It's In His Kiss by Julia Quinn

MEET OUT HERO...
Gareth St Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth's sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past...and the key to his feature. The problem is--it's written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.

MEET OUR HEROINE...
All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She's fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken, and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there's something about her--something charming and vexing--that grabs him and won't quite let go...

MEET POOR MOZART...
Or don't. But rest assured, he's spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual--and annually discordant--Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other... and that there is nothing as simple--or as complicated--as a single, perfect kiss.


If the past two months had been abysmal when it comes to my historical finds, September is already heaven even with still close to two weeks left to it. I've been lucky enough to find books that are part of a series that I'm already in to. And after reading this JQ, I'm only three books short of finishing her Bridgerton series. Shame, but what can I do? The day I find Benedict, Colin and Gregory's stories (at a discounted price, to boot) will be the luckiest day, indeed.

Although I say right now that it just felt queer to read about a character (Hyacinth) who had just been a mere child in the previous books. (Wasn't she launching green pea missiles to her younger brother Gregory in The Duke and I?) And Anthony Bridgerton had gray hair. Two words: Clooney and hot!

This book was one of the simplest JQ books I've read. It was because of the lesser complex plot that made this a great afternoon read. Of course, we had another tormented hero as per the usual JQ serving plus a heroine who helped the hero face and vanquish the ghosts of his past. Gareth St Clair's strength in living with his father's hatred and his overall "quiet" character actually balanced out the exuberant nature of Hyacinth Bridgerton. And by that I don't mean that he was quiet quiet to her noise. But you get the picture, right? Gareth seemed to always hold back something when out in company. All the while, Hyacinth was always too comfy with herself in public to hold back anything about her nature. But when this two were together, everything balanced out and sometimes even put the other in a novel position--Gareth could actually stymie Hyacinth's words.

And I love treasure hunts. That and the fact that the heroine was a reader were two of the major factors why I liked this book. Or maybe I have just become too comfortable with JQ's writing style to not like it. And I loved the fact that as the love affair between hero and heroine deepens, Hyacinth got closer and closer to finding Gareth's grandmother Isabella's hidden treasure while Gareth got closer to discovering who he really was. It just disappointed me that Hyacinth wasn't able to find her treasure herself in this book. Oh, I know JQ wrote what really happened to it afterwards. Whether it was in one of her e-book second epilogues or in an anthology, I can't remember exactly where. One thing's for sure, I haven't read nor do I know what happened to the jewels and for once I'd be glad for some spoilers.

To be honest, I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I did the others in the series. But being the JQ that it was, it was a lot better than most out there. (I'm really waiting to stumble on Colin's book since I heard that it's the best in the series. Hmm, let's see how it'll fair with WHWW.)

Final verdict: 7.5/10. Good read.


The Bridgerton Series
The Duke and I
The Viscount Who Loved Me
An Offer From a Gentleman
Romancing Mister Bridgerton
To Sir Phillip, With Love
When He Was Wicked
It's In His Kiss
On the Way to the Wedding