Book review: Just Like Heaven (Smythe-Smith Quartet #1) by Julia Quinn

Book: Just Like Heaven (Smythe-Smith Quartet #1)
Author: Julia Quinn
Release Date: May 31st, 2011

Excerpt:


Honoria Smythe-Smith is:
A) a really bad violinist
B) still miffed at being nicknamed "Bug" as a child
C) not in love with her older brother's best friend
D) all of the above

Marcus Holroyd is:
A) the Earl of Chatteris
B) regrettably prone to sprained ankles
C) not in love with his best friend's younger sister
D) all of the above

Together they:
A) eat quite a bit of chocolate cake
B) survive a deadly fever and the world's worst musical performance
C) fall quite desperately in love

It's Julia Quinn at her best, so you know the answer is ...
D) all of the above


Review: 


I would like to start off with that congratulations to the author for getting her groove back. Reading this book felt like reading the Bridgerton books of yester years. It was brilliantly witty and the romance was actually very believable.

Honoria Smythe-Smith and Marcus Holyroyd had known each other for years. Literally. Since Honoria was six to be exact. Therefore the last thing either of them expected was to fall in love with each other. Honoria was simply Marcus's best friend Daniel's little sister and Marcus was Daniel's best friend to Honoria. Then again the last thing either of them expected was for Daniel to have to leave the county, turn things on their ends, and for a home made "mole hole" to turn everything topy turvy. That is what happened though. So forth the lives to these two unlikely lovers got turned on their end and found that the other was more than a friend.

The relationship between Honoria and Marcus was very sweet and one that is entirely realistic. Something i found very refreshing. In a world where love (or lust) at first can be somewhat the norm having two characters with a long history was a nice change. It was something that was building up for a while and it took a twisted ankle and a near death experience for them both to realize their true feelings for each other.

Individually both of them were great as well. Marcus is not your typical hero. He is not described as particularly handsome, is shy and reserved, and doesn't seem to have a line of past lovers that reach the length of my arm. In fact there were no past lovers or mistresses even mentioned. It was merely implied that he wasn't a virgin. I felt myself connecting with him on so many accounts because of his shyness, lack of ability for small talk, and his dislike of being center stage. If there is one thing Julia does well is write heroes who don't always fit the bill. In this case she brought on a new favorite of mine. Long live the shy hero!!

Honoria was beautifully written as well. She wasn't described as drop dead gorgeous or have an amazing body to boot. She was perfectly average and normal whose favorite feature is her eyes. She is loyal to her family and friends. She isn't a shrinking violet, but neither is she the life of the party. She was refreshing normal. Another character that i found myself connecting with.

It's quite the rare instance when i find myself connecting with both hero and heroine in a book and thus this has to be one of my favorite romances in a long time. In fact it's what i would use as a reference for the type of romance i would like in my life (25 and hopelessly single here). The book is neither ground breaking, nor filled with action and adventure. It is one i would highly recommend nonetheless.

Final rating: 5 Bunnies. We have another absolute favorite to add to the list.

Review: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (re-read)

Book: The Duke and I
Author: Julia Quinn
Release date: Jan 1st, 2000 (a re-read for me)

Excerpt:
Can there be any greater challenge to London's Ambitious Mamas than an unmarried duke?
--- Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1813

By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend's sister, the lovely---and almost-on-the-shelf---Daphney Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth--it's all an elaborate plan to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable.

But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, it's hard to remember that their courtship is a complete sham. Maybe it's his devilish smile, certainly it's the way his eyes seem to burn every time he looks at her...but somehow Daphne is falling for the dashing duke...for real! And now she must do the impossible and convince the handsome rogue that their clever little scheme deserves a slight alteration, and that nothing makes quite as much sense as falling in love..


My Review:
Wow. What a difference a few years can make when reading a book. The first time i read "The Duke and I" i was 16 years old. I was young, innocent, and naive. I couldn't get enough of romance books.And i just adored every single Julia Quinn book i could get my hands on. Eleven years later, a grown single woman, i find myself still loving the book. Loved the book so much in fact that except for the first 20 pages i read it all in one afternoon/evening sitting. I haven't done that in a very very long time. Even with the most recent books i've jadored it's taken me 2-3 days to finish a book. I definitely think there is something to be said about the romances that were coming out in the early 2000's.

In this book, Julia introduces us to the famous "Bridgerton" family. One of the families I automatically connect in my mind with romance. Daphne is the eldest daughter of the family and after two seasons without a decent proposal is starting to lose hope. That doesn't deter her mother, Violet, from trying though. And so she is introduced to bachelor after bachelor. Every ball and party. Daphne knows the truth of things though. She is the "girl next store". The girl every man likes to chat with, but doesn't see as marriageable match. The ones that do she's rather didn't. Then she meets her brother Anthony's old friend and all that changes....

Simon is your typical hero in many ways. He's a Duke. Rich. Tall, dark, and handsome. And he has some issues. Big daddy ones and a surprisely stammering/stuttering problem that he's dealt with all his life. His goal on returning to England was to avoid society as much as possible. After all. He had no plans to marry or have children so why should he become involved. Yet society doesn't feel the same way about him and of course he gets tangled into it. At an event hosted by Lady Dansbury, Simon finds himself in a position that was more than he bargained for. He was quite happy to help out his friend Anthony's sister; he was not happy about becoming the newest catch to hit the ton. So he makes a bargain with Daphne. They'll pretend to form a attachment so that she may attract more men and he attract less women. If only Simon didn't start wishing the attachment wasn't fake...

On the topic of the two main characters i loved Simon. I've had to deal with speech issues all my life and found myself commiserating with him a lot. It was nice to have a character voice the issues that those of use who have trouble with certain sounds and words go through. It was far easier for me to connect with him than Daphne. Daphne on the other hand had some moments where i found myself wanting to hit her. The most being when she had sex with him when he was drunk because she wanted his sperm. I did not mistype that. Now that really didn't bother me when i was younger, but looking at it now i does bother me some. It was cruel of her to do so and in a way a bit violating. Yet the issue was never discussed in great length. It was merely shoved under the rug later when Simon basically says, not in these words, he could have stopped her if he wanted to. Something i'm not entirely sure of. If the character was fine with it i'll let it be since it wasn't rape and he doesn't entirely doing "it" against his will.

Together, Daphne and Simon work out quite well. They bounced right off of each other and could roll with things. Mostly.

Before i end this i should probably mention this story was the first appearance of Lady Whistledown. A brilliant creation of Julia's especially when you look at the whole series at once.

Final rating. 4 1/2. I only had one issue with the book and it was what i discussed above.

"What Happens in London & Ten Things i Love about You" Reviews

What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
Release Date: Jun 30, 2009

Excerpt:
When Olivia Bevelstoke is told that her new neighbor may have killed his fiancee, she doesn't believe it for a second, but, still, how can she help spying on him, just to be sure? So she stakes out a spot near her bedroom window, cleverly concealed by curtains, watches, and waits . . . and discovers a most intriguing man, who is definitely up to something. 

Sir Harry Valentine works for the boring branch of the War Office, translating documents vital to national security. He's not a spy, but he's had all the training, and when a gorgeous blonde begins to watch him from her window, he is instantly suspicious. But just when he decides that she's nothing more than an annoyingly nosy debutante, he discovers that she might be engaged to a foreign prince, who might be plotting against England. And when Harry is roped into spying on Olivia, he discovers that he might be falling for her himself..

Review: 

This title is really all wrong for this book. It really should be called "of Windows and Russian Princes". I really don't see how "what happens in london" fits in with the story. The story itself follows Olivia Bevelstroke and Sir Harry Valentine. 

Olivia is in her third season in London is and is practically bored since-less since her best friend married her brother. Besides complaining how troublesome it is to be pretty she has an affinity on spying on her next store neighbor Harry. Rumor has it he killed his supposed fiancée. 

Harry is merely trying to get some war documents translated into Russian but the annoying girl next store won't stop staring at him through the window. He soon gets a summons to the war office and is told to watch the girl and the Russian prince her admires her. Turns out that the Russian prince may be a supporter of Napoleon. 

Thus the plot-less story begins. For a Julia Quinn book i'm rather disappointed in this. I really enjoyed Olivia and Harry in "Ten reasons why i love you", but found them annoying and lackluster here. I also couldn't figure out their relationship. One moment their annoyed at each other and the next they love each other. It was like eh???? Then lets not even get to the plot... wait.... there is not plot. Julia just seems to throw in a kidnapping for her own good health. No other reason seems to be for it. The kidnapping wasn't even good. It was like WTF? is going on here? Why is the ambassador of Russia suddenly evil when he never appeared in the entire book? How did the prince's body guard come to work for the war office. Who the freak is Fitswilliam? Is this Mr.Dracy's secret profession. Seriously seriously disappointed. 

Rating: 3 Bunnies. Lack of plot, too many WTF?, whinny heroine, and the romance between the hero and heroine came together too nicely.   

The Things I love About You by Julia Quinn
Release Date: May 25th, 2010

Excerpt:  
Ten Things You Should Know About This Book 

1. Sebastian Grey is a devilishly handsome rogue with a secret. 

2. Annabel Winslow's family voted her The Winslow Most Likely to Speak Her Mind AND The Winslow Most Likely to Fall Asleep in Church. 

3. Sebastian's uncle is the Earl of Newbury, and if he dies without siring an heir, Sebastian inherits everything. 

4. Lord Newbury detests Sebastian and will stop at nothing to prevent this from happening. 

5. Lord Newbury has decided that Annabel is the answer to all of his problems. 

6. Annabel does not want to marry Lord Newbury, especially when she finds out he once romanced her grandmother. 

7. is shocking, 8. is delicious, 9. is downright wicked, all of which leads the way to 

10. Happily. Ever. After.  


Review:
This is one of those books where everything just seems to come together right. As such i really have nothing to write. It's hard to find fault with a book that comes together perfectly. It was like being back in the Brigerton books. Seriously Julia never disappoints. 

I loved Annabel and Seb together. Adore Olivia and Louisa as side characters. Died cracking up at Annabelle's grandmother. Seriously the woman should become the next whistledown. Found Lord Newbury as a believable villain and seriously. How could you not hate him. I was really hoping he was really dead on the floor. The scandal of him being found in Annabelle's grandmother's bed would have been delish. I was glad he never sired anymore heirs. 

I have the previous two books, but haven't read them yet and now i just got too. ^^ 

Rating: 5 Bunnies for perfection