Monday, July 8, 2013

Review of It Happened One Midnight by Julie Anne Long


Title/Author: It Happened One Midnight (Pennyroyal Green #8) by Julie Anne Long
Publisher/Date published: Avon, June 25th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: More than one beautiful woman’s hopes have been dashed on the rocky shoals of Jonathan Redmond’s heart. With his riveting good looks and Redmond wealth and power, the world is his oyster — until an ultimatum from his father and a chilling gypsy prophesy send him hurtling headlong toward a fate he’ll do anything to avoid: matrimony.

Intoxicating, elusive Thomasina de Ballesteros has the bloods of London at her feet. But none of them knows the real Tommy — the one with a shocking pedigree, a few too many secrets, and a healthy scorn for rakes like Jonathan.

She is everything Jonathan never wanted. But on one fateful midnight, he’s drawn into Tommy's world of risk, danger…and a desire he’d never dreamed possible. And suddenly he’s re-thinking everything... including the possibility that succumbing to prophesy might just mean surrendering to love.(

Guys, you may know how much I love the Pennyroyal Green series, so I was pretty excited to pick up It Happened One Midnight. But sadly, this wasn't as amazing a read for me as the other books so far have been.

It's not that either Tommy or Jonathan were unlikeable, in fact, I liked them very much. Tommy has had a hard childhood and is still struggling to make it and be respectable. But nonetheless, she's managed to turn into a strong, kind woman with a big heart. I loved that she's in her own way an activist against child labour and seriously, the conditions in which these kids were living and the dangerous jobs they had to do broke my heart.

And can I just say that first and foremost, Jonathan endeared himself to me because he is such an awesome brother?? Because he totally is! His sister Violet is very pregnant and he'd do anything for her. Which is also how he ends up at the gypsy's place, getting his fortune read. I have an awesome brother of my own, so I know a bit about them.
When Jonathan cares about someone, he does it with all his heart, even if he may not realise it himself and I always appreciate this in a person.

So why did this book disappoint me a bit? Well, while I think Tommy and Jonathan suited each other, their romance was just a bit boring. There was really no question that they loved each other from pretty early on and I felt no heartbreak or edge-of-my-seat tension or really much of a feeling whatsoever. Or at least not in the way I've come to expect from Julie Anne Long's writing.

I was also REALLY annoyed by Jonathan's father. I mean, SERIOUSLY? Are you trying to alienate ALL your children? SERIOUSLY? I really very much dislike him and I don't get what he could be thinking. He doesn't seem to care much for his children at all and is just looking for a way to have the family name be made even better and GAH it was SO ANNOYING.

But ultimately, a book that didn't live up to my expectations from Julie Anne Long is still a very enjoyable read. It wasn't as amazing as some of the other books in this series, but I still found myself smiling reading it. I very much enjoyed the witty banter between Tommy and Jonathan and they did suit each other very well.

My rating: 3 stars

2 comments:

  1. Mmm, it sounds like it lacked tension. The book was good but there was no tension in the story telling.

    I do like Julie Anne Long though, I think I got a few of the penyroyal series in my TBR pile.

    Which one do you like best?

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  2. Oh dear! Their relationship sounds too... easy? I think it's because it lacked some tension, as Alex said, which probably would have made it swoonier :)

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