The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Source: Mass Market Paperback off my Spring TBR stack
Description: Lady Sarah Pleinsworth only hates one person. He is the person who caused her cousin to have to flee the country and the person who caused her first season to be delayed which she meant the biggest year of eligible gentleman. But is it possible that Hugh Prentice may not be the bad guy that she believes? Is it possible that once she gets past all her anger that he might actually be nice? And could she possibly be falling in love?
Genre: Romance
Why I Picked This Book: Quinn is an auto-buy for me.
My Impression:
Pros: Once again Quinn is an expert at drawing warm, likable and just plain entertaining. I loved Sarah's sisters and cousins - especially Iris and Frances - and am already looking forward to later books. Hugh is just plain dreamy. He is incredibly strong and intelligent and has had to rely so completely on his own that you just want to hug him. That being said he has a sweet side as well as we see when defends unicorns for Frances to the other girls. I really think Sarah and Hugh work well together. You can see the common interests and how they compliment each other. And the ending...the last 20 pages or so were just perfect Quinn. This is a couple you really want a happy ending for.
Cons: It took me awhile to warm up to Sarah but I did get over that pretty quick. My primary issue was something that happened about 2/3 of the way through the book. The reaction to the issue seems way over the top. I can see being upset, I can see trying to find work arounds but Sarah's reaction just seemed ridiculous. I also question how much sense the story of why Hugh is such a villian if you hadn't read the book before this one.
Overall Impression: I really enjoyed this book. All of the negatives were things that could be overlooked and didn't ruin the book for me. The characters are strong enough to overcome the few minor flaws.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Of course!
Would I Recommend this Book?: Yes though I think it might be more enjoyable if you read the book before this one.
Beautiful cover one this one!
ReplyDeleteI am loving the direction a number of romance novels seem to be going with the covers. The earlier covers in the series were really stunning too!
DeleteSounds like a good read and I agree - beautiful cover!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it! Quinn is always a fun read!
DeleteYes that cover is gorgeaus and i know how sometimes you wait forever for a book and finally read it months later...
ReplyDeleteI do this all the time and I have no idea why. Glad to know I'm not the only one!
DeleteI adored this one, but had read the previous book. Glad you enjoyed this one despite some issues.
ReplyDeleteI had read it too but it had been awhile ago. It was a fun read but I expect nothing less from her!
DeleteCan you believe I've never read a Julia Quinn book before? I'm always hearing how fantastic she is but other books have gotten in the way. This one sounds like a great historical romance, I wonder if I can convince the mister to let me get one more book this month. Great review Katherine :D
ReplyDelete-Kimberly @ Turning the Pages
You've never read a Julia Quinn?? I'm shocked! This may not be the one to start with as you really need to read the Bridgerton series to appreciate the humor of the Smith-Smythe musicale. It's only a paperback...surely that doesn't count as another book!
DeleteThe characters sound good for each other even if you had a bit of a slow warm up to them.
ReplyDeleteThey really were which is why I think I ended up enjoying it so much. I loved Hugh from the first though Sarah took awhile. I liked how her character developed though.
DeleteYes, yes, and yes... Yes, you really need to have read the other Smith-Smythe books (or at least the preceding one) for this book to make sense. Yes, Quinn's books have been "merely" good to very good recently, and I think you're partially right as to why (other witty authors out there make her seem a little less amazing because there's less contast.) They're still a lot of fun, though! And yes to pretty much everything else you said. :-) And I can't wait for another book with Frances in it; she's a hoot!
ReplyDeleteIt can be really annoying when a character overreacts to a situation in a book. This sounds good just the same and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThe Bridgertons will always be my favorites but I think this book is the best out of the Smith-Smythe series yet. I love Hugh and Sarah and yes, I also did have a difficult time warming up to Sarah but Julia Quinn weaves her magic and you just can't help but fall in love with these two, especially with Hugh! :) Thanks for the review.
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