• The marriage. I was rather apathetic to the whole thing in the first book, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Thomas and Amelia getting married in their own story, but I knew Ms. Quinn would turn me around on that one. I loved watching how they got to know each other while Thomas was still the duke, how their attraction and like for each other grew. It became obvious that they would have a good marriage. I was rooting for them.
• Thomas. Discovering he may not actually be the duke, wow, talk about a life-changing event! Thomas has been groomed for this role since his father died, and he handled the responsibilities admirably. He even put up with his horrid grandmother, the Dowager, as best he could, moreso to maintain his friendship with her companion Grace, but he never took advantage of his power and sent her away (though we know he was beyond tempted). I also liked that Thomas did not question Amelia's interests nor her intelligence. He accepted it at face value not because she was his future bride, but because that's just who she was. I admired how he cared so much for Amelia that he was willing to give her up so she could be a duchess if that was what she had her heart set on. And I was also glad he came to his senses about that as well. Otherwise I wouldn't have liked him quite so much.
• Amelia. Endlessly waiting to marry her duke was not putting her in the best frame of mind, and I was relieved to see she'd finally reached the point where she didn't care anymore what the duke thought of her, at least not as much as she had before. She'd been on his timetable for so long that she figured what difference did it make if she rebelled a little to show him what she was ticked off. I liked her interest in travel and the world, and how she wasn't pleased her mother only considered her to be "adequately" intelligent. And once she got to truly know Thomas, even seeing him at his worst, she still chose him, even when he was no longer the duke, and her life would be impacted by that just as his would be, but she chose to be brave and choose love over duty.
• Jack and Thomas. They hated each other in the beginning, rightfully so. How could they not? The dowager put them each into an unenviable position that would change their lives so drastically that it was only natural they would hate each other. But over time, when they saw the other man's side, and realized how it was difficult all around, they began to respect each other more. I hope that one day the two actually became good friends.
• Thomas and Grace. I'm glad they had each other as friends while living with the dowager. They were both rather lonely, yet gravitated towards each other, and were maybe more themselves because of it. I'm glad neither was attracted to the other, though that wouldn't have been so unusual, but so much more heartbreaking. Instead they were true friends, and I was happy about that.
• The dowager. Was there ever a more unreasonable, spiteful woman? Not one ounce of human kindness in her, but like Grace, I felt a tad bit sorry for someone so bitter and cruel. Still, I would have been more than ready to ship her off to some cold, isolated island without a backward thought.
• The proposal (aka the HEA). Totally, totally the stuff happy endings are made of. I love it when a book gets me all misty eyed, and this one sure did the trick. I thank Julia Quinn for writing a scene that tugged at my heartstrings. She writes the type of romances I love to read, and that's why she will always be on my top 10 list of authors to buy.

So there you have it. Will there be other books in this series? I don't know, it doesn't sound like it, but even if there isn't, I'm so there for the next book.

Rating: ****1/2 out of *****

Labels: Julia Quinn, reviews