Julie Anne Long

Quite simply, a delight. JAL is a little bit of a witch in these scenes you can feel, at least they work deliciously well for me.

I was immediately impressed with the heroine, and then that Long didn't fall into her regular trap with other women, and instead made a bond between them. And that is what carried the first 40%. Delilah's development, fortitude, and the friendship/her treatment of people were truly lovely.

The mystery was fine, sure. But the standout, for me, was what I think show more separates Long's books from so many others. That moment that you can feel the heartbeat of the characters. In this, you can practically feel Tristan opening like a flower in the sun-and his purpose-and his vulnerability all tying so beautifully together with Delilah's journey.

Even around 80% I was thinking, nice, solid 3.5. But it's not. Because in the end, looking back, it has that little something that tips the scales for me emotionally, and this time she did it with the thing I complain about. It could've been even better, I just wanted a bit more of them. 4.5 rounded up b/c why not (less) show less

Holy guacamole, straight up awesome beginning. The prologue has the Holt sister's dad being murdered, their mom going on the run, and them being given over to their parents friend James Makepeace. I hope Long can keep this pace and amount of intrigue throughout the book!
Wonderfully written characters, can not wait for Kit and Susannah to meet. They both seem very immature and I am interested in how Long will get them to grow up.
Great. First. Meeting. Between Kit and Susannah ;)
Ooh the show more character Caroline is really intriguing to me. I was completely prepared to loathe her and then when she finally appears I find myself fascinated by her instead.
I enjoyed how Long wrote these two characters falling love. Strangely I felt like it was a slow gradual process and at others I felt like they fell in love instantly.
All the characters are extremely multifaceted, even the villain Thaddeus Morley. As with the other villain Caroline you may not agree with what they are doing but it's hard not to understand the choices they made.
I liked how Long wrote the clues to the mystery in the story so that the reader figured it out before the characters. It was fun seeing Kit connect the dots and cheering him on.
Long definitely kept up the pace in the story and I never wanted to put the book down. The ending has a little shocker, hopefully in the next book Long updates the reader on John Carr and Caroline! Beauty and the Spy was a great book; intriguing characters and an actually storyline which was enthralling.
Usually in order for books to receive As from me they have to be "keepers". However, in order to be deemed a "keeper" by me they have to be books I know I will want to read again. This was a great book but for some reason I don't think I would read it again and I'm not sure why I feel that way. So anyway this book is definitely worth your time reading but I don't consider it a keeper for me.

P.S. I chose this book because of the cover, yes I am that shallow but it turned out to be an excellent choice. So my advice for the day: Is be shallow! You never know where it could take you ;)

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Another lovely visit to our friends in Pennyroyal Green was had (though most of this happens in London). At the center of this story is Jonathan Redmond, son of Isaiah. I loved this anyway, but it was made even better by just having read the novella Isaiah and Isolde. It puts a whole new spin on Isaiah's behavior toward Jonathan.

I loved both leads. Tommy's story was really moving, and I loved that it was the thing that finally gave Jonathan a reason to grow up and become a good man who uses show more his power for good. The romance is a slow burn, but the tension is always there and fun to be a part of.

Julie Ann Long and our narrator with the mostest, Justine Eyre, once again make my life a happier one. show less

Julie Anne Long is at her best, in my opinion, when she is writing the book equivalent of a bottle episode. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors, but I do have my minor (and occasionally not minor) quibbles with her Pennyroyal Green series. I didn’t care for the first book (I feel like there might be a review floating somewhere in the ephemera detailing my issues), I was destroyed by the second book, the third and fourth books suffered from my same issues as the first (I’ll show more touch on that slightly when I get into the review), but truth be told, I was reading this series solely so I could get to this book. The first, third, and fourth books for me — not that Julie Anne Long is not GOOD at writing mystery/suspenseful plots, it’s just that I think her specific set of talents shines when she’s simply writing about the growth of a relationship and emotions between the two main characters.

It’s no secret whatsoever that I love a May/December romance. I have, literally, loved May/December since I was a preteen. When I found this one repeatedly mentioned on lists of the best romance novels with significant age differences, I decided I would give the Pennyroyal Green series another go around. Which has turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL decision. But to say there was a lot of anticipation and build-up for me in getting to this book would be an understatement.

For one of the very few times in my reading lifetime, a book that was so hyped up in my brain, did not disappoint me at all.

The Duke of Moncrieffe, Alex, is a widower who is cuckolded by Ian Eversea (a name familiar to those who know something of this series). Well, sort of. Alex is engaged to Abigail Beasley and Ian takes it upon himself to romance her a little. Alex catches them, and instead of calling Ian out, as Ian fully expects, Alex instead vows revenge. Oh, and he’s been somewhat accused of poisoning his deceased wife.

Genevieve Eversea is Ian’s baby sister, all of 20 and madly in love with her nearly-life-long best friend, Harry Osborne. She and Harry comprise a trio with Millicent, and on the first day of the Everseas’ house party, Harry tells Genevieve that he’s planning to propose — to Millicent. Genevieve is devastated. Completely heartbroken and devastated.

Naturally, this is when it’s revealed that Alexander, Duke of Moncrieffe, has been added as a last minute participant of this little house party. And boy, does he have some plans for Genevieve.

What I love about Julie Anne Long’s writing, in all of her books, is the fact that no one she writes is purely a caricature. The villains aren’t just villains, the heroes aren’t merely heroic. Everyone seems like a real person. Genevieve is naive, she is rather innocent, she is a tad dramatic, while also being quiet and reserved and intelligent. But at no time do you want to shake her for being too innocent, or too stupid, or too anything.

I think the thing I love most about Genevieve is that her quietness and the way in which she expresses care and kindness toward others, is seen almost solely through the eyes of Alex. Genevieve’s virtues aren’t something that impressed upon us like a hammer between the eyes. It’s not something that Genevieve internally strives for. It’s just part of Genevieve, and Alex is the only one that really notices it because Alex is so deprived of that sort unthinking consideration.

Alex is especially interesting to me in this novel, he could so easily come across as the haughty, distant, lascivious asshole. After all, he’s there to use Genevieve to get revenge on her scallawag of a brother. But he’s actually a complex person. He’s not inherently cruel, vicious, evil, or any of the other adjectives that tend to be attached to him. The slow reveal of what happened to his wife, and the impact it had on him is beautiful. As always, it seems, in the hands of Julie Anne Long, the trauma of his backstory and how it affects his ability to both feel and accept love and kindness is not something that is drawn in aggravatingly broad strokes. Instead it just quietly, and simply, a part of Alexander who has dark and light shades to him.

Genevieve and Alex have such a wonderful dynamic between them. She’s heartbroken, his heart was broken years ago. She’s the quiet one who is lost in a sea of the insanity of the Eversea clan, he’s the duke that everyone writes off as the haughty (perhaps murderous) heartless man. Somehow, in trying to use her, he ends up becoming hers. And it’s just gorgeous.


It’s gorgeous. It made me laugh out loud. It made me clutch my heart. It made me flush. The sex scenes are well. You know. It’s good. That’s what I’m saying. Read this book. It’s some of the very best from Julie Anne Long, and some of the very best period. show less