"Great romantic thriller"
In 1815, his father orders Gareth St. Clair to marry Mary
Winthrop as the family needs the money from her dowry. He
is stunned because Mary may be a year older than him, but
no more than just a child in her mind. He refuses so his
sire tosses him out while explaining he is not his son as
someone else is his biological father. Stunned, Gareth
vows to learn the truth about his roots. Ten years later Gareth finally has a clue, the diary of
his Italian grandmother. He asks intelligent linguist
Hyacinth Bridgerton to translate it into English for him.
As they work together on the translation and
interpretation, they fall in love, but someone willing to
kill wants to stop them before secrets surface. Fans of the wonderful Bridgerton tales have watched
Hyacinth grow up but remain consistent personality wise
from her first appearance as a child through the romantic
capers of her six siblings until finally her story is
told. The seventh and final Regency of this generation
siblings is a terrific entry, one of the best if not the
best in this strong line as the audience has waited to see
who can match up with the brilliant assertive Hyacinth.
Readers will not be disappointed with Gareth as Julia
Quinn delivers under extreme pressure to find the right
hero. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 24, 2005
SummaryMEET OUR HERO...
Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him,
is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his
inheritance. Gareth's sole bequest is an old family diary,
which may or may not contain the secrets of his past... And
the key to his future. The problem is—it's
written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.
MEET OUR HEROINE...
All the Ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth
Bridgerton. She's fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken,
and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But
there's something about her—something charming and
vexing—that grabs him and won't quite let
go...
MEET POOR MR. MOZART...
Or don't. But rest assured, he's spinning in his grave when
Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual—and
annually discordant—Smythe-Smith musicale. To
Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers
to translate his diary, even though her Italian is
slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the
mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek
lie not in the diary, but in each other... And that there is
nothing as simple—or as complicated—as a single,
perfect kiss.
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