Let me establish this from the outset: I have somewhat odd taste :) I tend to fall in love with the less popular works of popular authors. My very favorite Loretta Chase, for example, is one that most LC fans I know have never heard of or were resoundingly indifferent to: The Devil's Delilah. And...*deep breath*...I never fell quite as in love with Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series as I wanted or expected to. Most of the entries were enjoyable---some more so than others---but I just wasn't as head over heels, 'these are coming with me to my proverbial desert island' enamored with the Bridgertons as most of my fellow HR addicts. In fact, I've found myself developing a shameful preference for a few of JQ's non-Bridgerton novels, like Just Like Heaven, What Happens in London, and now, most notably, Ten Things I Love About You.
This was not just my favorite JQ book; this was easily among my favorite of the many, many, MANY (no, I don't have a life!) HRs I've read over the past few years. You know how occasionally you come across a book that seems almost custom written for your particular quirks and preferences? This was it. As someone who's semi-insomniac and who's forever compelled to list and rank pretty much everything I come across, I related to these characters scarily well...these were my kind of people ;) It's funny, because while I almost never *dislike* Quinn's heroes or heroines---something of a feat for me---I don't often connect quite as strongly to them as I do with some other authors' H and hs. They're often blandly likable but easily forgettable for me. In this book, though, I found myself absolutely adoring Annabel, our relatably flawed but very endearing heroine. Sebastian, while my clumsy attempts to describe him will make him sound like 'just another charming, amusing and underlyingly kind recently reformed "rogue"' catapulted towards the very top of my surprisingly selective Favorite Heroes Ever list. Seriously, he is THAT awesome. And it's not just that I happened to love them---it's that I totally bought THEIR compatibility, chemistry and soulmate-y connection to each other. That's more of a rarity for me than you might expect: many HR couples strike me as far more in lust than in love, or as having a sort of fiery but superficial passion and chemistry that's likely to fizzle out all too quickly, leaving them as one of those perpetually bickering, sniping, woefully ill-suited couples you dread having to go out to dinner with ;) But I truly, deeply loved Sebastian and Annabel and bought their love for each other.
Despite my fangirly adoration for this book, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for those craving a lot of angst, a lot of sex scenes (there's only one main sex scene, which for me was a plus but for others will probably be a drawback!), a very brooding, dark and tortured hero and a lot of dark intensity in plot and tone.
If, however, you want humor, charm, razor sharp dialogue, mood-lifting joy that doesn't descend into eye-rolling sappiness and one of the most awesomely lovable (though endearingly imperfect!) heroes ever, I truly cannot recommend this one highly enough!
A/A- for objective quality; A+++++ for my subjective, off-the-charts enjoyment :)
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Top reviews from other countries
Emilia
The perfect book to end with the Bevelstokes
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