Not Julia’s best work, turner was a jerk through and through.

I cried multiple times, as it made you relate to Miranda (well me anyway) and look at us now—a beautiful life, amazing husband, smart and gorgeous children. Sometimes all we need is to grow into ourselves. Can’t wait for the next one.

I’ve read this book for the 8th time today and I still can’t get enough of it. One of JQ’s best novels. I liked the Bridgerton series but this one will be always on my top 1.

I loved it. It started on such a captivating note that continued throughout the book. This is one of my top 2 JQ books for sure

So loved it gimme more

A wonderful read! I wasn’t sure based on the reviews but it was brilliant! Beautifully written and thoroughly entertaining!

I skipped this book because of the reviews but later decided to go back and read it and I’m glad I did

This is the only Julia Quinn book I’m reviewing though I’ve read almost all of them and find them delightful. Skip this one. Unlike the other books, the characters in this one are one-dimensional and insipid. The hero is abusive, manipulative, and condescending throughout. Over and over, until all but the last 3-5 pages. He treats the heroine terribly, condescendingly, and patronizingly. This could be overcome if his prior and internal struggles were elucidated, but they are not in any meaningful way. They exist, and are stated as fact, but nothing further is given to the reader. There is nothing loveable about him. His behavior is uniformly atrocious and his past-trauma falls flat because it is repeated stated as a matter of fact, not described. There’s no depth to his supposed struggles. They exist but are not relayed to the audience in any meaningful way. He’s just terribly unlikeable. Yet the heroine maintains her ridiculous infatuation with him from when she was 10 years old. It’s formulaic, flat, and very disappointing compared to all of Julia Quinn’s other novels, particularly the Smythe-Smith series, which I think is her best work. It’s definitely not this. Which of all that I’ve read, is drivel by comparison. The journal could have been used for something besides conveying childish infatuation. It had so much potential. Instead it repeated the scenes we’d already seen. It did not add insight or eve humor. It just summarized prior scenes. Why? The prior scenes were already from Miranda’s perspective. Why then, would we need to also read her journal. That space would have been better spent making Turner a sympathetic male instead of an abusive manipulator. In the end this book has unrealistic, flat, annoying characters who act childishly throughout. The heroine should have smacked him across his face at every encounter (or used her knee to greater effect) and walked away thanking her lucky stars for her escape. Either that or the author should have presented his past trauma in a way that made his abusive and manipulative behavior something that the audience can excuse as temporary. He just was not made into a sympathetic character and I wanted her to run away from him throughout the ENTIRE book. All. Of. It.

I love Julia Quinn. Her characters are complex and her prose well-written and love stories borne out of respect. In this book, however, there was none of that. It harkened back to an abusive relationship I had. It proved anything but a delightful escape. It features a selfish, narcissistic, and possessive man. Skip this one.

There was nothing wrong with the writing, but I hate books where the men are jerks and the women love them anyway, and put up with atrocious behavior. Also the premise was a bit too cute- falling in love at 10 and later marrying the man and having it be a perfect love match? A bit of a stretch for me.