Book Review for "Just Like Heaven" by Julia Quinn

You know that feeling of satisfaction, when you can't help but sigh with contentment. You have a little grin on your face and all is well with the world. Well, this is how I felt returning to one of my favourite authors, Julia Quinn. She has a knack for making her characters so likable and so very enjoyable. It's effortless. That is true talent. I am laughing frequently as I read, making passersby stare and question my sanity. I first enjoyed Ms. Quinn's tales in the Bridgerton series, gobbling them up like literary candy. It was with joy and a tiny bit of trepidation that I picked up the first book in her newly released series "Just Like Heaven". I wasn't sure if I would like the heroine she chose, one of the Smythe-Smith characters from the Bridgerton series. Boy was I wrong. Honoria Smythe-Smith is wonderful. She is an endearing young woman whose looks aren't overwhelming but whose sense of humour and honest love of family is heartwarming. Our hero, Marcus, also known as Lord Chatteris, isn't a rogue. He isn't even overly attractive! Gasp! He is your every day gentleman! A man with morals, a man who does the right thing. A dependable man. A man who longed for a family to love and for a family to love him. What's even better is the fact that this story is based upon two characters who have known each other for fifteen years. Yes, Marcus has known Honoria since she was six years old. Daniel, Honoria's brother, is Marcus' best friend. Hence Marcus' presence at the Smythe-Smith's home for many holidays, birthdays and special occasions. He was always there. Always the quiet, dependable Marcus. Honoria knew him like the back of her own hand. Marcus knew every quirk of Honoria's personality. Suddenly, each discovers they hold deeper feelings for the other, a realization that knocks them off their feet. I cheered for Lord Chatteris and his quest for a sense of belonging. I loved how his feelings began to take charge, overwhelming him in their urgency.

“He’d spent his life being a perfect gentleman. He’d never been a flirt. He’d never been a rogue. He hated being the center of attention, but by God, he wanted to be the center of her attention. He wanted to do the wrong thing, the bad thing. He wanted to pull her into his arms and carry her to her bed. He wanted to peel every last inch of her clothing from her body, and then he wanted to worship her. He wanted to show her all the things he wasn’t sure he knew how to say.”

This is a sweet love story that will make you smile. Yes, there are scenes that will make you laugh out loud. Yes, you will delight in the wonderful characters. Yes, you will want to fall in love all over again. Sigh.....I am feeling content again.

Review for "On the Way to the Wedding" by Julia Quinn

A man who believes in love? A man who believes in romance? A man who awaits the "one"....the one who will knock him off his feet the moment he lays eyes upon her? I didn't know such a man existed....until I met Gregory Bridgerton in Julia Quinn's final installment of the Bridgerton series.

Gregory is the youngest male in the Bridgerton clan and he is the most genuine when it comes to his feelings...a true romantic at heart. While attending a party at his eldest brother's house, Gregory is struck down by the sight of the most beautiful blonde he has ever laid eyes upon. He must have her....this must be love, for he cannot breathe, cannot fathom life without the awe-inspiring Hermione. He lavishes her with attention, only to receive nothing in response, for Hermione's heart has been given to another. But there is hope for Gregory in the form of Hermione's best friend, Lady Lucinda. Lucy thinks that the youngest Bridgerton male is a very suitable match for her best friend and thus sets out to help Gregory woo Hermione. But of course, Lucy soon falls for the witty young Bridgerton herself. But she cannot......for she is to be married soon, an arrangement made long ago. But what will happen when Gregory realizes that he is falling for Hermione's best friend? How can he marry a woman who is about to marry someone else?

Once again, Julia Quinn does not let her readers down in this final book in a wonderful series. Reading about the heroine was like looking in the mirror at a young version of myself. Lucy is eager to please, always reliable....expected to do the right thing, always wanting things to be in order, for everyone to be happy, even at the cost of her own desires. Things are supposed to be a certain way and that gives our Lucy peace and comfort. But then along comes chaos in the form of a dark-haired, blue-eyed man with a sparkle in his gaze and the ability to make her laugh...make her feel safe...make her feel like herself. I rejoiced when Lucy decided that she was going to satisfy her own wants, her own desires....put herself first, even if it was for one night. A night she would cherish for the rest of her life, even if she was married to another man, a man she could never love like she loves Gregory. Our hero is a lover of love. He wants to be in love, to find his soul mate, and he fights to the bitter end for her, even after being rejected in the most public way. One's own heart cannot help but soar when Gregory professes his love for Lucy in front of hundreds. I melted. I encourage you to read this book. Join this cast of characters on their journey of discovery into the true meaning of love. You will laugh, you will cry, you will sigh, and you too will want what everyone wants.....an everlasting love."On the Way to the Wedding" is book #9 in the 2011 Historical Romance Challenge.

Review for "When He Was Wicked" by Julia Quinn

Can you fall in love more than once? When one love is lost forever, can it be possible to find another.... a second chance to feel wanted, desired, cherished, loved? These are the questions running through the very soul of Francesca Bridgerton in "When He Was Wicked", the sixth installment in the Bridgerton series.

Francesca is happily married and blissfully in love with her husband John, the Earl of Kilmartin. She has everything she could dream of...a man who adores her, a family who treasures her, a beautiful home and a cousin (in law), Michael Stirling, who is really her best friend. Without warning, Francesca's world is turned upside down when John suddenly dies. She has become a widow, and the one she instinctively turns to for comfort is Michael.

Michael Stirling has a bit of a problem. He is utterly, totally, completely, wholly, insanely, thoroughly in love with his cousin's wife. From the moment he laid eyes upon Francesca, he was committed....committed to a life filled with lies. He pretended he was the happy rake, content to be unmarried, hopping from mistress to mistress, engaging in behaviour many men would envy. But only Michael knew it was all a lie, a show, a living hell on earth. For every day, he had to hide his true feelings, his utter love and desire for his cousin's wife. A cousin he loved like a brother, a cousin he would never betray. But with John's death comes grief, anguish and guilt because now, Michael has inherited John's title, wealth and home. But the only thing he wants is Francesca. But how could he take his cousin's wife? She feels nothing for him but kinship. She could never find out how he truly felt about her. He could never do that to John. But soon enough, a kiss is shared between Michael and Francesca that unlocks a passion unlike no other. What will happen now...for there is no going back, and Michael can no longer hide his desires.

This book is quite different from what I am used to from Ms. Quinn, but I loved it anyways. It lacks the humourous, quick, easy banter I am so used to but in exchange, it is filled with a wickedness that I haven't seen in any of the previous tales. I truly felt for Michael and his tortured, romantic soul. He was a good man who could not get past the overwhelming sea of guilt he felt in loving his cousin's wife. Even when John died, Michael still wrestled with his conscience, feeling he had committed the ultimate betrayal. When he finally is pushed over the edge, I felt my heart tear in half as he finally admitted his feelings for Francesca:

"It’s because I love you, damn me to hell. Because I’ve always loved you. Because I loved you when you were with John, and I loved you when I was in India, and God only knows I don’t deserve you, but I love you, anyway.” Francesca sagged against the door. “How’s that for a witty little joke?” he mocked. “I love you. I love you, my cousin’s wife. I love you, the one woman I can never have. I love you, Francesca Bridgerton Stirling."

I didn't like the heroine as much as previous female leads in this series. I saw her as indecisive and weaker than other leading ladies. But it was liberating to see a female let her guard down and become a "wicked" participant in the dance of desire. The love scenes were hot and steamy and Michael was, well....the title says it all! This was a wonderful story about moving on, about second chances....if you are lucky enough to get one, keep it close to your heart and hold on.

When He Was Wicked is book #4 in the 2011 Historical Romance Challenge.

Review for "Romancing Mister Bridgerton" by Julia Quinn

Penelope Featherington, a self-admitted wallflower. Society sees her as a plump, plain Jane type of girl who is quiet and unpopular and worst of all, a spinster. Yet those very few who get to know her realize that there is more to Penelope...she is witty, charming, intelligent....and so desperately in love with her best friend's brother, Colin Bridgerton. Colin....extremely handsome, flirtatious, suave, witty, charming.....yet he feels that there is something missing in his life. Colin is searching.....searching for a purpose, a way to leave his mark upon the world. These two characters have known each other since childhood, but it is only now, in their later years, that they truly come to KNOW each other and themselves.

I loved the charming, witty Colin Bridgerton from the first time he was introduced in the Bridgerton series. I was very much looking forward to his story. I was even more intrigued once I discovered that he was to fall for his sister's best friend, the plain, plump, unpopular Penelope Featherington. I loved the genuine truth of their love. For Colin, it wasn't a "knock-me-down over the head" kind of love...not even a "she's so hot I gotta have her" kind of love. It was a "wow...she is great...why haven't I noticed that about her" kind of love. It was a bond that grew... a friendship that blossomed into a need for another person, a person he realized he could not live without. The love scene that Colin and Penelope finally share is just that.....a LOVE scene, not a hot and steamy sexually arousing interlude, but a scene that is so filled with deep, honest love for another that I couldn't help but reach out for my own love. Colin's admission of his feelings for Penelope just made me melt:

He murmured her name, tenderly taking her face in his hands. “I love you,” he said, his voice low and fervent. “I love you with everything I am, everything I’ve been, and everything I hope to be.”

“I love you with my past, and I love you for my future.” He bent forward and kissed her, once, softly, on the lips. “I love you for the children we’ll have and for the years we’ll have together. I love you for every one of my smiles, and even more, for every one of your smiles.”

Julia Quinn has managed to create characters that are truly relateable. We all have insecurities.... we all have questioned our purpose in life.....we all have longed for a person that we knew we could never have. I found myself smiling throughout this wonderful story, even laughing out loud at times. And of course, I too fell in love with Colin Bridgerton, insecurities and all.

Review for "The Duke And I" by Julia Quinn

Did you ever want to date your brother's best friend? Did he make you shiver with a look across the room.... or make you gasp for breath as he whispered a secret in your ear... or make you tingle all over as his fingers accidentally brushed your skin? If he is as hot and roguish as Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, you definitely would want to make him yours!

Simon is a tortured hero, a man who overcame a great obstacle at a very early age. But not without its costs. Although he lives a carefree life as a Duke, his life is really just an empty shell filled with hate. Simon doesn't even realize how much the hatred inside of him is eating away at his soul, his future, his happiness. That is, until he meets Daphne Bridgerton, his best friend's sister.

Daphne is a member of the Bridgertons, a boisterous, funny, drama-filled family full of love for each other. Simon and Daphne devise a plan. They PRETEND to be courting. This will keep all of the ton's conniving mothers away from Simon and it will give Daphne many suitors just clamouring for the girl that the Duke supposedly wants to make his own. But in true romantic style, this friendship becomes more, for Daphne becomes the one woman who can save Simon from his bitter, angry existence and give him a life filled with laughter, family and love, three things he didn't feel he even wanted or deserved.

I truly enjoyed this book. The Bridgerton family is one you cannot help but enjoy, from Anthony, the over-protective older brother, to Colin, the fun-spirited, young rogue, to Violet, the matriarch of the family. There is great use of dialogue with descriptions of family interactions that were very amusing. The author has managed to reveal that true love can break down barriers, even walls of hatred around one's heart. Daphne was a ray of hope shining into Simon's dark-filled soul, revealing the truth....for all Simon truly wanted was to be loved for who he was. Isn't this what we all want?