The Lady Most Willing

The Lady Most Willing...by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway
4/5 stars
Avon Books, 2012
384 pages
Adult Historical Romance

Source: Received an e-ARC through the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Potential spoilers: the set-up for this book is that there are several eligible young people and you don't quite know who will end up with who; however I will be talking about that. I don't think it should be a big deal but fair warning to you.

I'm a total Quinn fan girl as I believe I've said on multiple occasions. But for some reason I've had a prejudice against Scottish romance stories. Basically I only seek out Regency London romances but when other Scottish stories have come my way, I have turned up my nose. I guess I have absorbed some of the characters' prejudices as there Scottish lords seem to be considered on a lower level than English. So the setting did briefly give me pause although that was soon assuaged.

Also giving me pause was the framing for these three stories which is that Lord Ferguson has two nephews and he is tired of waiting for them to get married. So he and his clansmen kidnap prospective heiress brides (and accidentally a duke) from a nearby house-party and let themselves get snowed in while magic happens. On the one hand, I'm super annoyed for these girls at their fate of being abducted but on the other hand, it strongly reminds me of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, an old musical I adore so I resolved to push past that to check out the stories.

First up is the Duke of Bretton with Catriona Burns, accidentally kidnapped as she is penniless. Nonetheless the two find themselves drawn to each other and quickly fall. As you might expect, there is a lot of wit and humor in this Quinn selection.

Second was probably my favorite coupling with Fiona Chisolm and the laird's nephew the Earl of Oakley. She is ruined in the eyes of society after her fiance died falling off the ivy on her tower while the earl was thrown over my his fiancee in favor of her dance-master. This is a second chance to do things right for the pair and they were so adorable. The earl was so upright and kind of a stick in the mud but I tend to prefer that kind of hero to the charming one who gets away with all sorts of wrong-doings.

The last couple was Cecily and Robin, the laird's other nephew. She has always been waiting for true love and as soon as they meet, she knows she's found it. Meanwhile Robin thinks he is insufficient due to his upbringing and his poverty while she is an heiress. Cecily has to be the aggressive one in this relationship in order to bring them to the altar.

There is also a fourth young lady, Fiona's half-sister Marilla who is shameless in her attempts to snag a lord for her husband. As each man falls for his partner, she simply moves on to the next guy. She was incredibly annoying, both to the characters within the book as well as to me. But she manages to get her own happily ever after so all's well that ends well!

Since these are short stories, the romances move incredibly fast (most over just one day before the snow thaws enough after maybe three/four days) and aren't as satisfying as a full-length story can be. However it did a great job evoking the cold and making me smile in time for Christmas! If you like these authors and/or Regency romance tropes, I think this will work for you.

A Night Like This

A Night Like This by Julia Quinn
4/5 stars
Avon Books, 2012
Historical Romance Comedy
Book 2 in the Smythe-Smith Quartet

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'll admit that I definitely have expectations when I pick up a Julia Quinn romance. I expect to laugh a lot, to love the main characters, and to be amused by the many secondary characters who surround the couple. Well, check plus on all three points for this book!

I feel like once you're familiar with Quinn's style, it is immediately recognizable. And that is the case here. I love returning to this London and to the great families she creates. There is so much love evident and for someone who prefers a lighter story, it is so comforting. I don't want angst-I want to have fun and Quinn always delivers!

This is the second book in the Smythe-Smith quartet and it overlaps with the end of the first book, Just Like Heaven, which I read last year but did not review. Daniel Smythe-Smith, Earl of Winstead, has returned from abroad where he had escaped after foolishly dueling with and injuring a peer with a powerful and protective father. It is supposed to be safe for him to return. However it is not exactly as he promptly loses his heart to his sisters' governess the lovely and mysterious Miss Anne Wynter. Anne has worked very hard to reach her current position and does not want to jeopardize it by flirting above her social stratum.

But as the book progresses, of course, she is charmed by Daniel and falls for him. Alas all is not well though with Daniel suffering several attacks that may have been orchestrated by his friend's father who still harbors a grudge and with Anne also threatened by someone from her past. Her story is an old one but not one any less worthy of compassion.  I especially liked the climactic ending because of course Anne's past has to haunt her and of course Daniel has to go after her. But happily Anne can be her own heroine and save herself with Daniel just providing additional support.

While I did miss Lady Danbury who I remember playing a role in the first book, it is more than made up for by Daniel's three younger sisters who dearly love each other. One is an aspiring playwright and another has an obsession with unicorns; just a few of the quirks that make them so much fun to read about. And of course we have the traditional Smythe-Smith performances that open and close the book and will probably never not make me smile.

Overall: I think I actually liked this book more than the first although warning to those who don't like love at first sight stories. I usually don't but Quinn is so masterly that I end loving them.

The Lady Most Likely

The Lady Most Likely by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway
Avon Books, 2011
372 pages
Romance; Historical
3/5 stars

Source: Won

I just adore Julia Quinn; I think I've read all of her published novels and at some point I will read all of the Bridgerton epilogues. I've had mixed experiences with Eloisa James (problems with story choices) but the writing was enjoyable; and I'm not familiar with Connie Brockway but since I'm usually in the mood for a fluffy Regency romance, I figured why not?

The framework for these stories was delightful. Carolyn is requested to help her brother, Hugh, the Earl of Briarly to find a wife after an experience that might have left him dead. Hugh needs a wife and an heir, so that he can get back to his first love of horses. Consequently Carolyn arranges a house party with eligible young parties and starts matchmaking. Before and after the stories, we got to see Carolyn with her husband and what a great match they were! I liked them way more than I did the others.

The first story is between Hugh's best friend, another earl and the belle of the season, who Carolyn had hoped would marry Hugh. The belle is the beautiful but shy Gwendolyn whose demeanor comes off as snobby to jealous girls such as the earl's sister. When she begs him to distract Gwen so that she can have some suitors, he happily obliges. Thus do Alec and Gwen meet and fall in love. This was Quinn's story and I felt that it unmistakably had her signature on it. This was also my favorite of the collection.

The second story is from Connie Brockway and unfortunately features a trope I loathe. This is a trope of two young people who like each other and could move toward marriage. When he attempts this, her father deems him unworthy and said man leaves, never telling the woman why but leaving her to forever pine for him. In general the man also never apologizes for sucking. So while the writing was just fine and the shortness made this more bearable than other stories using this plot, I could not get over my loathing of it.

The last story was okay; it is about Hugh finally realizing that the woman of his dreams is his sister's widowed friend Lady Georgina, who seemed to be on the point of swearing never to remarry. What bothered me about this story was Hugh's sudden realization that Georgina was, in his words, "Mine." This was repeated and I just wanted to slap him and say that no, she was her own person.

Overall: In some ways this is the light fluffy Romance novel I wanted; there are lots of cute exchanges between all of the couples. But due to some personal pet peeves, I did not enjoy this.

Ten Things I Love About You

Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
Avon, 2010
377 pages
Historical; Romance
Third in Bevelstoke Series
3/5 stars

Source: Bought

Summary: Sebastian Grey is the presumptive heir to his uncle's earldom but said earl hates him and is trying to find a bride to bear him a new heir.  That young lady is Annabel Winslow who despises the earl but feels responsibility for her seven younger siblings and recently widowed mother-what's a girl to do?

Thoughts: I really loved the book trailer (and I usually avoid them like the plague) so I picked this up.  I wanted to love it because Sebastian is soooo charming and it's always great when the womanizer is finally bested and falls in love with just the one woman.  I also the idea of top ten lists.  However this was such a jolting experience.  First it would be charming Sebastian Grey; then the vulgar desperate earl; then more Sebastian; then Annabel being somewhat mopey.  Instead of Quinn's usual polished style, it jumped and left me feeling disoriented.  Every character was too exaggerated.  The earl was too pervish, Annabel's grandparents were too mean and openly accepting of adultery to an innocent, Annabel had little personality.  For one thing, if she loved her siblings so much why do I only know one sister's name?  I would have appreciated diving more in to her family life and how that impacted her decisions.

The romance was okay-they said a lot of funny things to each other but it don't cohere in to a whole and it wasn't as deep as I would have liked.  I guess I was expecting more from Sebastian, who utterly charmed me in What Happens in London but I was let down.

Overall: Disappointing story of a charming rogue.

Cover: I don't really like the girl's face (and I'm not sure she's curvy enough) but the white of the background looks good with the purple of the title and Quinn's name.

What Happens in London

What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
Avon, 2009
372 pages
Historical; Romance
2nd in Bevelstoke series
4/5 stars

Source: Bought

Summary: Olivia Bevelstoke hears some ridiculous gossip about her new next door neighbor Sir Harry Valentine but she still can't help spying on him.  Harry can't figure out why that gorgeous blonde is spying on him but he is not displeased to be assigned by his employers at the War Office to look after her and the suspicious Russian prince who may be wooing her.  He will just keep an eye on her and report back because he couldn't possibly be falling for her, could he?

Thoughts: Julia Quinn and I had a bit of a falling out after she finished her Bridgerton series.  The last one On the Way to the Wedding made me cry and I absolutely loved it.  Then I tried the first book in the Bevelstoke series called The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheever, which I'm pretty sure I finished although I didn't much like it.  Then I tried The Lost Duke of Wyndham and Mr Cavendish, I Presume and I couldn't finish either.  But I really wanted to read 10 Things I Love About You (check back tomorrow for my review) and I figured I would try to read it in order to get back in to her world.

Luckily I loved it!  It was so funny especially the scene where Sebastian reads aloud from a lurid gothic novel; I can see why he got his own book because he's absolutely charming and seemingly happy-go-lucky.  Harry is quite good with an interesting background that could have been expanded on more. Olivia is mostly delightful although I lamented her disinterest in reading fiction (luckily she loves newspapers.  I mean can you imagine a heroine of a romantic novel who despised reading?)  Their banter made me laugh a lot.  It was just what I needed in a book.

One part I loved was when Harry talked about romance novels: if they're written by a man, the woman dies; if they're written by a woman, they have a happily ever after (page 185).  I immediately thought of A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and then the complete list of works by Julia Quinn and it seemed rather true!

The biggest problem was an injection of intrigue as Olivia is kidnapped for poorly defined reasons and rescued in somewhat of a ridiculous manner, leading to a loss of trust between the couple and a quick restoration.  I also did not like the big romance scene (because of the setting) nor did I like the marriage proposal (absolutely ludicrous).  There were also some loose threads relating to Harry's career and his relationship with his brother (who may grow up to get his own book?)

Overall: Not as good as the Bridgertons, I would say this was much closer to form for Quinn.

Cover: Kind of boring-the red's pretty and I like the rose but it doesn't stand out.