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"Oh, she knew that heroes were supposed to slay dragons and quote verse and all that, but maybe, just maybe, all it really took to be a hero was getting the world's most difficult five-year-old to behave."

The Earl of Macclesfield, Robert Kemble, knew when he first saw Victoria Lyndon that he wanted to marry her. Vicar's daughter or not. They fell in love and hoped to get married. But their father's had different ideas.

After the botched attempt of getting married, the two find each other seven years later, filled with resent. Both felt they were betrayed by the other. But neither of them can deny their desire and feelings whenever they are near each other.

I went into this book with reservations. The insta-love trope is not for me. I love a good slow-burn. Friends to lovers. Enemies to lovers. I'm all for it. Insta though? Not so much. I want the characters to get to know each other first.

When I saw the miscommunication trope I groaned internally. I lie. I groaned externally. Two of my least favourite tropes thrown together. The thing that kept me going was my faith in the author and overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought.

The miscommunication trope, mercifully, didn't last too long. I had thought it would be the main premise of the novel. The insta-love also leveled out as the characters resented each other after each others betrayal.

But regardless, I didn't fall in love with the book. Robert Kemble didn't quiet sit right with me. He seemed to never listen to Victoria and though he was attentive and sweet in remembering things she liked and disliked, he was also super controlling and never listened to her. Even after she repeatedly told him her desires and that she wanted him to listen to her. She seemed more like a goal rather than a love interest to me.

Although I can see the controlling comes from a good place, it still beside the point. Victoria was also very stubborn and always seemed to throw herself into danger. She was attacked and assalted so many times in the book I've lost count. Although she's a headstrong character, she's also a little annoying.

I'd give this a 3/5 stars. It was a neutral read. I didn't dislike it as much as I thought I would, but I also didn't love it.

Everything and the Moon
3 Stars

As a huge fan of Quinn's Bridgertons series, it always amazes me that the same writer is responsible for her ridiculously plotted early works.

Everything and the Moon has potential as a story of lovers reunited after a huge misunderstanding. Let me preface the rest of this review by saying that this theme is one I detest with a vengeance. That said, it is actually well-written here and the first half of the book is engaging, particularly due to Robert and Victoria's witty sniping and bickering (Quinn is very skilled at this type of dialogue).

Unfortunately, the second half of the book is drawn out and tedious. The huge misunderstanding is quickly resolved and the rest of the story revolves around Robert's obsessive determination to force Victoria into marriage (supposedly for her own good) and her playing hard to get - running hot one minute and cold the next. At this point, I lost interest in the characters and their romance despite their early chemistry.

All in all, the book is well-written (despite the repetitions of some scenes that act more as filler), the dialogue is snappy and there are several endearing moments that make it all worthwhile.
adventurous emotional funny hopeful relaxing 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: Complicated
funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
medium-paced

3.5...
adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Did not enjoy the MMC in this book he comes across as very controlling for most of the book. 
emotional funny lighthearted 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: Yes

The thing with Julian Quinn is that I start off reading a book of hers and LOVE the first 40-ish percent. But then at some point after that either the plot gets nonsensical or the characters become insufferable. This was a case of the latter.

The beginning was PHENOM. From the kidnapping to about 95% was 10/10. Unfortunately there’s some absolutely unhinged rage on Victoria’s end and she just could not move past it. And that’s fine…..if we had gotten scenes of them really bonding and getting to know each other again after 7 years of seperate on. Alas, Victoria spends too much time screaming at Robert, insisting she’s strong and independent (she’s been on her own for three weeks lol), and running into danger like an idiot because he’s having a tantrum.

The three stars is really for the first half and the kidnapping plot, because the rest was a little bit too annoying for me.

Also there’s a villain and two run ins with them that contributed not a thing to the story. I mean…it was fine. But it felt weirdly rushed. And by that point, I lost a lot of interest.


CW: attempted SA if FMC (but not by the MMC )

Julia Quinn is so good at this. I hate books with huge misunderstandings (like, can’t everyone just be an adult and talk to each other?) but I liked this one.