A Night Like This

by Julia Quinn, 373 pages

Anne Wynter is employed as governess to the rambunctious, independently-minded daughters of a well-to-do family, but the situation is exponentially better than the awkward, dangerous, and demoralizing past she's left behind.  She wants nothing but to maintain the status quo and not attract any undue attention, but when she catches the eye of a titled prodigal recently returned from exile, her plan to remain happily anonymous falls apart.  For his part, Daniel Smythe-Smith is tired of running away from his past and is content to follow his newly engaged heart, relieved at last to be home with a price no longer on his head...or so he thinks.  When danger once again seems to stalk him, and doesn't hesitate to drag those he loves into its nets, he believes he knows the culprit.  But whose past is catching up with whom?

This is another historical romance set in the same circles as Quinn's What Happens in London, with Daniel's family being responsible for the traditional talentless musical performances through which the ton suffers every year.  I liked Daniel's and Anne's backstories and found them a little more interesting and involving than the present goings-on (though Anne's is a little more cheezily melodramatic).  But the fact that Quinn actually bothers to give her characters some history and "character" that are more than just thin window dressing makes it easier to forgive the typical yet fun fluff of the main story.  If she'd only carry more of that depth into the central plot, instead of just using it as set-up, I'd like her even more.  Her interconnected tales and characters give a sense of substance to her fictional version of romance-minded English society and she does a nice job of balancing the needs of first-time readers with the rewards for repeat visitors.  Snappy dialogue, a pleasant cast of side characters, and a happy ending, of course.

Ten Things I Love About You

by Julia Quinn, 377 pages

Gentleman rogue Sebastian Grey's uncle, Lord Newberry, hates him so much that he is on the lookout for a young wife solely for the purpose of siring an heir and thereby cutting Sebastian out of his inheritance. For his part, Sebastian couldn't care less, as being up or down an earldom won't make much difference in his circumstances: he'll still be handsome, popular with the widows and bored married ladies of the ton, and happily supporting himself writing pseudonymous gothic novels. But when his smarmy uncle sets his sights on Annabel Winslow--a smart, vibrant, forthright innocent whose large family has fallen on hard times and could use the financial stability such a match would bring--Sebastian finds himself rather more irritated than he expected. Perhaps thwarting his uncle in just this one instance would be worth all the trouble it's bound to stir up.

This is the latest in a series of novels centering on a handful of loosely connected characters wandering in and out of the London social circles (the others being The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever and What Happens in London). Quinn does a good job of fleshing Sebastian out and making him as contrary and quirky as suggested by his peripheral appearances elsewhere in the series, although his clownishness has been toned down a bit for his role as a principal, which I find a little disappointing. Annabel has some clearly defined personality traits, as well, what with her filter-less way of speaking and her family's penchant for voting its members "Most Likely" to accomplish various tasks, such as "The Winslow Most Likely to Fall Asleep in Church" (Annabel) and "The Winslow Third Most Likely to Outrun a Turkey" (also Annabel). The couple's dynamic is fun, though it's harder to maintain when things get more serious and confrontations arise, as sometimes the drama feels contrived and the reader's not even sure why the two are fighting. I also found the pair's shared habit of listing things in tens (or elevens or twelves, they seem to have difficulty counting) to be inconsistent and artificial, as though a mere characterization gimmick hastily added in later simply for the sake of having a gimmick. But overall the story works well enough for what it is, a light historical romance with a pair of smart-alecks at its heart.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever

by Julia Quinn, 373 pages

Miranda has known she's been in love with Turner (he hates his given name, Nigel) since the day she met him, back when she was nine and he nineteen. Years have passed, as has his disastrous marriage to a heartless cheat, but Miranda can't seem to get him out of her heart, despite the sad change a hard life has wrought in him. Can she bring back the Turner she first knew and, this time, keep him for her own?

This is an earlier companion title to Quinn's What Happens in London, but I don't think it holds together quite as well. The main characters read somewhat inconsistently and not as clearly defined individual personalities. And while there is a lot of snappy dialogue, it doesn't necessarily feel like it belongs to the individual speakers nor does it always come off as appropriate to the situation. This one perhaps tries a little too hard to be melodramatic and witty at the same time, making it a little manic instead of pleasantly complex (What Happens in London just lumps all the melodrama at the beginning and end, so the middle holds together better and makes up for it--not a perfect solution, but an improvement, nonetheless). I think the story outline itself is fine, but for whatever reason its execution just doesn't work for me.

Maybe Quinn is working the bugs out and honing her characters and style as she goes along? If so, I'm looking forward to reading the latest in the series just to see if its main character, Sebastian, is as complex and colorful as he promises to be from the glimpses we get in WHiL.

What Happens in London

by Julia Quinn, 372 pages

When she hears some juicy rumors about her new neighbor, curious London socialite Olivia takes to rather clumsily spying on him from her bedroom window. When Sir Harry notices his long hours at his desk (translating often less-than-exciting Russian documents for the War Office) are being observed, he can't help but play along and teach his nosy neighbor a lesson. But when a snooty Russian prince and the possibility of real spies in the service of that pesky exiled Corsican enter the mix, the pair's flirtatious game of faux intrigue takes on a new twist.

The plot's climax is a little out of left field and it's hard to take it as seriously as do the characters, but the dialogue is quite smart and fun and the characters are engaging, with Sir Harry, in particular, having a surprising amount of depth, provided in part by his unusually touching backstory.

I don't generally read romance romance, but give me some nice historical detail, a little substance, and pages and pages of believable snappy comebacks and I'll happily give it a shot.