Just Like Heaven (Smythe-Smith Quartet Book 1)

I can't believe it's taken me this long to read a Julia Quinn book! It's been a while since I've immersed myself in a Regency Romance, and Just Like Heaven reminded me of all the things I love about the genre. The story centers on the developing romance between Lady Honoria Smythe-Smith (Is that a great name, or what?) and Marcus Holroyd, the Earl of Chatteris. They've known each other since childhood (Marcus was best friends with Honoria's older brother, Daniel), and now as adults they're friendly, but not particularly close. That is until Honoria has her first season in London, and suddenly Marcus is lurking in ballrooms all over the city, frowning at her as she attempts to find a suitable husband. Oddly, every suitor who pays court to her seems to suddenly lose interest. Honoria despairs of ever finding a man who will offer for her hand, and her continued single status means she has to play violin (very badly) in her family's annual musicale. (The Smyth-Smith girls are relieved of this duty once they wed.) A visit to a friend's home in the country exposes Honoria to an eligible gentleman and also leads to several run-ins with Marcus who lives nearby. How long will it take Honoria to realize that the perfect mate she's been searching for has been under her nose all along? And when will Marcus stop thinking of Honoria as a child and embrace the beautiful, feisty woman she's become?This is an incredibly charming story, with likable leads who have chemistry right from their very first encounter. I loved Honoria and Marcus's sparring sessions and all the comedic bits early in the book. I will never be able to see the words "mole hole" again with chuckling. I am a sucker for love stories where the two people have known each other forever and their feelings for each other sneak up on them. I also enjoy it when a potential couple's relationship deepens and becomes more intimate because one is nursing the other through a serious illness/injury. A scenario such as this takes up a good part of the middle section of the book and those chapters are quite compelling. I think it would be hard not to fall in love with someone under the circumstances in which Honoria and Marcus find themselves. Of course, they are parted and there are misunderstandings that lead to them questioning each other's motives and true feelings. But all is resolved in a satisfactory way and the book ended happily with the return of a character who will feature prominently in the next book of the series.For me, this book was the perfect blend of comedy, romance, and drama. Witty dialogue enhanced the story, and I thought there was just the right amount of steam in the love scenes. I would highly recommend this book to fans of the Historical Romance genre. I am looking forward to reading the other books in this series!

What JQ does better than any other romance author I've encountered, excepting perhaps Lisa Kleypas, is the sense of community. JQ does family and friendship so delightfully, and it's because her heroes and heroines don't, as in so many novels, exist in isolation. She's really built up a ton of her own -- she has a cohesive universe, which is something that attracts me very much. All the stories I like best are those with real, complex worlds, that seem to extend outside of the immediate story. It's not something you get with a lot of romance novels, besides the generic historical world -- but JQ's an author who makes her society feel real and expanded, because of all the interconnections.The Smythe-Smiths have been a running joke in her books for, what, a decade now? But always in the shadows, always side characters, never even getting first names of their own -- till now. Finally we meet the notorious Smythe-Smith girls. JQ, wisely, I think, starts with the 1824 crowd, who are the set featured most prominently in other books -- this is, I believe, the set from Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, where Lady Danbury so wisely keyed in on the misery of the cello player.Honoria Smythe-Smith is not the miserable cello player. She's a cheerfully atrocious violin player. Contrary to popular belief, she's aware that the musicales are insults to the composers and painful to anyone with ears. But she doesn't mind. She participates with good spirit because it's family tradition. It's really sweet of her, and a good indication of just how important family is to her. And that, really, is what's driving Honoria in this book -- the need for family. She's the youngest of five, all of whom are married and out of the house, and she's finding her life a little too quiet and solitary lately. So, she's determined to get married, in her third season out on the market. Little does she know that Marcus Holroyd, a friend of her brother's (who is currently hiding out in Italy after an unfortunate duel), is "looking after" her in his absence -- which has thus far meant scaring off all of her suitors. They've known each other since she was six years old, when he visited her brother on school holidays. Suddenly, though, he's starting to feel something other for her than duty, and she's seeing him in a not-precisely-fraternal fashion.I don't know if it's because I'm older and more jaded these days or what, but I've started to become slightly annoyed by the Fourth Date Marriage trope. So I really enjoyed that Marcus and Honoria have known each other forever. I like that the relationship is something that's grown over time, not something that manifests over the space of a weekend. The friendship-to-romance story is a quieter kind of story, and in 'Just Like Heaven', it's quite lovely. JQ's always at her best when she gets to write quick, witty dialogue, and Marcus and Honoria get plenty of it. They banter with such an ease that it's not hard to imagine their continual married bliss, cheerfully teasing each other for decades to come.My only complaint about this book is that I feel like the middle section, where Marcus is ill, drags on a bit too long. I'd have liked to have seen more of them back in London, amongst other people -- since JQ does that so well. I wanted more of Honoria with her cousins, I wanted more out of the conflict with Marcus and Honoria's brother, I wanted drama surrounding Hugh and Ramsgate (perhaps they'll be back in another book?). Instead we got an awful lot of sickbed hurt/comfort inaction, and that's just not so much my thing. I could also do with a bit more heat. JQ's primary weakness, I think, as a romance author is that her books aren't always as steamy as they might be. I'd love it if she started taking a few more risks when it comes to the consummation.The HEA is adorable indeed, especially as Honoria sits down to next year's musicale. Her love for her family is just so palpable in that moment. I feel fairly certain that cousins Iris and Sarah will be getting books of their own, but I'm not sure about the frothiest and most deluded member of this year's quartet, Daisy. I sort of wonder if the 4th will be the governess who has to fill in when Sarah "takes ill" at the last minute, Miss Wynter; JQ spent what seems like an inordinate amount of time on her, and that sort of thing tends to be a hint for upcoming importance.Overall, 'Just Like Heaven' is a frothy good read. It isn't knock-out-of-the-park amazing, but it's solid and quite charming. This isn't a book if you're looking for epic plot, sweeping dramatics, or dark psychological complexity, but if what you're after is a warm, cozy read, something to take to the beach with you, or to curl up with while you're drinking a nice cup of tea, 'Just Like Heaven' is just the thing.

Who would ever think we would want to get to know the Smythe-Smiths after enduring their annual musicals in book after book? Thank goodness we never had to actually listen to the music! Julia Quinn managed to take background characters and turn out a wonderful story of their own, seeing these poor girls from the other side of the stage. And that is part of the fun. From cousins who actually want to perform to those who would rather push the piano out of the window - and nearly do, they make up a fun and funnny family. I have this one in paper but simply had to have more than one version of it. A delightful romance that starts with the two - actually the three, her, him and her brother - as young children and made me laugh out loud. My husband said at one point, "So, something in there was funny?"My favorite part was also the most suspenseful, and that is Marcus' fever. Amazing how easy it was for people to die back then, and what small things made the difference between life and death. Lady Winstead's deep affection for this young man she viewed as another son, how hard she and Honoria both worked to keep him alive - vividly done. I don't think anything could possibly have made this better.And just as a plus, we also have cameo appearances from Colin and Gregory Bridgerton, Lady Danbury, and a governness whose book I will have to find and reread. All in all, a book to keep and enjoy over and over again.

i love to read romance novels but i'm very picky about which authors. this was my first novel by her and i cant wait to read more! this was actually laugh out loud funny throughout and i loved it!

A would recommend this book, I have read the other Bridgerton books and like those, this does not disappoint. A great start to the new series, a great mix of plot and character building. A great read.

I've read quite a lot from Julia Quinn and I must admit this isn't one of my favourite. The love story between Marcus and Honoria is very sweet, they've known each other since forever, they've been like family really and love simply came natural to them. But nothing significant happened in more than half the book and then, almost at the end, too much happened. It's like 70% of the book is deadly slow and the rest rushes to an hopefully satisfactory conclusion. I liked the end and of course Julia Quinn's fun and witty style, but I really hope the next books in the series are better than this

Simple but wonderful, as all Julia's stories. You will want to read more titles of this saga!

Ummm....so many moments that made me go all fuzzy with emotion and love for Honoria and Marcus....simply heavenly this book