Title: First Comes Scandal
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: Rokesbys #4
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Historical romance, Regency romance
Dates read: 25th – 26th April 2021
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Avon
Year: 2020
5th sentence, 74th page: “Certainly unethical.”

She was given two choices…
Georgiana Bridgerton isn’t against the idea of marriage. She just thought she’d have some say in the matter. But with her reputation hanging by a thread after she’s abducted for her dowry, Georgie is given two options: live out her days as a spinster or marry the rogue who has ruined her life.

Enter Option #3
As the fourth son of an eral, Nicholas Rokesby is prepared to hart his own course. He has established himself in Edinburgh, where he’s close to completing his medical studies, and he has no time – or interest – to find a wife. But when he discovers that Georgie Bridgerton – his literal girl-next-door – is facing ruin, he knows what he must do.

A Marriage of Convenience
It might not have been the most romantic of proposals, but Nicholas never thought she’d say II no. II Georgie doesn’t want to be anyone’s sacrifice, and besides, they could never think of each other as anything more than childhood friends… or could they?

But as they embark upon their unorthodox courtship, they discover a new twist to the age-old rhyme. First come scandal, then comes marriage. But after that comes love…

As the final story in the Rokesbys series, I was kind of expecting a little more drama in this story… I was completely floored by the fact that there was pretty much no drama whatsoever in this story. As in. None. At all. Actually, it was one of the most pleasant, happy and drama free stories I’ve read in a long time. And even though it wasn’t fast-paced and there wasn’t much drama… I still couldn’t put this down and forget about it. It was just that amazing!

Nicholas and Georgie work so beautifully together. I love that of the four Rokesby stories, three ended up with Bridgertons. This is also the only one that mentions Violet Bridgerton, along with the three eldest boys from the Bridgerton series – Anthony, Benedict and Colin. It finally made this actually feel like the prequel series that it supposedly is and tied everything in perfectly. I love that there is this constant sense of interconnectedness throughout the series that makes you urgently reaching for the next book.

This was a seriously quick friends to lovers moment. I was expecting a little more resistance to the idea, but I kind of like how quickly Nicholas and Georgie fell for one another. It made me smile frequently and happily throughout. Definitely the kind of quick falling in love that I prefer – one that is built on years of friendship and camaraderie. It also meant that those frequent moments in which Georgie is being independent and pig-headed are totally expected by Nicholas, and kind of endearingly loved.

As with many of Quinn’s books, I loved the epilogue at the end. I love how Georgie’s interest was nurtured by Nicholas and helped them grow into the perfect pair. I kind of want to see them in more Quinn books in the future… they’re just so simply glorious together.

Image source: HarperCollins Australia

Title: The Other Miss Bridgerton
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: Rokesbys #3
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Historical romance, Regency romance
Dates read: 27th January – 11th February 2021
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Avon
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: Brown or Green would have been acceptable – Andrew had known both of them long enough to know that they’d not imperil her safety – but he doubted either one of them wanted anything to do with her.

She was in the wrong place…

Fiercely independent and adventurous, Poppy Bridgerton will only wed a suitor whose keen intellect and interests match her own. Sadly, none of the fools from her London season qualify. While visiting a friend on the Dorset coast, Poppy is pleasantly surprised to discover a smugglers’ hideaway tucked inside a cave. But her delight turns to dismay when two pirates kidnap her and take her aboard a ship, leaving her bound and gagged on the captain’s bed…

He found her at the wrong time…

Known to society as a rascal and reckless privateer, Captain Andrew James Rokesby actually transports essential goods and documents for the British government. Setting sail on a time-sensitive voyage to Portugal, he’s stunned to find a woman waiting for him in his cabin. Surely, his imagination is getting the better of him. But no, she is very real—and his duty to the Crown means he’s stuck with her.

Can two wrongs make the most perfect right?

When Andrew learns that she is a Bridgerton, he knows he will likely have to wed her to avert a scandal—though Poppy has no idea that he is the son of an earl and neighbor to her aristocratic cousins in Kent. On the high seas, their war of words soon gives way to an intoxicating passion. But when Andrew’s secret is revealed, will his declaration of love be enough to capture her heart…?

It took me a little bit to get into this story. Not because of anything intense, but Quinn’s stories are that simple and pleasant that they don’t always throw me in the deep end of the story. They’re just so pleasant and fun. Plus, you know that the couple is going to come together in the end. In this case, Poppy is so much like her cousin Billie that you felt like you knew her from the very beginning.

Although this was a fairly consistent and typical Quinn story, it does take a completely different spin – there’s pirates. I mean, they’re kind of sanctified pirates. But they’re still pirates. And the whole story takes place on a ship. With a kidnapping and other sorts of drama. It may have taken me a little to get past that first chapter or so, but once I realised that the pirates were taking front and centre… I was a very, very happy girl.

From the title I knew that there would be another Bridgerton girl making an appearance in this story. The awkwardness of the whole situation just left me smiling and giggling again and again throughout this story. After all, regardless of which series you read… the Bridgertons are a force to be reckoned with. I love that Andrew is almost fearful of the response that the Bridgertons will have when they find out that he kidnapped one of them. After all, if I had a family of that size and loyalty after me… I’d feel pretty damn intimidated and concerned too.

There is no better cure for a bad day than a good Julia Quinn book. I love that even though this story / series isn’t about the Bridgertons (my favourite regency romance family ever), it still features them. You can see where the next generation gets their spunk from. And the Rokesbys? Well, they’re amazing too. I can’t wait to read the last book in this series and fall head over heels for this family yet again.

Image source: HarperCollins Australia

Title: The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: Rokesbys #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Historical romance, Regency romance
Dates read: 1st – 2nd January 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Avon
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: She took his arm, and then slowly, without a word, they made their way out to the street, where a carriage awaited to take them the short distance to the Devil’s Head.

While you were sleeping…

With her brother Thomas injured on the battlefront in the Colonies, orphaned Cecilia Harcourt has two unbearable choices: move in with a maiden aunt or marry a scheming cousin. Instead, she chooses option three and travels across the Atlantic, determined to nurse her brother back to health. But after a week of searching, she finds not her brother but his best friend, the handsome officer Edward Rokesby. He’s unconscious and in desperate need of her care, and Cecilia vows that she will save this soldier’s life, even if staying by his side means telling one little lie…

I told everyone I was your wife

When Edward comes to, he’s more than a little confused. The blow to his head knocked out six months of his memory, but surely he would recall getting married. He knows who Cecilia Harcourt is—even if he does not recall her face—and with everyone calling her his wife, he decides it must be true, even though he’d always assumed he’d marry his neighbor back in England.

If only it were true…

Cecilia risks her entire future by giving herself—completely—to the man she loves. But when the truth comes out, Edward may have a few surprises of his own for the new Mrs. Rokesby.

This is one of those books that I’ve been really dying to get into, but keep getting distracted before I actually start it… I can be a little too easily distracted at times. But, once I finally actually got my butt into gear, I finally managed to completely sink my teeth into this. It was amazing, brilliant and, filled with Quinn’s brilliant wit and humour.

I think that one of the reasons I found it a little hard to pick up this book was because, just from the blurb you could see all of the things that could go terribly wrong. After all, the woman is pretending to be a man’s husband. And even though he wakes up and doesn’t quite remember things, he believes this. It’s not a great recipe for a romance. Or at least, so I thought. Since, once I read this… I realised that it was actually the perfect romantic recipe.

Cecelia might be doing something kind of horrible in this story (pretending to an amnesiac that she’s he’s wife). But all of her motives are honourable. And, ultimately, I love that Quinn created a heroine who is soft, sweet and delicate. She has a backbone of steel and bravery that, even at the end of this story, she isn’t able to own up to. But, ultimately, she is more of a typical heroine for a regency romance story. Yet, one that I didn’t find tedious and irritating.

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband was fun and beautiful. There were so many moments of awkwardness and fun throughout the story that had me smiling and giggling. It was such an easy, fairly light-hearted read. One that included just enough emotional and personal upheaval that you felt seriously personally connected to the characters. And completely unable to let them go. There’s nothing like a few pulled heart strings to make you emotionally invest in such a beautiful romance…

Image source: HarperCollins Australia