devinelybookish's review against another edition
3.0
"Oh, she knew that heroes were supposed to slay dragons and quote verse and all that, but maybe, just maybe, all it really took to be a hero was getting the world's most difficult five-year-old to behave."
The Earl of Macclesfield, Robert Kemble, knew when he first saw Victoria Lyndon that he wanted to marry her. Vicar's daughter or not. They fell in love and hoped to get married. But their father's had different ideas.
After the botched attempt of getting married, the two find each other seven years later, filled with resent. Both felt they were betrayed by the other. But neither of them can deny their desire and feelings whenever they are near each other.
I went into this book with reservations. The insta-love trope is not for me. I love a good slow-burn. Friends to lovers. Enemies to lovers. I'm all for it. Insta though? Not so much. I want the characters to get to know each other first.
When I saw the miscommunication trope I groaned internally. I lie. I groaned externally. Two of my least favourite tropes thrown together. The thing that kept me going was my faith in the author and overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought.
The miscommunication trope, mercifully, didn't last too long. I had thought it would be the main premise of the novel. The insta-love also leveled out as the characters resented each other after each others betrayal.
But regardless, I didn't fall in love with the book. Robert Kemble didn't quiet sit right with me. He seemed to never listen to Victoria and though he was attentive and sweet in remembering things she liked and disliked, he was also super controlling and never listened to her. Even after she repeatedly told him her desires and that she wanted him to listen to her. She seemed more like a goal rather than a love interest to me.
Although I can see the controlling comes from a good place, it still beside the point. Victoria was also very stubborn and always seemed to throw herself into danger. She was attacked and assalted so many times in the book I've lost count. Although she's a headstrong character, she's also a little annoying.
I'd give this a 3/5 stars. It was a neutral read. I didn't dislike it as much as I thought I would, but I also didn't love it.
The Earl of Macclesfield, Robert Kemble, knew when he first saw Victoria Lyndon that he wanted to marry her. Vicar's daughter or not. They fell in love and hoped to get married. But their father's had different ideas.
After the botched attempt of getting married, the two find each other seven years later, filled with resent. Both felt they were betrayed by the other. But neither of them can deny their desire and feelings whenever they are near each other.
I went into this book with reservations. The insta-love trope is not for me. I love a good slow-burn. Friends to lovers. Enemies to lovers. I'm all for it. Insta though? Not so much. I want the characters to get to know each other first.
When I saw the miscommunication trope I groaned internally. I lie. I groaned externally. Two of my least favourite tropes thrown together. The thing that kept me going was my faith in the author and overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought.
The miscommunication trope, mercifully, didn't last too long. I had thought it would be the main premise of the novel. The insta-love also leveled out as the characters resented each other after each others betrayal.
But regardless, I didn't fall in love with the book. Robert Kemble didn't quiet sit right with me. He seemed to never listen to Victoria and though he was attentive and sweet in remembering things she liked and disliked, he was also super controlling and never listened to her. Even after she repeatedly told him her desires and that she wanted him to listen to her. She seemed more like a goal rather than a love interest to me.
Although I can see the controlling comes from a good place, it still beside the point. Victoria was also very stubborn and always seemed to throw herself into danger. She was attacked and assalted so many times in the book I've lost count. Although she's a headstrong character, she's also a little annoying.
I'd give this a 3/5 stars. It was a neutral read. I didn't dislike it as much as I thought I would, but I also didn't love it.
laurenjodi's review against another edition
3.0
Everything and the Moon
3 Stars
As a huge fan of Quinn's Bridgertons series, it always amazes me that the same writer is responsible for her ridiculously plotted early works.
Everything and the Moon has potential as a story of lovers reunited after a huge misunderstanding. Let me preface the rest of this review by saying that this theme is one I detest with a vengeance. That said, it is actually well-written here and the first half of the book is engaging, particularly due to Robert and Victoria's witty sniping and bickering (Quinn is very skilled at this type of dialogue).
Unfortunately, the second half of the book is drawn out and tedious. The huge misunderstanding is quickly resolved and the rest of the story revolves around Robert's obsessive determination to force Victoria into marriage (supposedly for her own good) and her playing hard to get - running hot one minute and cold the next. At this point, I lost interest in the characters and their romance despite their early chemistry.
All in all, the book is well-written (despite the repetitions of some scenes that act more as filler), the dialogue is snappy and there are several endearing moments that make it all worthwhile.
3 Stars
As a huge fan of Quinn's Bridgertons series, it always amazes me that the same writer is responsible for her ridiculously plotted early works.
Everything and the Moon has potential as a story of lovers reunited after a huge misunderstanding. Let me preface the rest of this review by saying that this theme is one I detest with a vengeance. That said, it is actually well-written here and the first half of the book is engaging, particularly due to Robert and Victoria's witty sniping and bickering (Quinn is very skilled at this type of dialogue).
Unfortunately, the second half of the book is drawn out and tedious. The huge misunderstanding is quickly resolved and the rest of the story revolves around Robert's obsessive determination to force Victoria into marriage (supposedly for her own good) and her playing hard to get - running hot one minute and cold the next. At this point, I lost interest in the characters and their romance despite their early chemistry.
All in all, the book is well-written (despite the repetitions of some scenes that act more as filler), the dialogue is snappy and there are several endearing moments that make it all worthwhile.
adelita18's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
ashleydwilliamson's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thaven's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Did not enjoy the MMC in this book he comes across as very controlling for most of the book.
arabellasbooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
In this book we follow Victoria and Robert as they go through their instance of love at first sight, ending in a prevented elopement (daddy issues as hell) and then ‘reconcile’ seven years later and Robert makes it his life mission to get Victoria back with him. The two are constantly going back and forth with Victoria trying to deny her positive feelings for him and muster up all anger and negativity she can whereas Robert has his mind set on ‘ruining’ her so she has to be with him. This is the situation for the majority of the book when they eventually do get back together again - after Robert essentially abducts Victoria - and they end up procuring a special license and marrying a few days later and introducing themselves to society prior to the end of the season.
I thought this would be a second chance romance however I was disappointed with what I read. Don’t get me wrong there were scenes and moments that I liked however I felt a lot of things were glossed over such as the Vicar’s treatment of his daughters and Robert’s mindset towards getting back with Victoria was not a healthy thing - ruining and abducting her and getting her to become his mistress as opposed to his wife - and no matter how hard Julia Quinn tried to get us to like Robert and ‘see him’ realising his mistakes it just felt glossed over and pushed to the side. Also Victoria was not the most loveable Quinn character I have read about as she felt very inconsistent throughout and although she claimed to want to stand up for herself she never did it as often as I think she could have, especially regarding Robert, and I think Quinn used the ideas of love at first sight to diminish that and I was just not a fan.
In this book we follow Victoria and Robert as they go through their instance of love at first sight, ending in a prevented elopement (daddy issues as hell) and then ‘reconcile’ seven years later and Robert makes it his life mission to get Victoria back with him. The two are constantly going back and forth with Victoria trying to deny her positive feelings for him and muster up all anger and negativity she can whereas Robert has his mind set on ‘ruining’ her so she has to be with him. This is the situation for the majority of the book when they eventually do get back together again - after Robert essentially abducts Victoria - and they end up procuring a special license and marrying a few days later and introducing themselves to society prior to the end of the season.
I thought this would be a second chance romance however I was disappointed with what I read. Don’t get me wrong there were scenes and moments that I liked however I felt a lot of things were glossed over such as the Vicar’s treatment of his daughters and Robert’s mindset towards getting back with Victoria was not a healthy thing - ruining and abducting her and getting her to become his mistress as opposed to his wife - and no matter how hard Julia Quinn tried to get us to like Robert and ‘see him’ realising his mistakes it just felt glossed over and pushed to the side. Also Victoria was not the most loveable Quinn character I have read about as she felt very inconsistent throughout and although she claimed to want to stand up for herself she never did it as often as I think she could have, especially regarding Robert, and I think Quinn used the ideas of love at first sight to diminish that and I was just not a fan.
xishimmerix's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
torilovesheas's review against another edition
3.0
The thing with Julian Quinn is that I start off reading a book of hers and LOVE the first 40-ish percent. But then at some point after that either the plot gets nonsensical or the characters become insufferable. This was a case of the latter.
The beginning was PHENOM. From the kidnapping to about 95% was 10/10. Unfortunately there’s some absolutely unhinged rage on Victoria’s end and she just could not move past it. And that’s fine…..if we had gotten scenes of them really bonding and getting to know each other again after 7 years of seperate on. Alas, Victoria spends too much time screaming at Robert, insisting she’s strong and independent (she’s been on her own for three weeks lol), and running into danger like an idiot because he’s having a tantrum.
The three stars is really for the first half and the kidnapping plot, because the rest was a little bit too annoying for me.
Also there’s a villain and two run ins with them that contributed not a thing to the story. I mean…it was fine. But it felt weirdly rushed. And by that point, I lost a lot of interest.
CW: attempted SA if FMC (but not by the MMC )
The beginning was PHENOM. From the kidnapping to about 95% was 10/10. Unfortunately there’s some absolutely unhinged rage on Victoria’s end and she just could not move past it. And that’s fine…..if we had gotten scenes of them really bonding and getting to know each other again after 7 years of seperate on. Alas, Victoria spends too much time screaming at Robert, insisting she’s strong and independent (she’s been on her own for three weeks lol), and running into danger like an idiot because he’s having a tantrum.
The three stars is really for the first half and the kidnapping plot, because the rest was a little bit too annoying for me.
Also there’s a villain and two run ins with them that contributed not a thing to the story. I mean…it was fine. But it felt weirdly rushed. And by that point, I lost a lot of interest.
CW: attempted SA if FMC (but not by the MMC )