My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
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.
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This book surprised me quite a lot how good it was in the beginning. Most romance books I usually read tend to be not to my liking. But I just loved the humor in the beginning of this book. I was really happy to read a book that started off that great. Then something happened, the humor disappeared and instead, the story took a more, “serious” tone, I can’t even say it was especially romantic. Because in my opinion, it’s hard to like a man that tricks you into marriage and then don’t explain the way he did it. That don’t even explain why he can’t consummate the marriage, leaving the bride feeling unwanted and confused because even though they have only known each other for a short time she has feelings for him. He feels guilty about lying, but still, he doesn’t say anything g until the last minute and that makes him a real scoundrel I think.
It wasn’t that hard to figure out why he didn’t want to consummate the marriage, I figured it out quite fast, long before Iris got to know why Richard married her and seriously that was the least thought out plane ever! I don’t know how he was thinking, or rather if he even thought about the consequences of his actions. He thought so much about protecting his family (his two younger sisters) that he included an innocent person in his schemes.
In the end, I just want to say that lying is never good, it was a lie that started this mess and when everyone was honest with each other then they could work out what to do. If Richard and his sister had been honest with each other right from the start, then perhaps they could have worked out something that didn’t involve a rushed marriage. Hell if he had told Iris after the wedding about why he had to get married then they could have had fewer misunderstandings. But then again, then it would have been no drama...
But even though I didn’t like the story were much, in the end, did I like Julia Quinn's writing style, the book was easy to read, the humor great and I would very much read another of her books just to see if the story works better for me.
Thank you Piatkus for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
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