The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

Title: The Viscount Who Loved Me
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: The Bridgertons (book #2)
Previous in series: The Duke & I
Next in series: An Offer from A Gentleman

My rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis: Anthony Bridgerton has finally decided to marry but must first convince his chosen bride’s sister that he is worthy. Unfortunately, Kate Sheffield is under no illusions that he is anything other than a rake and has made it her mission in life to thwart his betrothal plans. Things get even worse for Anthony when Kate begins haunting his dreams and he realizes that he may have been focusing on the wrong sister…

Review: A thoroughly entertaining sequel and it looks like I have become addicted to another series.

Quinn writes some of the best characters - Kate and Anthony have excellent chemistry, and their banter and arguing is hilarious. Kate is intelligent and witty. She speaks her mind and holds her own against Anthony in every conversation (and at Pall Mall too), which makes her one of my favorite historical heroines.

Anthony has is flaws, which is fine with me as I prefer my heroes to be less than perfect. He is an arrogant womanizer and falls short of being the ultimate gentleman, but does have many redeeming qualities such as his love for family and fundamental honor. While he is not as tortured or as gallant as Simon in The Duke & I, he is definitely a keeper.

Mrs. Whistledown’s gossipy comments are cute and funny. Upon reading them at the beginning of each chapter, I find myself considering who she may be and whether or not she is a character who has already been introduced. At this time, there are a number of good candidates and I really hope that her identity is ultimately revealed.

The story seems to lose a bit of momentum after the wedding but definitely makes up for it at the end. There are also one or two illogical notions, such as Anthony’s determination to not marry for love because this would make him fear his mortality when it is obvious that he already fears it, and Kate immediately overcoming her profound fear of storms once she realizes the underlying cause. Nevertheless, the writing is engaging and has several laugh-out-loud moments.

I rarely read books in the same series one after the other but I will definitely be making an exception in this case.