A review by now_booking
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

3.25

This is basically the exact same book as The Lost Duke of Wyndham but told instead from Thomas and Amelia’s perspective. If anything, I enjoyed this perspective a little more because Thomas is as witty and sharp as Jake, but Amelia is wittier than Grace, which makes sense giving their social positions and their subsequent power and agency to speak their minds. I didn’t mind reading the same book a second time- I found some continuity issues- for example in the previous book, Amelia was the snoring, restless sleeper, whereas in this book, it was Grace, minor things. The premise is exactly the same as the other half of this duo, Thomas Cavendish has believed all his life his aristocratic role in society and even though he’s slightly resentful of all that comes with it, he is focused on his duty and incredibly strict in that focus. But just as he’s finally settling in to fulfill the obligation to his betrothed at birth fiancée, Amelia, and just as they’re getting to know each other behind their social masks and feeling a deep attraction, a long lost cousins enters the mix and it turns out that Thomas is not who anyone has thought all along.

As GoodReads recommends, it’s definitely best to read the other book first. This has the same events but feels a bit sketchier and more fills in the events fully described in the previous book. In every other way, I liked this better EXCEPT…. Thomas did some really 💩-y things- he was incredibly sexist towards Amelia at times and had some dubious consent, abuse of power issues in the name of being drunk (with Grace). The author rescued him from complete 🍑-holery with a lot of great character development and dialogue but some of his actions really ruined the rest of this otherwise great book for me. This was a slow burn which I liked, but when the burn actually came, it felt forced into the story and very out of nowhere- like the author didn’t otherwise have a natural place to fit it in. I didn’t buy it and it didn’t quite feel like it fit in that situation or conversation- it felt very out of the blue and kind of there just for the sake of being there and concluding the story. I mean I still really enjoyed this book but these minor niggles kind of prevented it from becoming a favourite. 

I’ve enjoyed this duo and can see how this would have been a lot of fun to write. Like with the first book, I listened to this in audio as well and Rosalyn Landor as usual did a fabulous job- highly recommend it in that format as well.
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