Review: A Night Like This by Julia Quinn (Smythe-Smith Quartet #2)

Publisher - Piatkus
Publication Date - 29th May 2012
Paperback - 384 pages
Genre -  Historical Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 5 out of 5: It was amazing!

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - Anne Wynter's job as governess to three highborn young ladies can be a challenge - in a single week she finds herself hiding in a closet full of tubas, playing an evil queen in a play and tending to the wounds of the oh-so-dashing Earl of Winstead. After years of dodging unwanted advances, he's the first man who has truly tempted her, and it's getting harder and harder to remind herself that a governess has no business flirting with a nobleman.

Daniel Smythe-Smith might be in mortal danger, but that's not going to stop the young earl from falling in love. And when he spies a mysterious woman at his family's annual musicale, he vows to pursue her. But Daniel has an enemy, one who has vowed to see him dead. And when Anne is thrown into peril, he will stop at nothing to ensure their happy ending...

My Thoughts - A while ago, I put out a call for help from my fellow bloggers. My problem was that I'd just read my first historical romance (which I'd loved!) and I wanted recommendations from other fans of the genre as to what to read next. Julia Quinn's name appeared several times in amongst all the recommendations, so when A Night Like This popped through my door, I was very excited. And now that I've read this book I can see why the author's name was mentioned to me so many times.

This has got to be one of the sweetest and funniest romances I've come across. Daniel and Anne make such a cute couple. Anne is intelligent and funny, but at the same time has had her fair share of bad luck in the past. As a result of this she is now very wary of people around her and has lost a lot of the naivety that can be seen in heroines in this genre. Daniel has just arrived back in the country after a death threat towards him has seen him go into hiding for three years. He is a very charming man and as soon as he sees Anne he persues her with a single-minded determination. I loved this about him - he's not a man who is ashamed of how he feels or has a need to hide his emotions.

When Anne and Daniel are together on the page the chemistry between them sizzles. However, when they are around Daniel's nieces (the girls that Anne is a governess to) they have to tone it all down and the affection they feel for each other comes out in some light-hearted teasing. Some of my favourite moments from the book are these moments when Anne and Daniel are with the girls - there were more than a few times when I was laughing out loud at their antics.

There is a fair amount of danger and intrigue thrown into the mix in the form of the man who previously threatened Daniel's life, as well as a mysterious man from Anne's past. Although I did find this part of the plot to be somewhat predictable, I still loved the extra element of suspense that this added to the story.

Summary - An absolutely adorable romance that will have people rushing out to get more books from this author. In fact, the second I finished this book I downloaded Just Like Heaven (the first book in the series) onto my Kindle and I just can't wait to enter again the beautiful world created by Julia Quinn.

Other books in this series:
1. Just Like Heaven
2. A Night Like This

Other reviews of this book:
Book Pushers / Heroes and Heartbreakers / Medieval Bookworm