Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tuesday Review: THE SUM OF ALL KISSES

I love it when I receive a review book that I pre-ordered...it means I get to read it before everyone else. *evil laugh*

Julia Quinn's Bridgertons left its mark on the romance world much like the Brady Bunch left its mark on the TV world--there are things we say because of the Bridgertons. There are games we play (crochet) just for the joy of "pulling a Bridgerton". And one of those marks is the Smythe-Smith Musical, held every year for the torture of everyone who attends, but most especially those who have to play in it. Oh, if there was just a way to get out of it!

There is. You get married.

And Lady Sarah Pleinsworth is determined to get married this year come hell or highwater. Too bad she has to spend the next couple weeks, doing the HUGE favor Honoria Smythe-Smith asked of her, keep Lord Hugh Prentice company. The rat bastard.

If it wasn't for Hugh, she could have gotten married three years ago, when FOURTEEN engagements took place that season. FOURTEEN. It was unprecedented. It's not been repeated. Did she mention this is her third season? And that it's Lord Hugh Prentice's fault she missed out on that particular season? (I'm sure Hugh would have been more understanding of his fault in this if Sarah had explained it in deerhunting terms.)

For the first half of this book--for reasons I can understand as a writer--I did not much care for Sarah OR Hugh. Though perhaps more especially I didn't like Sarah, but really, they were both pretty damned intolerable and for a while I thought Ms. Quinn might have written a bit of stinker, but like the magical writer she is and can be, around page 190, something miraculous happened and I started falling in love with this couple as they began to stop biting each other's head off and started trying to understand each other.

So that's probably my biggest suggestion--stick it out, it gets really emotional and really sigh-worthy. Things start to make sense. And then you get to meet Hugh's dad, who is the real asshat of this book, and you get a black moment that makes you want to reach in the book and choke the man yourself.

Feel assured this is a good pick to treat yourself to. Recommend! 4 out of 5 stars for me. :) I do love these musical books!

What are you reading?

4 comments:

  1. I'm reading MARIANA by Susanna Kearsley. New to me author. I found her at AAR. One of the staff members put this book on her top 10 favorites list. It's a time travel story which I'm not sure how I feel about at this point, but it definitely has me sucked in. Modern day setting is present day England countryside, (Wilshire, I think) and the historical setting is England countryside during the plague 1665-1666? I was one of the few that wasn't a big fan of A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR so we'll see how this one goes.

    I haven't read a JQ in quite a while. I'm not sure I've read any of her Smythe-Smith books yet. I know I have them - I saw them on my shelf a couple of weeks ago. I'm pretty sure my thought process was to wait until they were all out and read them in a row.

    I've received a bunch of e-mails notifying of releases today - A PERFECT MATCH by Kristan Higgans, TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Brenda Novak, CHRISTMAS IN SNOWFLAKE CANYON by RaeAnne Thayne and the library just let me know LOVE OVERDUE by Pamela Morsi is available for pick-up. I had nothing to read last week and this week I'm overloaded! I have to decide which one to save for my trip to Hogwarts!!! Picking a vacation book is always a big deal for me - I'd like a fun one that won't be too angsty. :)

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  2. I haven't read Quinn since finishing the Bridgerton series. Waiting until page 190 to get the buzz may be beyond me so I may give this series a miss!

    Irish, I enjoyed reading Susanna Kearsley's 'The Shadowy Horses' a while back. Interesting historical paranormal with a ghost from the Roman army haunting an archaeological dig, though not really a romance. Hope you find a 'good one' for your vac in Hoggwarts. Don't you have to get the train from platform nine and three quarters on London's Kings Cross station? Don't miss it! LOL

    At the moment I'm reading Jodi Thomas's 'Texas Rain'. I love tales of romance in the wild west and am very impressed with Thomas. Think I will be reading more of her 'Whispering Mountain' series.

    Great review Hellie!

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  3. Irish, I know what you mean about A Knight in Shining Armor...it's hard to do time travel and if they don't end up together like they should it's annoying...I prefer Lynn Kurland's TT, because they usually do end up together.

    I cannot wait for my A PERFECT MATCH to arrive!! Totally teeth gnashing for it, but I do have a pile of review books that I need to read and put up on this site in the coming weeks...

    The best book for a Hogwarts visit is HARRY POTTER. Duh. *LOL*

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  4. Hi Q--I understand. JQ has been somewhat a hit and miss with me since the Bridgerton series, but she does take chances and doesn't rush love scenes where it wouldn't fit for the character/situation, et al--so I do appreciate that about her. But yes, if it had carried on much longer I think I might have given up. *LOL* Still...it was a compelling read, I just prefer to like at least one of the characters from the get-go. *LOL* And they were both irking the crap out of me. *LOL*

    I have a Jodi Thomas book to review soon...I'm looking forward to it! Glad to see you, Q! I'm glad you are well! I was a little worried about the storms battering Britain about now...

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