Iris isn’t quite on the shelf, but she’s been out for a few seasons, is easy to overlook (she explicitly says she likes staying on the sidelines and people watching – yay introverts as protagonists!), and hasn’t had many potential suitors. She’s a wonderful, nuanced character and is, without a doubt, my favorite part of the book. Our heroine is cellist Iris Smythe-Smith. It’s hard for me to talk about my issues with the book without spoiling a major plot point, so go ahead and use that back button if you want to read this unspoiled. It’s just not my favorite.Īnd now we’re heading into spoiler territory. The dialogue is quippy, the world building is a treat, and the heroine is a gem. If you like Quinn or are generally a fan of historicals or comedic romances, I still recommend you give it a chance. I want to be clear: saying a book is a mediocre offering from Julia Quinn is still saying it’s quite a good book. Secrets is, unfortunately, the last and weakest of the quartet. Quinn first introduced the musicales in a handful of her earlier novels, including several from my forever favorite Bridgerton series, and the potential comedy gold involved in the ton suffering through annual musical performances is used to great effect in all four novels. The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy is the final book in The Smythe-Smith Quartet, which follow the shenanigans surrounding the yearly (terrible) musicales performed by the eligible ladies of the Smythe-Smith family. I also jumped at the chance to read and review her RITA-nominated novel from 2015. I devoured her entire back catalog over the past year and a half. Julia Quinn was one of the first authors people suggested I’d like and every last one of you wonderful recommenders were right. While I’ve always enjoyed romantic storylines (hey fellow fanfic readers: we read a lot of romance), I rarely read actual romance novels before 2014. When his proposal of marriage turns into a compromising position that forces the issue, she can’t help thinking that he’s hiding something. He flirts, he charms, he gives every impression of a man falling in love, but she can’t quite believe it’s all true. So when Richard Kenworthy demands an introduction, she is suspicious. With her pale hair and quiet, sly wit she tends to blend into the background, and she likes it that way. Iris Smythe–Smith is used to being underestimated. She’s the type of girl you don’t notice until the second-or third-look, but there’s something about her, something simmering under the surface, and he knows she’s the one.

He knows he can’t be too picky, but when he sees Iris Smythe-Smith hiding behind her cello at her family’s infamous musicale, he thinks he might have struck gold. Sir Richard Kenworthy has less than a month to find a bride.

The secrets of sir richard