The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
Publication Date: January 1st 2000
Publisher: Avon
Mass Market Paperback, 371 pages
Can there be any greater challenge to London's Ambitious Mamas than an unmarried duke?
--- Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1813
By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend's sister, the lovely---and almost-on-the-shelf---Daphney Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth--it's all an elaborate plan to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke as declared her desirable.
But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, it's hard to remember that their courtship is a complete sham. Maybe it's his devilish smile, certainly it's the way his eyes seem to burn every time he looks at her...but somehow Daphne is falling for the dashing duke...for real! And now she must do the impossible and convince the handsome rogue that their clever little scheme deserves a slight alteration, and that nothing makes quite as much sense as falling in love...
What can I possibly say about The Duke and I,other than I was totally and honestly obsessed with this book,not only while I was reading it,but after I finished it also and for the rest couple of days as well (not that my obsession is over now,it just subsided!).
First of all,I have to say that The Duke and I is my very first historical romance book (I don't take into consideration anything I've already read by Bronte or Austen,cause those books are classic and well,I just don't put these books under any genre,they stand on their own) and after finishing it I must admit that a new "love" has began for me...,that of historical romances!
There's not a single thing I didn't like about this book!Brilliantly written,with consistent and unique characters,with an evenly paced plot and a romance so sweet,I think about it and melt even now!
Julia Quinn's writing is exceptional,humorous and straight to the point.It doesn't bore or tire the reader and in more than one occasion while reading this book,I found myself stupidly smirking or laughing aloud with the dialogues and the descriptions.A smart read,portraying one of my favorite eras,that of Victorian England.That specific era always fascinated me and it's only natural I would immensely enjoy a book set in that time!
But there's more to love in this book apart from that!The romance is sweet and the set of characters is amazing!And I'm not talking about only the main characters but the secondary,in this novel, also!
From Violet,the mother of eight children,eager to start marrying her older ones to Hyacinth,one of the youngest kids of the family with the witty answers and iressistible personality even in the tender age of 10,this book has characters that stick in your mind!Should someone made me choose for my favorite one though,I would pick Violet without second thought!Even if she appeared in small portions of the book,you just can't help but remember and love the character who grabs her three eldest sons by the ear and command them to march!
Anyway,I can probably rumble on and on forever about this book and then some,but the bottom line is,that it's an amazing book that made me want to explore even more the -unknown for me- historical genre!And be certain I will!I already ordered the next two books in the series and they don't seem to arrive soon enough!
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