Review - - The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband

By Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: May 30, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

        

With her father dead and her brother Thomas, her only sibling, injured in service with the British forces in the American colonies, Cecilia Harcourt is alone. Refusing to be bullied into marrying her repulsive cousin Horace, who stands to inherit her home if her brother does not survive, she leaves the tiny Derbyshire village where she has lived all of her life and sets sail for New York to join her brother and provide the care that could save his life. But when she arrives, Thomas is missing, and the officers in charge seem unconcerned about finding him. While she is waiting for news of her brother, Cecilia decides to care for his best friend, Captain Edward Rokesby, who is lying unconscious in a Manhattan church transformed into a hospital for wounded British soldiers. Unfortunately, the officers in charge are not about to allow an insignificant civilian with no familial ties into the hospital to care for an injured officer, especially one who is the second son of an earl. Frustrated with military protocols, Cecilia announces that she is the wife of Rokesby, a man she knows only through her brother’s letters. She cares for the wounded Rokesby with tenderness and compassion, angrily rejecting suggestions that he may not awaken from his unconscious state.

A few days later, Edward Rokesby begins to awaken. He is confused to hear a man addressing a woman as “Mrs. Rokesby,” but when he opens his eyes and sees the woman, he recognizes her from the miniature her fond brother carried with him, a miniature Edward has carefully studied. Cecilia expects Edward’s first word, “Cecilia,” to be followed by his denunciation of her, but he has lost all memory of the past two months. He doesn’t feel married, but he accepts what he is told. He ensures that Cecilia receives the respect she is due as his wife. Cecilia intends to tell him the truth as soon as they have some privacy, but it soon becomes clear that the army is much more eager to find Thomas when they are pressured to do so by an earl’s son. She cannot bring herself to refuse that advantage, and so her deception continues.

When Edward is released from the hospital, still weak and in considerable pain, he and Cecilia are given a room at an inn that has become officer’s barracks. The quarters and the food are far superior to what Cecilia has been able to find with her meager resources, and Edward sets in motion a new search for Thomas. Guilt-ridden, Cecilia continues in the role of Mrs. Edward Rokesby. His unexpected marriage makes Edward even more eager to recover his memory, but the more time he and Cecilia spend together, the more he becomes convinced that she is even more than her miniature and her letters promised, that she is indeed the perfect wife for him. Cecilia’s feelings for Edward are also growing, as is her guilt for deceiving him. Of course, the more she cares for him, the more difficult it becomes to reveal the truth. What Edward accepts is real, she knows is only make-believe.

It is a measure of Julia Quinn’s skill that she could take two tropes—a protagonist’s amnesia and fake identity—that I generally regard with a high degree of skepticism and engage me blissfully in the story. She succeeds in part because Edward’s amnesia is brief in span and duration and because Cecilia’s motives are unselfish and she knows the deception is wrong. It also helped that I loved both characters. Cecilia is courageous, but hers is not a stupid courage. She is aware of the risks she is taking, but the risks are preferable to the alternative. The bond between her and Thomas, as revealed in the snippets of letters which introduce chapters and in Cecilia’s thoughts, is real and powerful. Edward’s vulnerability and his difficulty in accepting the physical and mental limitations that are the consequences of his wounds render him a more complex and appealing hero than just another charming, roguish aristocrat could be. As these two move from near-strangers to lovers, every move felt true to who they are and to the feelings that are developing between them.

If I were rating the book only on the romance, I would give it five stars. But Quinn introduces a mystery element with Thomas’s disappearance, and I found it less satisfactory. Without moving into spoiler territory, I’ll just say that I found the resolution disappointing in light of the reader’s emotional investment in the character.  Also, if you have seen this book described as “Julia Quinn’s American historical” be aware that it is not. Quinn places Edward in the American colonies because that’s where she left him when he was declared missing in the book that preceded this one. Most of the action takes place in New York, but it is a New York under British control. The characters, with rare exception, are British, and it is their story. The war Edward, Thomas, and their fellows are fighting is the American Revolution, but the point of view is British.

This is the second book in the Rokesby series, and while it has connections to the first book, mostly through references to Billie Bridgerton, it can be understood easily without having read Because of Miss Bridgerton. If you are a Julia Quinn fan, you will likely delight in the romance and turn the last page with a smile, eager for the next installment in the Rokesby family tales. If you haven’t read Julia Quinn (I’m assuming there are a few of you who have not), as long as you do not expect deep historical background, you will find The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband typical Quinn, albeit with some darker tones: imaginative, engaging, and great fun. Julia Quinn is one of my auto-buy authors, and this book makes me happy she is.

On Second Thought - - When He Was Wicked

When He Was Wicked (with Second Epilogue)

By Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: February 28, 2017

(originally published by Avon in 2004)

Michael Stirling is known as the Merry Rake by those who see only his light-hearted persona and the long list of women whom he has charmed without once falling in love. What observers do not understand is that Michael Stirling is a man consumed by guilt because the only time he fell in love was at his first sight of Francesca Bridgerton, thirty-six hours before she became the bride of his first cousin, John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin. For two years, John and Francesca have been blissfully happy as man and wife, and Michael, who looks upon John as a brother, has remained hopelessly and guiltily in love with his cousin’s wife.

Francesca, more reserved than her Bridgerton siblings, had felt from her first meeting with John that he was her perfect complement. Two years of marriage have strengthened that feeling. Francesca is also excessively fond of Michael, whom she views as her closest friend next to John. She values his loyalty to John, and he makes her laugh. She would love to see him settled and happily married and has even entertained the idea of a match between him and her sister Eloise. She has no inkling of Michael’s real feelings for her.

Everything changes one evening when John, plagued by a headache, lies down to take a nap. He never awakens. Francesca is devastated. So is Michael, but his guilt is even heavier than when John was alive. He cannot be the friend Francesca needs, and he flees to India, leaving his cousin’s twenty-two-year-old widow to deal with her grief and manage the Kilmartin estate.

Four years bring changes to both Francesca and Michael. Although Francesca still grieves for John, she has adapted to widowhood. She enjoys the responsibilities of being the Countess of Kilmartin, and both her family and John’s provide love and companionship. But her nieces and nephews remind her of what she wants most—a child. So, she puts off her half-mourning and leaves Scotland early for London where she plans to find a husband. Michael is grateful for the balance and maturity his years in India have brought him, but he is weary of the life there and ready at last to assume the responsibilities of the earldom.

Despite the changes, Michael is still in love with Francesca, and she is still oblivious to his feelings. Francesca felt abandoned by Michael’s leaving when she needed him most, but she is eager to see him restored to the position of close friend and confidante. However, it soon becomes clear to her that her feelings for Michael have also changed. She no longer sees him as merely a friend; she is newly aware of him as a man. And if the idea of a sensible remarriage induces guilt over losing her identity as John’s wife, seeing her relationship with Michael as anything other than familial and platonic is terrifying.

As for Michael, the torment of being a friend to Francesca, wife of his cousin, is mild compared to the guilt and regret that nearly overwhelms him now and to the knowledge that he cannot act on his feelings but must stand by and watch her marry another man.

It shouldn’t have surprised him. And yet it did. Every time he thought he knew everything about her, had unwillingly memorized every last detail, something inside her flickered and changed, and he felt himself falling anew.

He would never escape her, this woman. He would never escape her, and he would never have her. Even with John gone, it was impossible, quite simply wrong. There was too much there. Too much had happened, and he would never be able to shake the feeling that he had somehow stolen her.

Or worse, that he had wished for this. That he had wanted John gone and out of the way, wanted the title and Francesca and everything else.

With the tension between them at such a fever pitch, it is inevitable that it shatter. And it does in a scene that has Francesca running away to Scotland. Michael, with the blessing of Colin Bridgerton, who offers him the excuse of his own very recent engagement as reason to pay a visit to the place both Michael and John considered home, follows her to Scotland. But Michael and Francesca must come to terms with their feelings about John separately before they can claim their own HEA.

When He Was Wicked is the sixth book in Julia Quinn’s beloved Bridgerton series. With John’s death at twenty-eight playing such a significant part, it is hardly surprising that it is the darkest of the eight-book series. More surprising, since the big kiss scene that changes the direction of the book occurs more than half way into the story, it is also one of the author’s most sensual books. When I first read it, even though I exceeded the two-hanky warning while reading it, I ranked it below the first four books in the series on my list of Quinn favorites. It seemed to me that it started a new piece of music rather than offering a new movement in the Bridgerton symphony. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.

Then, several years before The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After (2013), a compilation of all eight Bridgerton second epilogues plus the bonus story of Violet, the Bridgerton matriarch, was released, I read the second epilogue for When He Was Wicked. It became one of my favorite epilogues ever and one of my Julia Quinn favorites, and When He was Wicked  jumped to a place only slightly below The Duke and I and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton among my best loved and most reread Julia Quinn books. Even though I own print and digital copies of the novel and of the epilogue collection, I am excited about the new release that has the novel and the second epilogue together. Next time I need reminding that heartbreak can lead to an unexpected HEA and that even HEAs may include a few bumps along the way, I will have the full story together.

If you have never read Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, I highly recommend them, particularly for readers who delight in Regency romps that are more than mere froth. And if you think Julia Quinn has written only Regency romps, I suggest you read When He Was Wicked. I recommend it with great enthusiasm, with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye.

~Janga

Review - - Because of Miss Bridgerton

Because of Miss Bridgerton

By Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: March 29, 2016

  

Sybilla Bridgerton, affectionately known as Billie, is a tomboy who grew up running untrammeled with the three middle Rokesby children on their families’ adjoining estates in Kent. The close friendship between the Rokesbys and the Bridgertons meant that the children grew up as extended family. Mary Rokesby was Billie’s life-long best friend, and Mary’s slightly older brothers Edward and Andrew, who learned early that Billie could keep up with them and often best them, were also cherished companions. George Rokesby, Viscount Kennard, older than Andrew by five years and aware from an early age of his responsibilities as heir to his father’s earldom, was set apart from this foursome, a more serious and, at least regarding Billie, frequently disapproving figure.

Even at twenty-three, Billie remains the same free spirit, more interested in running an estate than in managing a household and adored by everyone despite her unconventional behavior—everyone but George Rokesby who still disapproves of her. Of course, when Billie (in her breeches) ends up stuck on the rooftop of a farmhouse with a sprained ankle after an attempt to rescue a cat, the irritating George has to be the one to come to her rescue. He’s no happier with the situation than Billie is, especially when the ladder falls and they both have to be rescued by Andrew, on medical leave from the Royal Navy with a broken arm.

Billie may lack all the feminine accoutrements and accomplishments George thinks necessary for any proper lady and certainly for his future countess, but somehow after their time on the roof, he can’t stop thinking of her courage and her humor and her eyes and other assorted body parts. On her part, Billie finds herself thinking of George far too often for her comfort. When Edward, the second Rokesby son, is reported missing during the American Revolution, the Countess of Manston insists that Billie accompany her and George to London. She has plans to find Billie a husband while George applies pressure to find news of Edward. George is not happy to think of Billie as the wife of some other man, but circumstances interfere with his plans to check his mother’s matchmaking. Can old frenemies overcome all obstacles and find the path to true love?

Julia Quinn moves backward to the 1770s and an earlier generation of Bridgertons in this first book in a new series. Nobody tops Quinn when it comes to light-hearted, banter-filled historical romance, and she gives her readers another cast of characters to adore in this scintillating addition to her oeuvre. From the moment George joins Billie on the roof, the reader is in no doubt that these two are on their way to an HEA, but the journey there is such fun that the predictability is irrelevant. Billie is a delight, and the more somber, more conventional George is just what she needs as balance. By the same token, she adds color and light to his somberness and a sense of belonging to his loneliness. It is easy to imagine this pair sharing a lifetime.

Quinn also succeeds once more in creating families that are endearing and interesting. Mary is already happily married, but Andrew Rokesby is clearly a charmer in want of a heroine, and Edward surely deserves an HEA. (I’d love to see him with an American heroine.) Billie’s younger sister is one of the novel’s most interesting characters, and there are two Bridgerton brothers and one Rokesby at Eton to round out the series once they grow up a bit. The first book in a series needs to capture the reader’s interest as a standalone and leave the reader hungry for more from this world. Quinn succeeds on both counts.

Reading Because of Miss Bridgerton, I was reminded of my favorite traditional Regencies. Even though this novel is chronologically a Georgian romance, it has the same charm that those beloved Regency romances possess. I consider this book another Quinn keeper, and, with a satisfied smile and an approving nod, I highly recommend it.

Addendum: I also must add that George makes a choice at one point that alone would have left me feeling the book was worth reading. I can’t say much for fear of spoilers, but he does something that I have longed for dozens of other heroes to do. Thank you, Julia Quinn!

~Janga

Review - - The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy

By Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: January 27, 2015

Iris Smythe-Smith is the kind of young woman who blends into the background, and she likes it that way. A keen observer of human nature, she realizes that she sees much more from the sidelines than she would ever see in the center of things, a position highly coveted by her younger sister Daisy. Unfortunately for Iris, there is one occasion that makes it impossible for her to avoid attention. As an unmarried Smythe-Smith female old enough to have made her debut, she cannot escape playing in the annual family musicale. Even her instrument, the cello, is not large enough to hide her completely from the eyes of their suffering guests. The discerning among the guests realize that Iris is an anomaly among the Smythe-Smith performers: she actually possesses a degree of musical skill. That skill just makes the performance more excruciating for her since she knows how truly awful it is.

Sir Richard Kenworthy has left his Yorkshire estate to visit London for the purpose of finding a bride. There is nothing unusual in that, of course, but Sir Richard’s case is different because it is critical that he find a bride and return to Yorkshire with her in less than a month. It is with his purpose in mind that he accompanies his friend Winston Belvestoke to the Smythe-Smith musicale where Richard meets Iris. He very quickly decides that while her dowry may be smaller than he would like, Iris has every other quality he is seeking in a bride. She is not a reigning beauty. Indeed, she is a bit of a wallflower, which means there are no more worthy suitors competing for her hand, but she is intelligent, practical, and most important of all, devoted to her family. The last quality permits Richard to hope she will understand and forgive when she learns his secrets.

Richard’s determined courtship may stir Iris’s senses and awaken feelings the innocent Iris doesn’t quite understand, but she is not so overwhelmed that she fails to understand that Richard is not telling her everything. Her suspicions are confirmed when he manipulates her into a compromising situation, but despite her reservations, her heart and the social realities persuade her to accept his proposal. The quick marriage and rapid return to Yorkshire intensify Iris’s feelings that something is wrong, and Richard’s behavior adds to her concern. But nothing could have prepared her for the truth. Meanwhile, Richard has been falling deeper and deeper in love with his bride, but his reason for marrying her may prove to be the reason she will never accept his love nor return it.

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy is the final book in Quinn’s Smythe-Smith Quartet, following Just Like Heaven, A Night Like This, and The Sum of All Kisses. It has the light-heartedness and humor that have made Quinn a reader favorite since Splendid in 1995, and it also has some substance mixed with the froth, another Quinn trait. Fans of the series will recognize Iris. She emerges as a likeable, interesting heroine with an unusual degree of self-awareness for so young a heroine. She not only knows herself well, but she also likes who she is. I found that quality immensely appealing. Her understanding of who she is and her pragmatism, which Quinn shows is an essential part of Iris and not just a convenient plot device, enable her to move beyond the drama of the crisis and assure her own HEA with the man she loves despite his flaws.

I didn’t like Richard as much as I like Iris, but he is a basically decent man who makes a choice to do something he knows is reprehensible because it is the only way he sees out of a situation that has the potential to destroy the lives he wants for his two younger sisters. He can be charming, and I understand why Iris falls for him. But he is also a bit of a coward, and I grew impatient with his delays in telling Iris the truth. Even without the epilogue, I believe they will build a happy life together, but I think Richard is the luckier of the two.

As for secondary characters, there is an ample sampling of Smythe-Smiths in the London-set chapters, and Richard’s two sisters appear in the Yorkshire chapters. Both Richard’s sisters impressed me as sketchily developed characters. Perhaps it is because as a faithful Quinn reader I already knew all of Iris’s family, but they possessed a realness that Fleur and Marie-Claire lack.

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy is not Quinn at her best; I don’t think it is even the best in this series. But it is a book with clear strengths, and it is an entertaining read.  If you like Julia Quinn’s books, you will probably enjoy this one without rearranging your list of favorite books by Julia Quinn to accommodate a new title. I would be less than honest if I failed to add that I would think it well worth the price of the book and the time spent reading it if the only positives had been two particular scenes. Harriet, Elizabeth, and Frances have been favorites of mine throughout this series, but the production of Harriet’s play in this book deserves a place among the funniest scenes in romance fiction. I laughed so loudly that members of my family converged on my room from all over the house to find out what was so funny. The sex-explanation scene between Iris and her mother, although not so side-splittingly funny as the play, is also a gem of a scene. Reading the book will also allow you to understand all the unicorn references in Quinn’s recent Facebook posts. These are reasons enough to add this book to your TBR.

Now I’m longing to know what is next from Quinn. Since Winston Belvestoke makes an appearance in The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy, I wonder if his book is planned for the near future.

~Janga

Review - - The Lady Most Willing...

The Lady Most Willing...
By Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway
Publisher:  Avon
Release Date:  December 26, 2012

Some said the legendary storm of 1819 that screamed down from the north pushed madness ahead of it.  Others said the only madness exhibited that night was born inside a bottle of contraband whiskey.  And then there were those who claimed that magic rode vanguard to the snow, sweeping the halls of Finovair Castle and inspiring its laird to heights of greatness...

Or something along those lines.

Determined to secure his holdings and frustrated with his two nephews, one half-French and the other half-English (the heir and the spare),  for not stepping up to the plate and finding good Scots lasses to wed, widowed and childless laird Taran Ferguson decides to take matters into his own hands.  Emboldened by plenty of whiskey and with his equally inebriated clansmen at his side, they snatch three eligible heiresses from a local ballroom - Miss Fiona Chisholm (bit long on the shelf but with a tidy fortune), Lady Cecily Tarleton (English but very, very rich) and Miss Marilla Chisholm (young, rich and the most beautiful lass in the highlands) - and bring them back to Finovair Castle and the unsuspecting nephews.  Everything goes according to plan until they arrive at Finovair and discover the less than adept kidnappers have also snatched Catriona Burns (nice lass, no fortune) and the Duke of Bretton (who had the misfortune of being asleep in the getaway coach...which happens to belong to him).  And then, the snow starts to fall.  We're only a few pages into the first chapter of this story in three parts and, already, the fun has begun!

While each author telling the story of one of the couples injects her portion of the book with her own unique writing style, the flow of the book is so cohesive, so seamless that were it not for the chapter headers it would take a few minutes to realize that the writing had transitioned from one author to the next.

Julia Quinn is first up with her trademark humor and charm as she tells the story of Catriona Burns and the Duke of Bretton.  A more unlikely couple would be hard to find.  She's the feisty, outspoken daughter of a Scots squire and he's been a proper duke since infancy.

Her brows rose a fraction of an inch.  "Do you mean," she asked with careful disbelief, "for me to continue the story about Taran Ferguson going bare-arsed through the village?"

"Precisely," he clipped, since if he spoke in any other tone of voice, he might have to admit to himself that he was blushing.  

Which he was quite certain he did not do.

But, trapped by snow and conveniently forgotten by Taran (they were the ones taken by mistake, after all and Taran certainly doesn't want one of his nephews' potential brides setting their cap for the Duke), the two are left to their own devices.   Proximity leads to conversation. Conversation leads to liking.  And liking leads to so much more.

Eloisa James brings her delicious command of language and wonderful sense of romance to the story of Fiona Chisholm and Taran's nephew, Byron, Lord Oakley.  Stern and serious, Byron will never wed a woman with a soiled reputation, not after finding his fiancee doing the horizontal waltz with her French dancing master mere days before their wedding.  He first sets his eye on Marilla Chisholm -  she is, after all, quite beautiful and has a pristine reputation - but it only takes one encounter to send him fleeing in another direction; that of her older, bookish sister.  The one with the ruined reputation.

He didn't look frightened:  more the opposite.  He looked like an enraged beast, roused from a peaceful den by an impudent intruder.  Fiona loved it.  Her heart sped up, which was utterly perverse.

"Your sister is a menace," he spat.  "Do you have any idea what she did to me?  Any idea?"

"No," Fiona said, tipping back her head in order to see his expression.  "I've been right here all along.  Something lacking sense, no doubt."

He bared his teeth at her.  "I am a calm man."

"Oh, I can see that,"  she said with some enjoyment.

"And I can see that you merely pretend to be a quiet, bookish young lady."

"Well, I did tell you that I had a bad reputation," she said, grinning at him the way she smiled only at her closest friends because...well...this was just so much fun.

At first, he looks to her to save him from her sister's enthusiastic clutches but he gradually realizes this is a woman with whom he could spend his life.  This is a woman who challenges him, intrigues him, makes him a better man, makes him happy.  If only he can overlook that pesky reputation.

Connie Brockway brings her quirky sense of humor and fun to our third story.  Lady Cecily's parents have a love match and that's what she wants for herself.  Her mother has always told her that she will know her future husband when she meets him.

...upon their arrival at Finovair Castle, a scandalously handsome man with a head of loose black curls and a wicked smile had taken her hand and looked down at her with beautiful, black-lashed, laughing eyes, and she had realized, Mama was right.

Robin, Comte de Rocheforte is well known for his easy humor and love of life.  "Unapologetic scoundrel, self-proclaimed pauper, the scandalous Prince of Rakes;" he doesn't know it yet but Robin's fate is sealed in that breath-stealing moment when he takes Lady Cecily's hand and looks deeply into her eyes.  As captivated as she, Robin nevertheless keeps his distance, certain that he would be the worst possible husband for the enchanting lady who is slowly but surely capturing his heart.  Just as he begins to think he may be deserving of the lady, a misunderstanding convinces him otherwise but Lady Cecily knows her heart, knows Robin is the man for her and is determined to show him their future happiness depends on their being together.

If you like thought provoking romances, steeped in emotion and fraught with turmoil then this book is probably not for you.  But, if you enjoy love, laughter, witty banter and delightful entertainment from beginning to end then I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Lady Most Willing...

When Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway get together it is, quite simply, magic.

~PJ

What book have you read lately that had you smiling from first page to last?  I have a copy of The Lady Most Willing...for one randomly chosen person who leaves a comment.  (U.S. and Canada addresses only)

My Fictional BFF, Kate Sheffield

Six months ago, I blogged about my favorite bad boy hero, Saint (from London's Perfect Scoundrel by Suzanne Enoch). Now I'd like to tell you about my my favorite heroine, or as I like to call her, my fictional BFF, Kate Sheffield. This blog was first published over at Romance Novel TV, but now I would like to share it with our Romance Dish readers. WARNING: This blog contains possible spoilers for those who haven't read The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn...though, I'm pretty sure most of you have. *g*

My Fictional BFF, Kate Sheffield

 

There comes a time in every reader’s life when you read a book that just clicks on all levels – a flawless, much loved storyline, a dashing, sexy hero, a darling heroine you’d want as a best friend and the endearing secondary characters who become like family.  Such was the case for me with Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me.  The first time I read it I was completely blown away and it’s one of the few books that I’ve read multiple times.  It’s my “go to” book . . . my comfort read . . . and yes, my very favorite book.  It features one of the most popular and beloved heroes of all time, Anthony Bridgerton, the head of the well-known Bridgerton family.  But what would Anthony be without his leading lady, Kate?  Nothing, I tell you.  This blog is all about my girl, Kate. 

We first meet Katharine Grace Sheffield when she and her sister, Edwina, are embarking on their first London season together.  At twenty-one, Kate may seem a bit old to be having her debut, but her family only had enough funds for one trip to London, so they decided it best to do so when Edwina turned seventeen.  They are there with Kate’s stepmother and Edwina’s mother, Mary.  Right away, we learn three important things about Kate: she is fiercely loyal to her family, she is sensible, and she is completely selfless.  Despite the fact that her sister is this season’s “incomparable” and is beauty and grace personified, Kate doesn’t pout about it nor feels any jealously towards Edwina.  She accepts it as fact and is happy for and utterly devoted to her sister.  Who wouldn’t want a sister like that?  In fact, Edwina and Kate are so close, that Edwina pronounces that she will not marry anyone her sister does not deem worthy.  When Kate observes Edwina dancing with Viscount Bridgerton, the “reprehensible rogue”, her defenses are instantly raised.  There is no way that that rake is going to marry her sister.  Later, the viscount tells Kate that she is as lovely as her sister.  Big mistake, but Kate handles it very well.  “And you, Lord Bridgerton,” she replied in a tone that could have frozen champagne, “are almost as handsome as your brother.”  Heh.  Kate gives as good as she gets. 

Competitive only begins to describe how Kate is around Anthony at first.  In fact, it is their conflict and verbal sparring that absolutely drive this story.  Not to mention it creates some of the most memorable scenes in any historical romance, such as the Serpentine debacle and the infamous Bridgerton Pall Mall game.  Who doesn’t love that Kate, having picked the black “mallet of death”, deliberately sinks Anthony’s pink ball in the lake?  I could read that scene over and over and never tire of it. 

But it isn’t always combative between the two.  While it’s obvious they enjoy vexing each other, it’s even more obvious that there is a spark there.  The more they’re around each other, the more they want to be.  And Kate’s heart really softens towards Anthony when he does the one thing she doesn’t expect – he rescues her friend Penelope from the young lady hurling nasty insults at her by giving her the cut direct. 

. . . and in that moment Kate had the oddest feeling that she understood this man completely. 

But even stranger – suddenly she wasn’t so certain that he was the soulless, reprehensible rake she’d taken such comfort in believing him. 

“Did you see that?” 

Kate, who, along with the rest of the assembled company, had been staring openmouthed as Bridgerton led Penelope from the room, his head bent to hers as if she were the most fascinating woman ever to walk the earth, turned to see Edwina standing next to her. 

“I saw the whole thing,” Kate said in a dazed voice.  “I heard the whole thing.” 

“What happened?” 

“He was . . . he was . . .” Kate stumbled over her words, unsure of how to describe what exactly he’d done.  And then she said something she’d never thought possible: “He was a hero.” 

This is how I picture Kate. How fitting!
(Photo courtesy of biography.com)

At this point, poor Kate is torn.  She now knows the true Anthony Bridgerton and knows that he would indeed make a fine husband for Edwina.  Except that now she wants him for herself.  And then the unthinkable happens as they are forced to wed thanks to a pesky bee and the biggest gossip in London.  Yes, Kate wanted him, but not like this.  She may not be happy with the circumstances, but my girl is no idiot.  She knows the ramifications if they do not wed.  She accepts and suddenly Anthony has a revelation about his betrothed. 

With great reluctance, he slowly tore himself away from her, letting his hands rest on her slim shoulders and straightening his arms to keep himself far enough away so that he wouldn’t be tempted to continue where he’d left off. 

And the temptation was there.  He made the mistake of looking at her face, and in that moment he would have sworn that Kate Sheffield was every bit as beautiful as her sister. 

Hers was a different sort of attraction.  Her lips were fuller, less in fashion but infinitely more kissable.  Her lashes – how had he not noticed before how long they were?  When she blinked they seemed to rest on her cheeks like a carpet.  And when her skin was tinged with the pinks of desire, she glowed.  Anthony knew he was being fanciful, but when he gazed upon her face, he could not help thinking of the new dawn, of that exact moment when the sun was creeping over the horizon, painting the sky with its subtle palette of peaches and pinks. 

Wow.  What girl wouldn’t want to have someone feel that way about her?  But (there’s always a but, isn’t there?), despite what Anthony thinks of her, he tells Kate not to expect love from him.  They will always have a mutual friendship and respect, but never love.  Kate tells him that that is okay with her, but deep down inside, it’s not.  And Kate starts to become a little selfish.  Good for her! 

All her life, she’d been the one who’d received the second glance, the second greeting, the second kiss on the hand.  As the elder daughter, it should have been her due to be addressed before her younger sister, but Edwina’s beauty was so stunning, the pure and perfect blue of her eyes so startling, that people simply forgot themselves in her presence. 

Introductions to Kate were usually met with an embarrassed, “Of course,” and a polite murmured greeting while their eyes slid back to Edwina’s pure and shining face. 

Kate had never minded it much.  If Edwina had been spoiled or bad-tempered it might have been difficult, and in all truth, most of the men she’d met were shallow and silly, and she hadn’t much cared if they only took the time to acknowledge her after her sister. 

Until now. 

She wanted Anthony’s eyes to light up when she entered the room.  She wanted him to scan a crowd until he saw her face.  She didn’t need him to love her – or at least that’s what she was telling herself – but she desperately wanted to be first in his affections, first in his desires. 

And she had an awful, terrible feeling that all this meant she was falling in love. 

Falling in love with one’s husband – who would have thought it could be such a disaster? 

Well, it didn’t end up being a disaster, but it sure was a bit of an uphill battle for Anthony and Kate.  Anthony helps Kate conquer her biggest fear and she knows that what she feels for him in indeed love, though she doesn’t understand why Anthony can’t feel the same.  (Readers know that he believes he’ll die before he turns thirty-nine, as his father did.) Drinking himself into a stupor along with some shrewd advice from his brothers confirms to Anthony that he does love Kate and that it shouldn’t matter if he dies in five, eight, ten or fifty years from now.  What matters most is loving that one person with all your heart while you can. 

“I was so sure that it was the one thing that could make this . . . this . . . I don’t really know what to call it – this knowledge of my own mortality . . .” He raked his hands through his hair, fighting for words.  “Love was the only thing that was truly going to make that unbearable.  How could I love someone, truly and deeply, knowing that it was doomed?” 

“But it’s not doomed,” Kate said, squeezing his hand. 

“I know.  I fell in love with you, and then I knew.  Even if I am right, even if I’m fated to live only as long as my father did before me, I’m not doomed.”  He leaned forward and brushed a feather-light kiss on her lips.  “I have you,” he whispered, “and I’m not going to waste a single moment we have together.” 

Kate’s lips spread into a smile.  “What does that mean?” 

“It means that love isn’t about being afraid that it will all be snatched away.  Love’s about finding the one person who makes your heart complete, who makes you a better person than you ever dreamed you could be.  It’s about looking into the eyes of your wife and knowing, all the way to your bones, that she’s simply the best person you’ve ever known.”

 

Yes, all ends well for Kate and she absolutely deserves it.  We learn through her journey in finding her “happily ever after” that she is loyal, sensible, selfless (and a little selfish when the moment occurs), intelligent, witty, compassionate, honorable, vulnerable, strong in her convictions, stubborn when she needs to be and patient when she needs to be, as well.  Julia Quinn does a masterful job of not just telling us these things about Kate, but showing us.  We know that Kate is each of these and more, and I couldn’t ask for better qualities in a BFF, fictional or otherwise.

So, dear readers, as you can tell, I love this book and I absolutely adore its heroine, Kate Sheffield. Who are some of your most unforgettable heroines? What qualities do they have that make you feel that way? Please share!

Stock Up Saturday Reviews

Just Like Heaven
By Julia Quinn
Publisher: Avon
Release Date:May 31, 2011

Things that make me smile: laughing babies, warm hugs, ice cream cones on a hot summer’s day and a new Julia Quinn book.

Honoria Smythe-Smith and Marcus Holroyd, Earl of Chatteris, have known one another for most of their lives. He’s the best friend of her older brother, Daniel; an unofficial member of her family. She’s the pesky younger sister of his best friend, the one who has tagged along behind him since the age of six and the one he has secretly looked after since Daniel left for the continent. Their roles are set and neither has viewed the other any differently until one fateful day when Honoria, desperate to find a husband, sets a trap for the man in her sights and catches Marcus instead.  But roles, and perceptions, are not easily set aside.

He didn't want to look at her face and think that her eyes were the exact color of the grape hyacinths that had just begun to pop up all over the landscape.  They came each year at this time, and he always thought - just for a moment before he pushed it away - that they were her flower. But not the petals; they were too dark.  Honoria's eyes matched the younger part at the base of the flower, where the color hadn't quite turned blue.

His chest had grown tight; he tried to breathe.  He really didn't want to think about the fact that he knew that, that he could look at a flower and pinpoint the exact spot on the petal that matched her eyes.

It will take a life-threatening illness and a meddling Lady Danbury (I love that woman!) to finally bring these two endearing characters to their senses.

Just Like Heaven is not packed with action or adventure or steaming sensuality. It’s not filled with over-the-top angst nor dark emotion. It’s a delightful, heartwarming story of two likable people finding love where they least expect it. It is amusing and endearing, with the wonderful banter for which Quinn is known. And it made me smile. A lot!

Sometimes I want the thrill of an emotional roller coaster ride but other times I prefer the simple joy of sharing an afternoon rocking on the verandah with a good friend. Marcus and Honoria filled my heart with the joy of their friendship and love. Thank you, Ms. Quinn, for a lovely afternoon with good friends.

~PJ

Just Like Heaven

If you're a fan of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series - like the Dishes are - then you've likely been waiting a long time for those poor, beleaguered Smythe-Smith girls to find their happy endings.  Well, the wait is almost over!  Just Like Heaven, the first book in the Smythe-Smith Quartet is the story of Honoria Smythe-Smith and Marcus Holroyd and will be released May 31st from Avon, an Imprint of HarperCollins. Check out the story blurb below as well as the recently released video book trailer.


Honoria Smythe-Smith, the youngest daughter of the eldest son of the Earl of Winstead, plays the violin in the annual musicale performed by the Smythe-Smith quartet. She’s well aware that they are dreadful. In fact, she freely admits (to her cousins) that she is probably the worst of the bunch. But she’s the sort who figures that nothing good will come of being mortified, so she puts on a good show and laughs about it.

Marcus Holroyd is the best friend of Honoria’s brother, Daniel, who lives in exile out of the country. He’s promised to watch out for Honoria and takes his responsibility very seriously. But he has his work cut out for him when Honoria sets off for Cambridge determined to marry by the end of the season. She’s got her eye on the only unmarried Bridgerton, who’s a bit wet behind the ears. When her advances are spurned, can Marcus swoop in and steal her heart in time for the musicale? 

Visit Julia Quinn's website for more fun details, an advance look at Chapter One of Just Like Heaven and a sneak peek at the book's playlist!

Have you been looking forward to the Smythe-Smith stories?  What other secondary characters from books you've read would you like to see get their own stories?  Two randomly chosen people who leave comments today will each get a book from my prize stash.  


~PJ

Review -- The Lady Most Likely...

The Lady Most Likely...
A Novel in Three Parts
By Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: December 28, 2010






I was anxious to read this book for two main reasons: one, because it is written by 3 talented authors who have written so many books that I love; and two, I had heard it touted as “sort of like an anthology, but different”. That, of course, had me wondering why it was different. After reading it, I would call it “three stories within a story”.

The Lady Most Likely... begins at the London home of Lord and Lady Finchley. Hugh Dunne, Earl of Briarly, is visiting his sister and asks her to help him find a bride. He has recently had a near fatal experience with one of his horses and feels the need to settle down and produce an heir. So, he asks Carolyn to compose a list of eligible ladies. The first two young ladies that come to her mind are Gwendolyn Passmore and Katherine Peyton. Since the Season has just ended and the household was prepared to leave anyway, Caro immediately starts planning a house party at Finchley Manor.

Julia Quinn’s contribution begins with Alec Darlington, the newly minted Earl of Charters and Hugh’s best friend, escorting his youngest sister to the house party. Octavia is fit to be tied when she sees that Gwendolyn Passmore is attending. According to his sister, no one will even so much as look at her if Miss Passmore is in the room. She considers Gwen, heralded as the undisputed beauty of the ton, as snobbish because of her refusal of no less than four proposals. But the young lady that Alec meets is nothing as Octavia describes. He learns that Gwen is painfully shy and does not like attention. He also discovers just how wonderful she is.

“I misjudged you.”

She was very quiet, then she said, “People often do. I—” She looked to the left and right, as if she were making sure no one else could hear. Which was absurd, because they were completely alone. But somehow it looked like the correct thing to do, and something about it warmed his heart. Because whatever it was she was going to say...

It was for him. Just for him.

She leaned forward, but just the tiniest bit.

Alec’s heart skipped a beat. That quarter inch... That tiny sliver of a space that she’d eliminated between them...

It took his breath away.

I absolutely adored that scene! Julia Quinn’s charm and wit shines through in this story with characters that you’re sure to love.

Connie Brockway’s story is next and starts as Miss Katherine Peyton is walking in the garden with Hugh, anticipating a kiss. Just as they are about to, they are interrupted by Captain Neill Oakes, a long-time friend of Kate and her family. The same Neill Oakes that she had loved all her life. The same Neill Oakes that pushed her away following a kiss they shared four years ago, right before he went into the army. Now he’s charged with watching over Kate after her brother takes off in fear of the matchmaking mamas. Neill does his job honorably and Kate realizes that the reckless boy has turned into a considerate man. A considerate man who very much would like to finally claim her as his own.

I love reunion stories and this one is delicious! Connie Brockway has quickly become a favorite author of mine and this short story only confirms it.

And finally, Eloisa James tells Hugh’s tale of finding love. Now that both of the prospective brides on his list have been snatched up by other men, Hugh must consider someone else. Preferably someone who won’t mind that he spends hours upon hours in the stables with his horses. But the only person on his mind is his childhood friend, Lady Georgina Sorrell. Georgina is a widow and though her marriage wasn’t a match made in heaven, she wasn’t unhappy. She just wasn’t completely...happy. She has no desire to marry again, but Hugh is determined to change her mind.

His eyes laughed down at her, and all that laughter was side by side with desire. For her.

That was what she never saw in all the days of her marriage. And what she saw in the eyes of other men, looking at the women they desired.

Eloisa James’s story is utterly romantic and it had to be since it featured Hugh and the whole objective of the house party was to find the lady most likely to capture his heart. It is a beautiful tale that will surely capture your heart!

I said earlier that I would classify this book as three stories within a story. I say that because the beginning, end, and the chapters in between each author’s own story give readers a glimpse into the happy marriage of Carolyn and her husband, Piers. Theirs is obviously a love match and Caro wants nothing less for her dear brother, Hugh. Each story plays right into the other and all of the characters are woven into each story. It was a concept that, in my opinion, worked in every way. Ms. Quinn, Ms. James, and Ms. Brockway planned out the perfect scenario and I sincerely hope that they try it (or something like it) again in the future. Fans of any or all three authors will thoroughly enjoy this delightful gem!

~Andrea