Can you guess which one I finished first? If you know me, which I assume most of you do minus the two people who stumbled onto this blog via dentalimplants.com (side note: seriously?), then this is an easy one. I immediately devoured Mr. Cavendish, I presume by Julia Quinn. If you guessed correctly, give yourself a pat on the back.
I love a good trashy romance novel and Julia Quinn has yet to disappoint. That said, Mr. Cavendish was not my favorite of her books (if you're looking for a recommendation I LOVE her Bridgerton family series) and here's why: this book was written concurrently with The Lost Duke of Wyndham* which is the exact same story, told from someone else's perspective. At first I thought I had made a mistake, and that I had already read Mr. Cavendish, but the déjà vu turned out to be temporary and then I was even more confused. I have read this, no I haven't read this, wait, I definitely have...
Plot teaser: Thomas Cavendish is the Duke of Wyndham via a complete fluke. His father was the youngest of 3 sons, but the older two died unexpectedly and thus his father inherited the title which then passed to him, but not before his father signed a marriage contract binding him to Lady Amelia. Unfortunately for her, he has no desire to marry any time soon. In fact, he hasn't even taken the time to get to know her at all, and needless to say, her parents are getting pretty antsy to marry off at least one of their 5 daughters. The pressure is on high and it's just at this time that a highwayman (a term for someone who robs people in coaches as they pass on the road) decides to attack the carriage carrying grandmother Cavendish and her young companion, Grace. Grandma Cavendish isn't having it and in a ridiculous "that would never happen" turn of events, kidnaps the highwayman only to discover he's actually her grandson, the son of her second son, which would make him the duke. If the marriage between his parents was in fact legitimate...
Plot spoiler: In the midst of this, Thomas gets to know his bride-to-be and discovers that she's not so bad after all. But, she's betrothed to The Duke of Wyndham, it doesn't specify who that is and if he turns out not to be the duke, well, she's no longer his. Thus, they all head to Ireland to find the marriage records and determine who is really the duke. Luckily for Thomas, the highwayman/potential new duke falls madly in love with Grace, the companion, on the way. It turns out that the marriage was legitimate and Thomas loses his title, but by that time, he and Lady Amelia are in love and decide to get married anyway. A good move for her since in predictable romance novel fashion, she already gave it up to him and would otherwise be totally ruined.
The book had all the right elements of character chemistry, drama, and a fairytale ending for all, but lacked the warmth found in some of her earlier novels. The Bridgerton books are filled with families who sometimes bicker but really do love each other, characters you aspire to be for their kindness, bravery, or morality, and the kind of passion that Disney movies are made of. Not to mention sex scenes so graphic they'll make you blush! This book seemed to be filled with families who hate each other, characters with (gasp!) flaws, and really nothing about either Mr. Cavendish or Amelia that made them especially...special. As for the sex scene, doing it in the grass with your clothes mostly on doesn't seem like the most romantic way to lose your virginity, but to each her own... And the creepy guy next to me on the Caltrain reading over my shoulder? Well he was definitely blushing. Good to know some things are consistent.
*As I recall, The Lost Duke of Wyndham was actually very good.
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