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pn_hinton 's review for:
The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy
by Julia Quinn
Let me say off the bat, just to set the tone which is different from other reviews, I really enjoyed this book. Maybe it was because I figured out the "secret" early on and was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and it to be revealed to Iris. A lot of people were aghast by it but set-ups like that were not uncommon back then (and honestly aren't even that out of place nowadays). Was he kind of a jerk when it was revealed? Well yeah. Not even going to lie there. And the implication that Iris had to deal with it is a lot for modern women to swallow I'm sure but again it was commonplace at the time. Lest we forget another one of Quinn's heroes Simon flat out told his wife Daphne "I *own* you" (The Duke and I) at one point in the novel, and while that ruffled even my feathers it was true. For. The. Time. Nowadays it would be a completely different situation and set up but this is a historical romance so you have to read it with that time period in mind.
There is a theme of forgiveness in this book all around, which is rare in romance novels even nowadays, and I don't want to expand too much on that for those who haven't read it yet because spoilers. And it was something all the main characters had to grapple with and ask hard questions on if they could forgive not only other people, but themselves. My only true complaint (as it were) was the "solution" was easily reached in comparison to the huge build up but again sometimes they are and usually from outside sources or through a venue that wasn't an option before.
Richard isn't like Quinn's other heroes true. He is more conflicted and does something that, even I will admit, is pretty sneaky and a bit dickish. But he did do it with pure intentions and because he thought it was the best solution, and at the end was ultimately willing to give it up, even before he knew about the solution to the problem that would make everyone happy.
It's not for everyone but my advice is to read it with an open mind and with the time frame it was set in. I will admit had it been a modern story I would have not been about the hiding of the secret at all. But I thought this was a good wrap up to the Smythe-Smith quartet overall.
There is a theme of forgiveness in this book all around, which is rare in romance novels even nowadays, and I don't want to expand too much on that for those who haven't read it yet because spoilers. And it was something all the main characters had to grapple with and ask hard questions on if they could forgive not only other people, but themselves. My only true complaint (as it were) was the "solution" was easily reached in comparison to the huge build up but again sometimes they are and usually from outside sources or through a venue that wasn't an option before.
Richard isn't like Quinn's other heroes true. He is more conflicted and does something that, even I will admit, is pretty sneaky and a bit dickish. But he did do it with pure intentions and because he thought it was the best solution, and at the end was ultimately willing to give it up, even before he knew about the solution to the problem that would make everyone happy.
It's not for everyone but my advice is to read it with an open mind and with the time frame it was set in. I will admit had it been a modern story I would have not been about the hiding of the secret at all. But I thought this was a good wrap up to the Smythe-Smith quartet overall.