Scan barcode
A review by bhnmt61
The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy by Julia Quinn
2.0
I usually really enjoy Julia Quinn. Even when she writes a book that isn't a favorite, at least she is an interesting, intelligent writer. But this book is just a mess. It starts out OK, with a hero who must marry in a hurry because of a big secret. The heroine, Iris, is kind and intelligent, and she knows something is up, but like the reader, she's not sure what it is.
And that is basically the situation for the next hundred and fifty pages. It goes on and on and on, and still you don't know what the big secret is. And then it goes on and on some more. TWO THIRDS of the book goes by without knowing what the secret is.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not guess what the problem was, and when you finally, finally (FINALLY) find out, you can hardly believe how stupid the hero is to think that he is going to pull this off. And then zip zap, OH! turns out it wasn't that big a problem and hello, it's solved! and everybody forgives and forgets in the space of about ten pages. It's insulting.
The most frustrating thing for me is that it wouldn't have been that hard to make this into a much better book. The hero wouldn't be so intensely unlikable if he had actually TOLD the heroine what the big secret was seventy-five pages earlier. Then there would have been enough time for Iris to build relationships with the sisters and to make the solution seem like something real instead of something that just popped into Quinn's head ten pages before the end of the book (that's an exaggeration, but that's how it feels when you're reading). And also there would have been enough time to make the idiotic Richard GROVEL like he should, instead of Iris thinking that it's going to take a long time for her to forgive him, and whaddayaknow, two pages later she forgives him.
I probably wouldn't have thought this book was so bad if it weren't for the comparison with how good Quinn's books usually are. I bought this one when it came out and I'd been saving it up for spring break because I was so sure I was going to love it. VERY disappointed.
And that is basically the situation for the next hundred and fifty pages. It goes on and on and on, and still you don't know what the big secret is. And then it goes on and on some more. TWO THIRDS of the book goes by without knowing what the secret is.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not guess what the problem was, and when you finally, finally (FINALLY) find out, you can hardly believe how stupid the hero is to think that he is going to pull this off. And then zip zap, OH! turns out it wasn't that big a problem and hello, it's solved! and everybody forgives and forgets in the space of about ten pages. It's insulting.
The most frustrating thing for me is that it wouldn't have been that hard to make this into a much better book. The hero wouldn't be so intensely unlikable if he had actually TOLD the heroine what the big secret was seventy-five pages earlier. Then there would have been enough time for Iris to build relationships with the sisters and to make the solution seem like something real instead of something that just popped into Quinn's head ten pages before the end of the book (that's an exaggeration, but that's how it feels when you're reading). And also there would have been enough time to make the idiotic Richard GROVEL like he should, instead of Iris thinking that it's going to take a long time for her to forgive him, and whaddayaknow, two pages later she forgives him.
I probably wouldn't have thought this book was so bad if it weren't for the comparison with how good Quinn's books usually are. I bought this one when it came out and I'd been saving it up for spring break because I was so sure I was going to love it. VERY disappointed.