, The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy is the fourth book in Julia Quinn’s Smythe-Smith Regency romance series. I feel like all of my reviews of her recent novels are repetitive, to wit: Julia Quinn is an excellent gateway author for people who want to try Regency romance. The writing is light and fun. Deft is the word I always come back to. Since her Bridgerton series, her quality has fallen off a bit. The Bridgerton series is really strong though. It has […]
A historical romance with melodrama
3.5 stars Sir Richard Kenworthy has less than a month to find a bride, and secure her hand in marriage. She can’t really be an heiress or a diamond of the first water, because it’s really quite imperative that she accept his proposal, no matter what. When he spots Miss Iris Smythe-Smith suffering behind her cello at her family’s infamous annual musicale, he is intrigued. Very blond and pale-skinned, she should be unremarkable, but she’s clearly good at playing her instrument, which can’t be said […]