Minx by Julia Quinn is the third book in the Blydon Series, following Splendid and Dancing at Midnight.

William Dunford inherits a barony out in Cornwall. He also inherits an unexpected ward, not that he knows this when he arrives. Henry, his ward, is a spunky hoydenish tomboy with a plan. She’s going to convince London bred Dunford, the new Lord Stannage, that country living is not for him. While putting into place a series of cockamamie schemes to get rid of Dunford, Henry finds herself falling for his sweetness and kindness. Midway through the first act, they call a truce and form a friendship.

We learn as the novel progresses that Henry is embarrassed by her boyish behavior and dress off the farm. She frequently refers to herself as a freak. This rightly so, displeases Dunford immensely. In fact he’s so enraged by her self-deprecating nonsense that he forbids her to call herself that again. The midpoint of the book is where Dunford finds out that Henry is his ward and that all his lusty thoughts and behavior are completely out of the question.

The story takes a turn for the worst when he brings Henry to London for an Eliza Doolittle makeover. He plans to turn her into a lady, give her a dowry, and help her find a husband. The process makes him cranky, makes her feel even more insecure. Coupled with the unnecessary plot twist at the end with Dunford’s former mistress, the book fairly tanks. It held such promise too. The former mistress twist drags the book out beyond bearing and proves that Henry is the biggest obstacle to her happiness and that of Dunford’s. The poor man has had to put up with a lot.

Best thing about this book hands down is the pet name, Minx, given by the hero to the heroine. Minx is by far one of the most original pet names I’ve seen in literature or heard in real life. Very cute and fits the story perfectly.

The worst thing about the book was this phrase and its variations: “I’m Henrietta Barrett, but call me Henry; everybody else does.” Completely overused. Yuck. On top of that Henry is so boyish it’s hard to get behind. I much preferred Dunford’s further shortening of her name to Hen, sadly he only uses it a few times.

Rating: 4 Stars before the midpoint and 3 Stars by the end.

• Review: To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn was a fairly decent story. There were times in the story when I wondered if the main characters would ever fall in love before the pages ran out. The sex scenes were...

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To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn was a fairly decent story. There were times in the story when I wondered if the main characters would ever fall in love before the pages ran out. The sex scenes were scrumptious and more than counter balanced the long wait to get to them. Also the scenes where Eloise’s brothers participate are quite hilarious from when they darken Phillip’s doorstep to when Eloise joins them in a shooting contest.

Sir Phillip was in desperate need of a wife. Since Marina’s death, Phillip had come to the conclusion that he wanted his wife to be happy, not melancholy like Marina. Plus his two children were out of control and he had no idea how to handle them. So what he really needed was a mother for them and who better than a desperate spinster?

Of course, poor Phillip had no idea that Eloise Bridgerton had turned down half a dozen proposals. By his letters, Sir Phillip seems the perfect man so when his daring invitation to visit him in the country arrived; Eloise made plans to escape her overprotective family.

Upon her arrival to Sir Philip’s home, Eloise is bitterly disappointed. Why Phillip could hardly speak to her! He was a grumpy moody sort, not at all the dashing charmer she’d pictured. He certainly never mentioned his two children in their letters! Reluctant to turn around and go home with her tail between her legs, Eloise decides to stay and stick it out to see if the two of them would suit.

Warning: This book contains mentioning of child abuse. While one can never call child abuse lightweight, it was not graphic. The nanny, Nurse Edwards, was caught beating the children with a book and action was taken.

Rating: 3 Stars

I’ve recently started and stopped a few novels. I just couldn’t get into them past a few chapters and it wasn’t because the story itself wasn’t good it just wasn’t the storyline I was in the mood for at the time. Luckily I came across Julia Quinn’s It’s in His Kiss, a delightful tale that was just what I was in the mood for. It’s in His Kiss is a Bridgerton Family novel. I would assume since all the Bridgerton children were named A-H and that one child is mentioned to still be unmarried, that Hyacinth’s story is number seven in the set. Just don’t quote me on it! Grin.

Hyacinth is delightfully outspoken young miss of age twenty-two. She is good friends with the Countess Danbury, an elderly lady known for her sharp tongue and exuberant use of her walking stick on unsuspecting shins. Hyacinth meets Lady D, as she is known, every Tuesday to read the racy and seriously over the top shenanigans of the Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron and other works by the same author.

Mr. Mozart would die in disgust all over again if he had to hear the latest in the annual Smythe-Smith Musical. Four girls, tone-deaf with sausages for fingers attempt to play classical music. In truth they mutilate it beyond words which provide Hyacinth and Gareth St. Clair much amusement as they discuss their bleeding ears. Gareth is Lady D’s grandson and it is no surprise that he runs into Hyacinth again and again – or is it?

Gareth has been avoiding his grandmother’s home every Tuesday since Hyacinth began making her appearance. He knows his grandmother wants to make Hyacinth her new granddaughter and that’s precisely why he stayed away. He only consorted with women of a certain reputation and not wholesome girls with marriage-minded mamas. And now that he’s conversed with her, Gareth can’t seem to stay away from Hyacinth.

Add in awful poetry meetings, a search for lost diamonds, and Gareth’s secret and it’s a party in the making! Hot, steamy, and full of titillating midnight adventures It’s in His Kiss will entertain you to the very end; a fabulous tale that can’t be missed!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

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