It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn

Meet 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 town 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.

Isabel Says

This book is cute. Little Hyacinth all grown up. Remember when she flirted with Simon in The Duke and I? How time does fly. :)

Gareth is a bastard. Which explains why the man he thought was his father was a jerk to him. They try to avoid each other at all cost.

Hyacinth is enjoying her... 3rd or 4th year on the marriage mart. Well, not really enjoying. She's received some proposals, but none that catch her fancy. You see she's known for her wit, her smart remarks. Kind of like a Lady Danbury in training. And the men are afraid of her. She needs someone who can keep with her.

Gareth is given a diary written by his Italian grandmother. He visits his other grandma, who happens to be Lady Danbury in hopes she'll know some one who can read Italian. Enter Hyacinth.

They find out his grandmother head jewels in the house he grew up in. Hyacinth and Gareth are now on a mini treasure hunt to find the jewels. Does she find them? Hmmmm. Not telling. :) But I will tell you Gareth does learn who his real father is.

I like the scene with Gregory is teasing Hyacinth, talking in a lisp. Laughed when he said Gareth must be her special friend. Something a big brother would do to embarrass a younger sister. The main thing that bothered me beside the epilogue, is when Gareth confronts his "father." When Gareth tells him who really sired him, his "father" just make a comment and walks away. I agree with Hyacinth when she says, "That's it!" I wanted more with that scene.

Also, love when Anthony is relieved to be rid of all his sisters when Gareth asks for Hyacinth's hand. Ha ha.

Favorite quote:

"Just yank your dress down a little when next you see him. Men lose all sense at
the sight of a healthy bosom. " Lady Danbury to Hyacinth.

Grade: B

Dylan's Review:

Hero: Gareth St. Claire
Heroine: Hyacinth Bridgerton
Grade: B-

This was a cute one.

I liked Hyacinth in the previous novels and it was good to see her all grown up. She's in her fourth season now and her first season, she had three offers for her hand, her second season she had two offers for her hand and her third, she only one offer for her hand, so Hyacinth is really hoping that there isn't a pattern to the offers for her hand because if they stuck with the pattern she seemed to be stuck in, she wouldn't be getting ANY offers this season.

And though, she's very happy with her life, she is getting a bit itchy. She doesn't know that she's longing for change until one Tuesday.

A Tuesday that changed her life forever.

You see, every Tuesday Hyacinth reads to Lady Danbury, you know the crochety old lady from the previous books, the old lady that everyone steers clear of because she tells it like it is and if she doesn't like you, she tells you, right to your face. It's one thing that Hyacinth really likes and admires about Lady Danbury. On the Tuesday that changed her life, Lady Danbury's grandson, Gareth St. Claire comes to his grandmother for aid.

Long story short, Gareth needs Hyacinth to translate his other Grandmother's diary to find out where she hid the jewels that will help save Gareth's inheritance. You see, Gareth's 'father' is doing everything he can to ruin Gareth's inheritance, because Gareth's mother was unfaithful to her husband and got pregnant with Gareth while he was away. So because of this, her husband is horrid to Gareth and Gareth never knew why.

The story was such a cute story until the scene Izzy talked about with Gareth's 'father'. After all the pain and suffering Lord St. Claire did to Gareth, you would think that Gareth would have given the old man the ol' heave ho in style. Surely, something more dramatic was warranted for Gareth. I mean, he was seriously in need of a set down and Gareth never gave it to him, so aside from that crap, the book was cute and I enjoyed Gareth and Hyacinth's love story.

It was cute to see them falling for each other, especially Gareth. You would think that because this was a Bridgerton story that I would have been more wrapped up in Hyacinth, but the truth of the matter was, I was totally infatuated with Gareth St. Claire and I rather enjoyed his story.

It's a great addition to the Bridgerton series and it was back to the norm for the Bridgerton series, it wasn't dark like Francesca's story but it was still cute and fun.

A good read.


The Duke and I
The Viscount Who Loved Me
An Offer From A Gentleman
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
To Sir Phillip, With Love
When He Was Wicked
It's In His Kiss
On the Way to the Wedding