HONORIA SMYTHE-SMITH IS:
A) a really bad violinist
B) still miffed at being nicknamed “Bug” as a child
C) NOT in love with her older brother’s best friend
D) all of the above
MARCUS HOLROYD IS:
A) the Earl of Chatteris
B) regrettably prone to sprained ankles
C) NOT in love with his best friend’s younger sister
D) all of the above
TOGETHER THEY:
A) eat quite a bit of chocolate cake
B) survive a deadly fever AND world’s worst musical performance
C) fall quite desperately in love
It’s Julia Quinn at her best, so you KNOW the answer is…
D) all of the above
Sparrowgal's rating - 9.5/10
Sparrowgal's thoughts - Spoiler Alert!
I absolutely ADORE stories where the hero of the story is not an overconfident rake who is wooed into love by an inexperienced debutante whose innocence beguiles him to be a better man....
Marcus Holroyd is a quiet boy who eventually inherits the title of Earl of Chatteris. As an only child he befriends the more outspoken and popular Daniel Smythe-Smith, who would grow to inherit the title of Earl of Winstead. I remember the Smythe-Smiths from some of the Bridgerton stories, holding their dreadful musicales yet people would continue to attend.
Honoria is Daniel's younger sister, and is yet unwed after multiple seasons. Daniel had run to Italy in disgrace after a botched duel where his opponent was left severely injured and lame. Daniel had asked Marcus to look out for his sister, and Marcus may have scared off a couple of unsuitable suitors.
The two had known each other since childhood and had a sibling type relationship, which blossomed into something more as Marcus became ill after an accident that was Honoria's fault. This aspect of the story reminded me of Romancing Mr Bridgerton, which was my favourite book in the Bridgerton series.
Both characters were endearing - Honoria describing Marcus as "shy" when he was ill as she chatted to him fitted him perfectly. I think I just love scenes where someone is ill and has to be cared for - a lot of my favourite stories seem to have this theme.
Honoria as a heroine was such a sweet, caring and generous person, dedicated to her family. I think some might have found her bland, but I really liked her. The musicale was a big feature of the story, as I expected it would and Colin Bridgerton and even Gregory Bridgerton were mentioned, much to my delight.
Steamy sex scenes are not something to be found in this book - there is only one scene, but the rest of the book was such a great read for me I may have read this book... 4 or 5 times already. And I really love how they both love their sweets and cakes!
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