REVIEW:
I love Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series -- at least the first 5. I have enjoyed some of her other books, as well. This book is definitely not her best work. If you are considering buying your first Julia Quinn, do yourself, and Ms. Quinn, a favor. Purchase The Duke and I instead, and read the Bridgerton series from there. You will find much more to enjoy.
Ms. Quinn's strength, in my opinion, is in her dialogue. She has an unerring ear for convincing, fluid and witty conversation between her characters. I also always enjoy her characterizations. In this book, as in her others, her Hero and heroine are interesting, flawed, well-drawn individuals.
It is true, as well, that Julia Quinn's mediocre effort is better than the best work of many romance writers. The Two Dukes of Wyndham was perfectly acceptable. The Hero is charming, rakish and handsome. The heroine is beautiful, genuine and likeable. Nonetheless, this book simply falls short given the author's capabilities. I found myself more interested in the anti-hero, Thomas who is apparently the hero of the second book of the duology, Mr. Cavendish, I Presume. I also found the villain, the Duchess, simply too unlikeable, too over-the-top unpleasant, and too unredeemably mean-spirited. No one is that terrible to everyone all of the time.
I would give this one a pass. If I had spent more than the $1.99 on it than I did, I would have been annoyed.
Edited: upon further reflection, I feel that two stars is too harsh for this book. I am changing it to three-stars. While Ms. Quinn is capable of better, as an objective measure, this book equals 3-stars in comparison to the efforts of other authors.
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