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adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 Stars rounded down to 3 stars. This book would probably be categorized as the “mystery” in this series. Here, the premise is that Lady Danbury’s beloved grandson, Gareth, has been keeping a painful family secret for most of his life when he inherits a family diary in Italian. His grandmother’s protégée, Hyacinth Bridgerton, happens to understand Italian and offers to help him with the translation, leading to the discovery of the existence of a secret treasure hidden in his estranged father’s house. Hyacinth and Gareth work together to find the treasure whilst developing the most unconventional friendship.
I am not a huge fan of mysteries and the suspense of Hyacinth and Gareth sneaking about for clues and the threat of them getting caught was very stressful to me. However, if you like mysteries, this will definitely be the book for you. Hyacinth is in that lane of heroines who always speaks her mind that isn’t always aware when it might be best to keep her own counsel- I didn’t mind her but I definitely see how she can be perceived as obnoxious- not because she’s strong and outspoken- those are her excellent qualities, but because sometimes she lacks common sense. That said, I liked her as a heroine. I liked that Gareth was a poorer romantic hero but wasn’t a fortune hunter. Even though he is immensely privileged and has access to a good social network, a significant part of his story arch is that he lacks funds and it is addressed in a straightforward sort of way. I didn’t feel strongly either way about Gareth as a character. Where Hyacinth stole the show, I found him to be a good match for her and witty and funny as expected from a JQ hero, but nothing that jumped out and made him especially to die for. This was a fun addition to the series but not my favourite book in the series.
I am not a huge fan of mysteries and the suspense of Hyacinth and Gareth sneaking about for clues and the threat of them getting caught was very stressful to me. However, if you like mysteries, this will definitely be the book for you. Hyacinth is in that lane of heroines who always speaks her mind that isn’t always aware when it might be best to keep her own counsel- I didn’t mind her but I definitely see how she can be perceived as obnoxious- not because she’s strong and outspoken- those are her excellent qualities, but because sometimes she lacks common sense. That said, I liked her as a heroine. I liked that Gareth was a poorer romantic hero but wasn’t a fortune hunter. Even though he is immensely privileged and has access to a good social network, a significant part of his story arch is that he lacks funds and it is addressed in a straightforward sort of way. I didn’t feel strongly either way about Gareth as a character. Where Hyacinth stole the show, I found him to be a good match for her and witty and funny as expected from a JQ hero, but nothing that jumped out and made him especially to die for. This was a fun addition to the series but not my favourite book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Grief