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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
funny
lighthearted
Läs min recension på bloggen: https://www.fiktiviteter.se/2023/04/06/en-natt-som-denna-av-julia-quinn/
Funny.
I almost had a DNF for this one. The last 25% saved it with action and humor. Quinn should have more interaction with past characters from both series to make it a bit more entertaining. Good read.
I almost had a DNF for this one. The last 25% saved it with action and humor. Quinn should have more interaction with past characters from both series to make it a bit more entertaining. Good read.
I mean, it's a Julia Quinn romance. It was good, in exactly the way I needed as a distraction from the world outside.
I just adore Julia Quinn's romances. I have yet to finish one that didn't leave me with a smile on my face as I closed the last page. A Night Like This is no different. Daniel Smythe-Smith has been on a self-imposed exile to the Continent for three years after accidentally shooting his good friend, crippling him for life, and causing his friend's father to threaten his life. But after his friend, Hugh (who will be the hero in the next book of this series), finds him to let him know that Daniel is no longer in danger, Daniel returns to his home on the night the infamous Smythe-Smith musicale. He sees his cousins' governess, Anne, fumbling away at the piano and is immediately smitten. Anne is a governess with a mysterious past, one that she does not wish to share. She has had her own eight year exile, but this was an exile that was forced on her by her family and the family of her neighbor after a horrible event when she was sixteen. What follows after Daniel and Anne meet that night is a super sweet romance where friendship is formed and the demons of the past are exorcised.
What I loved:
Daniel and Anne. I loved these two characters. Daniel was so amazingly perceptive, understanding when Anne needed to talk and understanding when she needed to keep things inside. He was patient and willing to wait for her to be ready to share her history and her struggles with him. He could sense the moments that unnerved her in some way, and he was always careful to protect her in any way that he could, physically and emotionally. Anne had grown up as a somewhat spoiled and egotistical girl, focused on getting whatever she wanted. She was a beautiful girl used to getting attention, but after the tragedy of her sixteenth year she grew and changed into a caring woman with charm and wit. I loved her interactions with Daniel's cousins. But the best part of these two characters were their interactions with each other. There was an ease to their conversations that made their growing friendship obvious. Even though the two of them were physically beautiful, this relationship did not seem founded on purely physical attraction. It was clear that they were friends first, and I loved that.
What knocked this down a star:
I'm not a huge fan of melodrama in my historical romances. And this story had a huge dose of melodrama at the end. George was just so ridiculous as a villain. Sure, I understand how his scarring would have upset him. I can even see how he might hold an eternal grudge against Anne because of it. Every day that he looked in the mirror he would be reminded of what she had done ... even though it was his own fault that it happened. But (without spoiling anything) his choices at the end of this novel were absolutely over the top. He didn't need to be so melodramatically villainous. He would have been a much more interesting villain if he were not quite so maniacal. If he had been given even an ounce of layer to his personality and not simply portrayed as the 100% bad guy I would have loved to see how Daniel and Anne work to overcome the problems associated with him. As written, he was just just another cardboard cutout of a villain, set in the story simply as a means of showcasing the great love the hero and heroine have for one another.
But, having said that, this is still another great Julia Quinn romance. It is a fast read that left me happy in the end. I can't wait to read Hugh's story. He fascinates me as a character. Four stars for this one!
What I loved:
Daniel and Anne. I loved these two characters. Daniel was so amazingly perceptive, understanding when Anne needed to talk and understanding when she needed to keep things inside. He was patient and willing to wait for her to be ready to share her history and her struggles with him. He could sense the moments that unnerved her in some way, and he was always careful to protect her in any way that he could, physically and emotionally. Anne had grown up as a somewhat spoiled and egotistical girl, focused on getting whatever she wanted. She was a beautiful girl used to getting attention, but after the tragedy of her sixteenth year she grew and changed into a caring woman with charm and wit. I loved her interactions with Daniel's cousins. But the best part of these two characters were their interactions with each other. There was an ease to their conversations that made their growing friendship obvious. Even though the two of them were physically beautiful, this relationship did not seem founded on purely physical attraction. It was clear that they were friends first, and I loved that.
What knocked this down a star:
I'm not a huge fan of melodrama in my historical romances. And this story had a huge dose of melodrama at the end. George was just so ridiculous as a villain. Sure, I understand how his scarring would have upset him. I can even see how he might hold an eternal grudge against Anne because of it. Every day that he looked in the mirror he would be reminded of what she had done ... even though it was his own fault that it happened. But (without spoiling anything) his choices at the end of this novel were absolutely over the top. He didn't need to be so melodramatically villainous. He would have been a much more interesting villain if he were not quite so maniacal. If he had been given even an ounce of layer to his personality and not simply portrayed as the 100% bad guy I would have loved to see how Daniel and Anne work to overcome the problems associated with him. As written, he was just just another cardboard cutout of a villain, set in the story simply as a means of showcasing the great love the hero and heroine have for one another.
But, having said that, this is still another great Julia Quinn romance. It is a fast read that left me happy in the end. I can't wait to read Hugh's story. He fascinates me as a character. Four stars for this one!
I mean, it's a Julia Quinn romance. It was good, in exactly the way I needed as a distraction from the world outside.
I would call this a satisfying romance. The characters are like-able, there are plenty of funny moments, and the hero gets to be be heroic - with a little help from his friends (new ones and old). Some of Quinn's heroes in recent novels have been a little too... mawkish for my personal taste (can't stand a man that cries more than I do and I only cry when there's someone with a bunch of letters after their name coming towards me with something sharp - I will admit to being a complete baby when it comes to needles but please don't ask how I got my piercings or the tattoo). Thankfully, Daniel wasn't so tearful - not that he isn't devoid of emotion.
I have to admit, I think my favorite characters in this were two of the girls in the care of Anne, one an aspiring playwright and one who wants to be a unicorn and wants one in everyone of her sister's plays.
I find that the most intriguing character, the one I want to know the most about is Hugh. Hugh is a side character who doesn't show up often but plays startling and vital roles throughout the story and also manages to be a hero as well, if in a much darker way. I find myself very excited to realize that Quinn's next book will feature Hugh. I love Hugh's practicality and almost frightening lack of emotion and I can only hope that he will get to remain just a little bit dark but also get a happy ending.
I have to admit, I think my favorite characters in this were two of the girls in the care of Anne, one an aspiring playwright and one who wants to be a unicorn and wants one in everyone of her sister's plays.
I find that the most intriguing character, the one I want to know the most about is Hugh. Hugh is a side character who doesn't show up often but plays startling and vital roles throughout the story and also manages to be a hero as well, if in a much darker way. I find myself very excited to realize that Quinn's next book will feature Hugh. I love Hugh's practicality and almost frightening lack of emotion and I can only hope that he will get to remain just a little bit dark but also get a happy ending.
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: 4.5/5
(Daniel, watching Anne play the piano in the musicale:)
She looked up.
Time stopped. It simply stopped. It was the most maudlin and clichéd way of describing it, but those few seconds when her face was lifted toward his…they stretched and pulled, melting into eternity.
She was beautiful. But that didn’t explain it. He’d seen beautiful women before. He’d slept with plenty of them, even. But this…Her…She…
Even his thoughts were tongue-tied.
When a Julia Quinn book opens up during a Smythe-Smith musicale, you know the fun is only just beginning. It’s during this evening that Daniel, back from being on the run for the past three years, spots Anne, and is taken with her from the first second he lays eyes on her. Anne is a governess to Daniel’s three younger cousins and once he finds this out, he decides that calling on his cousins would also include seeing Anne as well, so he makes his presence known in an effort to get to know Anne better.
Both Daniel and Anne are running from pasts that just won’t stay buried. Anne was cast out of her family at 16 when she had her heart broken by a man who said he loved her, only to sleep with her and propose to another girl the following night. When Anne founds out the truth, George tries to force himself on Anne, she grabs the closest thing she can find, a letter opener, and accidentally cuts George’s face with it, that leaves a scar across his cheek. He wants her hanged, but the compromise that both their father’s come to is that she is to have no contact with her family ever again, so scandal isn’t brought down upon her sisters and Anne is sent away to be a companion to an elderly woman. George vows he’ll get his vengeance on her and Anne changes her name and takes a position as a governess. She constantly had to deal with unwanted advances from fathers or older brothers of her charges, but she hangs in there and eventually ends up at the home of Daniel’s cousins, the Pleinsworths, but she has reason to be worried that George has finally found her.
I felt so horrible for Anne. All she was doing was defending herself, but a woman doing that and scarring a man is cause for scandal and her entire life was turned upside down. She literally had no one, no family (although she did secretly correspond with one of her sister’s, her only family connection). She didn’t let herself get close enough to anyone to consider them a friend. She seemed to enjoy her work as a governess, but even then, the constant wonder about whether or not George would ever find her was always in the back of her mind.
Daniel’s nightmare of a past all goes back to one drunken night and being challenged to a duel by his friend, Hugh. Both men are too proud (and dumb) to back out, but both know that the other won’t actually shoot to kill. Daniel is a dreadful shot, but one wrong slip on wet grass and an iffy trigger finger has an accidental shot hitting Hugh in the leg. Hugh survived, but he’ll forever have a limp and pain, but Hugh’s father is the one who has it out for Daniel. He swears that he’ll pay for what he did to his son and his threats carry weight because Daniel leaves for three years, constantly looking over his shoulder. Hugh finally tracks him down, showing him a written agreement that his father will back off, and so Daniel returns home – but he too has reason to believe that maybe he’s not as safe back home as he was led to believe and worries now not only about his life, but more important about his family’s lives and that of Anne.
Both Daniel and Anne’s lives are in danger on more than one occasion, each thinking that they’re the reason for attacks that happen, but Anne has kept her painful secret from everyone and can’t bring herself to tell Daniel the truth about her past. They keep getting closer and Anne has such a hard time actually letting go with Daniel. She was burned so badly in the past, she just can’t give her heart away, and it broke my heart when she wants so much to love and be loved by Daniel, but she just can’t take that risk. Good thing Daniel isn’t easily swayed and he won’t let Anne get away. I thought their love story was so well paced; they spent a lot of time dancing around each other, both just happy being in the other person’s company. Anne takes a little longer to come around than Daniel does, but one afternoon with Anne, Daniel and the young Pleinsworth cousins made me love the whole group completely. The young ladies are hysterical. Truly. They’re quick with banter and comebacks, they argue like only sisters can and they each have their own, wonderfully unique personality. Whether it’s the whole group acting out a (crazy) play that Harriet has written or watching Frances act like a unicorn, these young ladies stole the show when they came on page.
“For tonight,” he said, carrying her to the edge of the bed, “I will have no choice but to make sure that you are a very good girl indeed.”
“A good girl?” she echoed. She was backed up against the edge of a sinfully large bed, wearing a man’s dressing gown that was hanging open to reveal the curve of her breasts, and there was a finger inside of her, making her pant with pleasure.
There was nothing good about her just then.
Nothing good, and everything wonderful.
Even with the fun antics of the Pleinsworth sisters, Harriet, Elizabeth and Frances, the romance between Daniel and Anne was so completely, swoon-worthy. Daniel just gets Anne right from the start. He knows she’s hiding something, but he doesn’t force her to share more than she wants to. Before Anne knows it, she’s telling Daniel things she’s never shared with anyone else. Their positions in London don’t equal a match in the eyes of society, and Daniel could care less. Anne lets herself go with Daniel and they have such a sweet love scene toward the end of the book (the buildup takes awhile, but it’s SO worth it) it’s everything a reader would want for these two. Yes, they have demons from the past, literally, that are trying to hurt them, but their romance, friendship and easy banter was the star of this story.
I was completely charmed by this story and all the characters. Anne’s past and the life she was forced into was heartbreaking, but she’s strong and she did what she needed to do to survive. It was just nice to see her find someone in Daniel to stand by her side for a change. I loved them as a couple, I loved the supporting characters and I wish the book would have been twice as long just to get more of their story. Also, for the record, Daniel’s friend Hugh, whom he shot in the leg…I hope he gets his book next. He plays a very small role in this story, but it leaves a mark and I want to know this man and get his story. This is book two in the Smythe-Smith series, but it reads well as a standalone and I had such fun reading it.
Blog rating: 4.5/5
(Daniel, watching Anne play the piano in the musicale:)
She looked up.
Time stopped. It simply stopped. It was the most maudlin and clichéd way of describing it, but those few seconds when her face was lifted toward his…they stretched and pulled, melting into eternity.
She was beautiful. But that didn’t explain it. He’d seen beautiful women before. He’d slept with plenty of them, even. But this…Her…She…
Even his thoughts were tongue-tied.
When a Julia Quinn book opens up during a Smythe-Smith musicale, you know the fun is only just beginning. It’s during this evening that Daniel, back from being on the run for the past three years, spots Anne, and is taken with her from the first second he lays eyes on her. Anne is a governess to Daniel’s three younger cousins and once he finds this out, he decides that calling on his cousins would also include seeing Anne as well, so he makes his presence known in an effort to get to know Anne better.
Both Daniel and Anne are running from pasts that just won’t stay buried. Anne was cast out of her family at 16 when she had her heart broken by a man who said he loved her, only to sleep with her and propose to another girl the following night. When Anne founds out the truth, George tries to force himself on Anne, she grabs the closest thing she can find, a letter opener, and accidentally cuts George’s face with it, that leaves a scar across his cheek. He wants her hanged, but the compromise that both their father’s come to is that she is to have no contact with her family ever again, so scandal isn’t brought down upon her sisters and Anne is sent away to be a companion to an elderly woman. George vows he’ll get his vengeance on her and Anne changes her name and takes a position as a governess. She constantly had to deal with unwanted advances from fathers or older brothers of her charges, but she hangs in there and eventually ends up at the home of Daniel’s cousins, the Pleinsworths, but she has reason to be worried that George has finally found her.
I felt so horrible for Anne. All she was doing was defending herself, but a woman doing that and scarring a man is cause for scandal and her entire life was turned upside down. She literally had no one, no family (although she did secretly correspond with one of her sister’s, her only family connection). She didn’t let herself get close enough to anyone to consider them a friend. She seemed to enjoy her work as a governess, but even then, the constant wonder about whether or not George would ever find her was always in the back of her mind.
Daniel’s nightmare of a past all goes back to one drunken night and being challenged to a duel by his friend, Hugh. Both men are too proud (and dumb) to back out, but both know that the other won’t actually shoot to kill. Daniel is a dreadful shot, but one wrong slip on wet grass and an iffy trigger finger has an accidental shot hitting Hugh in the leg. Hugh survived, but he’ll forever have a limp and pain, but Hugh’s father is the one who has it out for Daniel. He swears that he’ll pay for what he did to his son and his threats carry weight because Daniel leaves for three years, constantly looking over his shoulder. Hugh finally tracks him down, showing him a written agreement that his father will back off, and so Daniel returns home – but he too has reason to believe that maybe he’s not as safe back home as he was led to believe and worries now not only about his life, but more important about his family’s lives and that of Anne.
Both Daniel and Anne’s lives are in danger on more than one occasion, each thinking that they’re the reason for attacks that happen, but Anne has kept her painful secret from everyone and can’t bring herself to tell Daniel the truth about her past. They keep getting closer and Anne has such a hard time actually letting go with Daniel. She was burned so badly in the past, she just can’t give her heart away, and it broke my heart when she wants so much to love and be loved by Daniel, but she just can’t take that risk. Good thing Daniel isn’t easily swayed and he won’t let Anne get away. I thought their love story was so well paced; they spent a lot of time dancing around each other, both just happy being in the other person’s company. Anne takes a little longer to come around than Daniel does, but one afternoon with Anne, Daniel and the young Pleinsworth cousins made me love the whole group completely. The young ladies are hysterical. Truly. They’re quick with banter and comebacks, they argue like only sisters can and they each have their own, wonderfully unique personality. Whether it’s the whole group acting out a (crazy) play that Harriet has written or watching Frances act like a unicorn, these young ladies stole the show when they came on page.
“For tonight,” he said, carrying her to the edge of the bed, “I will have no choice but to make sure that you are a very good girl indeed.”
“A good girl?” she echoed. She was backed up against the edge of a sinfully large bed, wearing a man’s dressing gown that was hanging open to reveal the curve of her breasts, and there was a finger inside of her, making her pant with pleasure.
There was nothing good about her just then.
Nothing good, and everything wonderful.
Even with the fun antics of the Pleinsworth sisters, Harriet, Elizabeth and Frances, the romance between Daniel and Anne was so completely, swoon-worthy. Daniel just gets Anne right from the start. He knows she’s hiding something, but he doesn’t force her to share more than she wants to. Before Anne knows it, she’s telling Daniel things she’s never shared with anyone else. Their positions in London don’t equal a match in the eyes of society, and Daniel could care less. Anne lets herself go with Daniel and they have such a sweet love scene toward the end of the book (the buildup takes awhile, but it’s SO worth it) it’s everything a reader would want for these two. Yes, they have demons from the past, literally, that are trying to hurt them, but their romance, friendship and easy banter was the star of this story.
I was completely charmed by this story and all the characters. Anne’s past and the life she was forced into was heartbreaking, but she’s strong and she did what she needed to do to survive. It was just nice to see her find someone in Daniel to stand by her side for a change. I loved them as a couple, I loved the supporting characters and I wish the book would have been twice as long just to get more of their story. Also, for the record, Daniel’s friend Hugh, whom he shot in the leg…I hope he gets his book next. He plays a very small role in this story, but it leaves a mark and I want to know this man and get his story. This is book two in the Smythe-Smith series, but it reads well as a standalone and I had such fun reading it.
I kind of loved this! The best part for me was sitting at the breakfast table with the daughters discussing the play. I listened to this on the way to woek and I laughed audibly very hard at the whole scene. I think it was exceptionally written.