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 secondβor thirdβlook, but there’s something about her, something simmering under the surface, and he knows she’s the one.
Iris SmytheβSmith 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.
Series: Smythe-Smith Quartet #4
Release Date: January 27th 2015
Publisher: Avon
Source: Edelweiss
Reviewer: Shannon
Rating:
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Reviewer’s Thoughts
3.5 Cocktails
I have hat a long standing love affair with Julia Quinn books. Β Turner, fromΒ The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda CheeversΒ can still get me teary-eyed during his conversation with her newborn daughter and Colin Bridgerton, in any JQ book is my favorite hero. Β When I know a new JQ book is coming out, I become giddy with anticipation on what lies in the pages. Β So it saddens me to have not loved THE SECRETS OF SIR RICHARD KENWORTHY, the final book in the Smythe-Smith Quartet.
I liked Richard and Iris together. Β He may have had his plan in mind when he picked Iris, but I’d also like to think subconsciously he knew she was the woman for him. Β But their relationship lacked something. Β I know the weight of the secret Richard was carrying around was partly why he held part of himself back from Iris. Β But it felt like such a huge disservice to this couple.Β At times it seemed like Iris was nothing more than a lap dog to the Kenworthy family, since she was forced into Richard’s little plan. Β I wanted her to stand up for herself. Β Not cave into Richard. Β To me, it shouldn’t have taken a conversation with her youngest sister-in-law to finally snap out of it and gain some ground in her marriage.
The highlight of the book were the Pleinsworth cousins and their lovely showcase. Β While not quite as funny as other iterations of the cousins working on their play, it did have me laughing out loud…especially the unicorn with Henry VIII.
For any Julia Quinn fan, this is still a must read.
βBesides, you need someone with a dowry, do you not?β
βWe all need someone with a dowry,β Richard said darkly.
βTrue, true.β Winston might be the son of the Earl of Rudland, but he was theΒ secondΒ son. He wasnβt going to inherit any spectacular fortunes. Not with a healthy older brother who had two sons of his own. βThe Pleinsworth chit likely has ten thousand,β he said, looking back down at the program with an assessing glance. βBut as I said, sheβs quite young.β
Richard grimaced. Even he had limits.
βThe floralsββ
βThe florals?β Richard interrupted.
βIris and Daisy,β Winston explained. βTheir sisters are Rose and Marigold and I canβt remember what else. Tulip? Bluebell? Hopefully not Chrysanthemum, poor thing.β
βMy sisterβs name is Fleur,β Richard felt compelled to mention.
βAnd a lovely girl she is,β Winston said, even though he had never met her.
βYou were saying β¦β Richard prompted.
βI was? Oh, yes, I was. The florals. Iβm not sure of their portions, but it canβt be much. I think there are five daughters in the family.β Winstonβs lips twisted to one side as he considered this. βMaybe more.β
This didnβt necessarily mean that the dowries were small, Richard thought with more hope than anything else. He knew little of that branch of the Smythe-Smith familyβhe knew little of any branch, truth be told, except that once a year they all banded together, plucked four musicians from their midst, and hosted a concert that most of his friends were reluctant to attend.
βTake these,β Winston suddenly said, holding out two wads of cotton. βYouβll thank me later.β
Richard stared at him as if heβd gone mad.
βFor your ears,β Winston clarified. βTrust me.β
βTrust me,β Richard echoed. βComing from your lips, words to send a chill down my spine.β
βIn this,β Winston said, stuffing his own ears with cotton, βI do not exaggerate.β
Richard glanced discreetly about the room. Winston was making no effort to hide his actions; surely it was considered rude to block oneβs ears at a concert. But very few people seemed to notice him, and those who did wore expressions of envy, not censure.
Richard shrugged and followed suit.
βItβs a good thing youβre here,β Winston said, leaning in so that Richard could hear him through the cotton. βIβm not sure I could have borne it without fortification.β
βFortification?β
βThe pained company of beleaguered bachelors,β Winston quipped.
The pained company of beleaguered bachelors?Β Richard rolled his eyes. βGod help you if you attempt to form sentences while intoxicated.β
βOh, youβll have that pleasure soon enough,β Winston returned, using his index finger to hold his coat pocket open just far enough to reveal a small metal flask.
Richardβs eyes widened. He was no prig, but even he knew better than to drink openly at a musical performance given by teenaged girls.
And then it began.
JULIA QUINN started writing her first book one month after finishing college and has been tapping away at her keyboard ever since. The New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four novels for Avon Books, she is a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and is one of only fifteen authors ever to be inducted in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.
Author Links:Β WebsiteΒ |Β FacebookΒ |Β Goodreads
Website:Β http://juliaquinn.com/
Facebook:Β https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJuliaQuinn
Goodreads:Β https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/63898.Julia_Quinn
Shannon
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Thank you for hosting today!
I appreciate this review. I will have to read this book myself to form my own opinion. I have liked all of Julia’s books and her writing style really makes the stories come alive to this reader, almost as if I were living in that time period and place. Perhaps there are disappointments in characters just like we have disappointments in real people that we know in our lives. Thanks for the post. jdh2690@gmail.com