Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - It's in His Kiss

Not my favorite. There were some aspects that I enjoyed- the jewel hunt and translating the diary- but the romance aspects felt like recycling previous books and Frankensteining them together. Most of the MMCs are reformed rakes and Gareth is no exception, his father isn’t really his father, he feels the need to trap Hyacinth into a marriage so his cruel father will be proven wrong, etc. I did like Hyacinth though. She has admirable tenacity and doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind. And getting more of Lady Danbury is fantastic. I genuinely think she’s my favorite character from the whole series.

On the other hand, I could have done without the other “engagement”. It’s heavily implied that Mary has some kind of mental disability so Gareth’s evil father trying to trap him into marriage with her to get his hands on her dowry is downright despicable. And just plain stupid. Even if he’s your second son, even if he’s technically an illegitimate child you’ve legitimized, something can always happen to your heir. For someone so obsessed with appearances, it would never make sense to put your family lineage in jeopardy. It feels like a cheap plot point made to show that underneath his exterior, Gareth has a kind heart. There were other ways that could’ve been done.

Unfortunately, the book’s biggest sin is that it feels incomplete without the second epilogue.

The jewel search/heist was the most interesting part of the book so to leave it fruitless was deeply unsatisfying. It feels even weirder that in the original epilogue, their daughter finds the jewels almost by accident and doesn’t tell anyone.

All I can say to sum it up is that it’s probably good that this is the second to last book in the series.

Content Warnings

abby_can_read's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

October 2023-⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧
This was a light and cute book. It was an enjoyable read, like most of the series. My favorite character was probably Lady Danbury. To be honestly, she's my favorite from the entire series.

March 2022-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱
This was an adorable book. I enjoyed it. Hyacinth and Gareth were a cute match, though it didn't seem like love love to me. I like the subplot with Garett's father.

Content Warnings

siankrb's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This wasn’t my favourite in the Bridgerton series but it was a nice book to chill out to. I found Hyacinths character fun and likeable and the side plot about the diamonds was different to the other books in the series. I think my main issue was that I was less interested in Hyacinth and Gareth as a couple than others in the series, although Lady Danbury being a large character in this book was fun.

Content Warnings

rachaelbunny's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

kasialipa's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wanted to read this book because of the Netflix show that hit on Christmas a few years ago and now Netflix has announced we are getting Polin’s story and I'm hoping we get the full eight seasons for each sibling. I wanted to get ahead and know what is going to happen, so of course I bought all nine books. I enjoyed the first two books in this series, I struggled with Benedict’s and Eloise’s story and didn’t mind Colin’s story and Francesca’s and Hyacinth's story have been adorable.

This novel follows two main characters. The first character is Hyacinth Bridgerton. She is the baby of the family and the eighth child in the Bridgerton household. All of the ton agree, there is no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgeton. She is fiendishly smart, outspoken to some and best in small doses. Her mother and oldest brother are desperate to marry her off, but after four marriage proposal that she has rejected, everyone is slowing giving up. Hyacinth just wants to find a man who doesn’t want to change her and can keep up her outspokenness and her attitude. The second character is Gareth St Clair, he is in London for his grandmother and the one family member that likes him – Lady Danbury, he has no intention getting married as his father is running up debt so that when he dies, the debt goes to his son (who isn’t actually his biological son). Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth’s every word seems a dare, and she offers to help him out with a knotty inheritance problem he’s facing. As they delve into the mysterious St Clair history, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the past but in each other, and that there is nothing as simple or as complicated as a single, perfect kiss.

My favourite things about this book were Julia Quinn’s writing style. It didn’t feel like I was back in time. I mean, obviously they weren’t going on about Snapchat, but it just felt like a modern-day story with a bit of mystery. The only thing that kept me from remembering that it was set in the 1800s was the references of letters and carriages and that they couldn’t Google Translate the diary. The storyline was adorable and funny and heartbreaking, all at the same time. Gareth was a sweetheart and I felt for him for his daddy issues, but also a bit of a dick at the same time. I wanted to smack him for how he was thinking about Hyacinth and the original reason why he wanted to marry her. Hyacinth finally found someone who could deal with her dry humour and then she gets screwed over.

However, that’s not the reason I didn’t rate it five stars. The reason I didn’t rate it five stars was because I miss the Bridgerton gang – in the first four book, they were all together and causing mischief together. Besides Gregory and Anthony playing a small part in this book, they weren’t there. I wanted girl talk and all the sister to spill secrets, I wanted the overprotective brothers who wanted to hunt down Gareth. I just miss the sibling banter and I get that in those days when they got married, they had their own household and children to deal with it, but I just missed them. Also, I think because I've read these books in such a short span of time rather than when they were debut over the years, it was weird to picture little Hyacinth like in the TV show being this elegant and sexy woman and getting laid, it was like reading a young siblings diary.

I cannot wait for Gregory’s story and hopefully it will be all tied together nicely and we see more of the brothers.

Content Warnings

insanebookperson's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

haleysversion's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

More...