Julia Quinn

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron

By: Julia Quinn

Illustrated By: Violet Charles

Blurb:

A madcap romantic adventure, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron has appeared in several Julia Quinn novels and enthralled some of her most beloved characters. Now, this delicious tale of love and peril is available for everyone to enjoy in this wonderfully unconventional graphic novel.

Born into a happy family that is tragically ravaged by smallpox, Miss Priscilla Butterworth uses her wits to survive a series of outlandish trials. Cruelly separated from her beloved mother and grandmother, the young girl is sent to live with a callous aunt who forces her to work for her keep. Eventually, the clever and tenderhearted Miss Butterworth makes her escape… a daring journey into the unknown that unexpectedly leads her to the “mad” baron and a lifetime of love.

Review:

I kind of wish I hadn’t read the Author’s note at the end of the story. I thought Miss Butterworth was okay, but after reading the note I feel bad for not liking it more. I’ll probably not rate it on Goodreads just because I don’t believe I can give an honest rating without feeling bad.

Miss Butterworth was an interesting idea, but graphic novels are a different beast than regular novels and I wasn’t a fan of how it was written. The artwork was fine, just not my cup of tea. I’m picky on that front, though.

It was cute and if you’re a fan of Julia Quinn and the Bridgerton books go ahead and pick it up, but if not I wouldn’t bother.

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The Other Miss Bridgerton

The Other Miss Bridgerton

The Other Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys #3) By: Julia Quinn

Plot:

She was in the wrong place…

Fiercely independent and adventurous, Poppy Bridgerton will only wed a suitor whose keen intellect and interests match her own. Sadly, none of the fools from her London season qualify. While visiting a friend on the Dorset coast, Poppy is pleasantly surprised to discover a smugglers’ hideaway tucked inside a cave. But her delight turns to dismay when two pirates kidnap her and take her aboard a ship, leaving her bound and gagged on the captain’s bed…

He found her at the wrong time…

Known to society as a rascal and reckless privateer, Captain Andrew James Rokesby actually transports essential goods and documents for the British government. Setting sail on a time-sensitive voyage to Portugal, he’s stunned to find a woman waiting for him in his cabin. Surely, his imagination is getting the better of him. But no, she is very real—and his duty to the Crown means he’s stuck with her.

Can two wrongs make the most perfect right?

When Andrew learns that she is a Bridgerton, he knows he will likely have to wed her to avert a scandal—though Poppy has no idea that he is the son of an earl and neighbor to her aristocratic cousins in Kent. On the high seas, their war of words soon gives way to an intoxicating passion. But when Andrew’s secret is revealed, will his declaration of love be enough to capture her heart…?

Review:

Poppy was very curious and smart, for a woman of her time, but she was definitely a damsel in distress. She had no power, ever. Twice she was abducted and she just waited until men told her what to do. I realize that probably makes the book more realistic, but I don’t read Julia Quinn for realism. At the beginning we were also told frequently that she was smart, but it wasn’t until much later in the book that you really saw her intelligence, and one of my pet peeves is being told a character is smart and never actually seeing it.

Andrew was fine, mostly boring, male lead. He was a capable ship’s captain, but not a swashbuckling hero.

Another pet peeve of mine is when the hero and heroine are captured and have sex while they’re being held. I seriously do not get that trope. While, Poppy and Andrew didn’t have sex they were definitely intimate and it just caused me to roll my eyes.

Honestly, I was not a fan of this book. I love the series and Quinn, but this book did nothing for me.

3/5

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband (Rokesbys #2) By: Julia Quinn

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband (Rokesbys #2) By: Julia Quinn

Plot:

While you were sleeping…

With her brother Thomas injured on the battlefront in the Colonies, orphaned Cecilia Harcourt has two unbearable choices: move in with a maiden aunt or marry a scheming cousin. Instead, she chooses option three and travels across the Atlantic, determined to nurse her brother back to health. But after a week of searching, she finds not her brother but his best friend, the handsome officer Edward Rokesby. He’s unconscious and in desperate need of her care, and Cecilia vows that she will save this soldier’s life, even if staying by his side means telling one little lie…

I told everyone I was your wife

When Edward comes to, he’s more than a little confused. The blow to his head knocked out six months of his memory, but surely he would recall getting married. He knows who Cecilia Harcourt is—even if he does not recall her face—and with everyone calling her his wife, he decides it must be true, even though he’d always assumed he’d marry his neighbor back in England.

If only it were true…

Cecilia risks her entire future by giving herself—completely—to the man she loves. But when the truth comes out, Edward may have a few surprises of his own for the new Mrs. Rokesby.

Review:

Again it’s kind of hard to get used to reading a book set during the revolutionary war from the British perspective. This one was even more difficult because the setting was America and the hero was a British soldier. I think it works for me, though, because it was a romance and Quinn wrote in little bits where she made the main characters sound like they wanted the Americans to win.

Anyway, the story was fun, liked the characters, I thought the whole concept though was dragged on too long. She kept on having opportunities to tell the truth, but didn’t, and yet we were supposed to believe that she was this good, innocent person. Eh. Still enjoyed the book and looking forward to the next.

4/5

Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys #1) By: Julia Quinn

Because of Miss Bridgerton

Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys #1) By: Julia Quinn

Plot:

Sometimes you find love in the most unexpected of places…

This is not one of those times.

Everyone expects Billie Bridgerton to marry one of the Rokesby brothers. The two families have been neighbors for centuries, and as a child the tomboyish Billie ran wild with Edward and Andrew. Either one would make a perfect husband… someday.

Sometimes you fall in love with exactly the person you think you should…

Or not.

There is only one Rokesby Billie absolutely cannot tolerate, and that is George. He may be the eldest and heir to the earldom, but he’s arrogant, annoying, and she’s absolutely certain he detests her. Which is perfectly convenient, as she can’t stand the sight of him, either.

But sometimes fate has a wicked sense of humor…

Because when Billie and George are quite literally thrown together, a whole new sort of sparks begins to fly. And when these lifelong adversaries finally kiss, they just might discover that the one person they can’t abide is the one person they can’t live without…

Review:

Love me some Julia Quinn and when my nana was done reading this she let me borrow it. I have to say at first I thought the book was pretty depressing. This series is going to be set during the American Revolutionary War but it’s still from the side of the British, so I found it a bit hard to root for the people at first. Especially since two of the brothers are fighting in the war. There was also all the emotional stuff the oldest brother was going through.

Eventually, though, things got happier and George was able to accept himself for who he was, Billie helped him but he didn’t require her to be happy. I like that. I don’t want love to be the only reason someone is happy or content with themselves. Putting that much pressure on someone else isn’t good, it’s fine if someone else guides you to your realization but you shouldn’t depend on them for it.

Anyway, love Julia Quinn, excited for more in the series.

5/5

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy (Smythe-Smith Quartet #4) By: Julia Quinn

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy (Smythe-Smith Quartet #4) By: Julia Quinn

Plot:

Sir Richard Kenworthy has less than a month to find a bride. He knows he can’t be too picky, but when he sees Iris Smythe-Smith hiding behind her cello at her family’s infamous musicale, he thinks he might have struck gold. She’s the type of girl you don’t notice until the second—or third—look, but there’s something about her, something simmering under the surface, and he knows she’s the one. Iris Smythe–Smith is used to being underestimated. With her pale hair and quiet, sly wit she tends to blend into the background, and she likes it that way. So when Richard Kenworthy demands an introduction, she is suspicious. He flirts, he charms, he gives every impression of a man falling in love, but she can’t quite believe it’s all true. When his proposal of marriage turns into a compromising position that forces the issue, she can’t help thinking that he’s hiding something . . . even as her heart tells her to say yes.

Review:

Sir Richard and his sisters drove me a little crazy. I loved Iris, for the most part, she should have slapped some bitches, though.

Sir Richard figured out some completely ludircrous plan to save his sisters reputation and poor Iris was pulled in against her will. Thankfully they fell in love with each other and she was able to forgive him for being an idiot.

Seriously between Iris’s sister Daisy, and Sir Richards sisters, hardly a page went by where I didn’t want to beat someone to death. For the most part I liked the story a lot, but I just can’t overlook my desire to murder when I rate this title. Iris was the best part of the book and I feel slightly sad for her being saddled with such infuriating people.

3/5