Customer Reviews

Brighter Than the Sun (Lyndon Sisters)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

then this is the book for you. I usually love Ms. Quinn's books. This one was well written and witty. The only problem is that through the many incredibly stupid "mishaps" that move the plot along, all the two main characters do is argue, bicker, argue and fight. I read to escape this sort of childish bickering. Also, these characters behaved completely wrong for the genre.

The book had some very bright moments, but overall, it gave me a sunburn.

Victoria Lyndon, our heroine from Everything and the Moon, has a younger sister Eleanor, who is equally independent and feisty. Ellie is walking in the countryside near her home one day when a very handsome and very drunk man literally falls into her lap from a tree.

Charles Wycombe, the rakish Earl of Billington, must marry before his upcoming thirtieth birthday or lose his inheritance. When he meets the vivacious and outspoken Ellie, he realizes that this very attractive miss is the answer to his prayers. No, he has no intention to actually love her nor any other woman. But she would make a suitable enough bride and mother to the heir he must produce while he goes on living his dissolute life just as before.

Ellie is very attracted to the Earl but would never agree to such an outrageous and hasty proposal except that her soon to be stepmother promises to make her life a misery. Also, by marrying she will gain access to the 300 pounds she's made through prudent investments in her father's name, and Ellie is a wonderful businesswoman.

So Charles and Ellie marry-and the fun continues as, amidst a host of mysterious accidents, they come to care for each other. Secondary characters are pretty good, except the impertinent and demanding little Judith, who fails to come off with the charm she's clearly supposed to have.

There are a lot of problems with Brighter Than the Sun. For the first two hundred plus pages, Ellie is nearly always angry. This gets very tiring and seems childish, making her somewhat unlikable. In addition, Charles and Ellie constantly getting injured or sick really starts to wear on the reader. Some plot variation is desperately needed, especially some real action to balance all the domesticity. The identity and motives of the two antagonists is apparent from the very beginning, so their revelation doesn't provide any excitement or much needed plot twists.

Everything is so predictable, and the sameness between the protagonists here and those in Quinn's earlier books starts to wear. While her main characters look physically different and have just a few key personality differences, they are all at the core the same. It is hard to believe that every principal character would be witty in the same way. Not every protagonist, for example, should speak in understatement. Quinn's characters need to be more distinctively drawn.

Still, the last hundred and fifty pages of dialogue between Charles and Ellie is mostly fun, and their penchant to produce lists in also fun. If only their cute repartee were a little different from the cute repartee in her other novels-i.e., revealing of a distinct character. In addition, the tone here is so light that their emotions are not explored to a satisfying depth. Quinn has a lot of talent, and I hope she can find a way to broaden more in subsequent novels.

This humerous and light-hearted novel was the third book I've read by Ms. Quinn, and it doesn't dissapoint me one bit. Keeping with her knack for witty dialogue and compellingly fun characters, she has created a wonderful book. I think the conversations between the hero and the heroine were the parts I liked the best. The heroine is refreshing, as she isn't annoying and can be actually quite funny at times. The hero is "a compulsive list-maker," and some of the lists that he writes are hillarious. There wasn't a single part of the book where I found I disliked him, because he really does come across as a laid-back and wickedly charming guy (If only men were really like that...). In all, this book is one that I could recommend and be fairly sure you'll like it.

Be sure to read all of Julia Quinn's books, they're all very entertaining.

I was looking forward to this book based upon the first book I read "How to Marry a Marquis" from Ms. Quinn. This book fell very flat in terms of plot - no intrigue, no chase, and no thrill. However, I am still willing to consider reading other books since I thought her dialogue was well written and clever.

This book grabbed me from the first page with its sharp, amusing dialogue and warm characters - and I couldn't put it down until the end! Ellie and Charles constantly kept me smiling, and do on every subsequent reading. A great book by my favourite author - Julia Quinn's books never disappoint, and all are "keepers" on my shelves. Brighter than the Sun is an absorbing, charming romance without the dark, tortured plotlines some historical novels find necessary. A pleasure to read from start to finish!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The pace is fast and keeps your interest all the way through. I like my female lead characters to have spunk and hold their own against the male characters in the book. No missish misses for me thank you. Julia Quinn writes a well written story with plenty of laughs and very interesting plots. Julia Quinn has a wicked sense of humour which I really appreciate and I'd recommend her books to anyone who enjoyes a good laugh.

I just loved this book! It was so funny. I found myself laughing out loud throughout the entire book! I loved how light-hearted things were throughout most of the book. It was rather refreshing reading a romance that was more on the side of pure fun than stiff seriousness. Although for those who have not read this novel the characters do find themselves in a serious situation at the end.

You've just got to read it! I'm having trouble now deciding weither BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN is now my favorite Julia Quinn novel or if it's still THE DUKE AND I.

~*sigh*~ Desisions... desisions...

Thanks again Julia! As always your books are wonderful!

By the end of the first half of the book - I was ready for the ending. I didn't feel any chemistry between the two characters. I have read and enjoyed the books of Ms. Quinn', esp. The Duke and I, but this one was not up to snuff.

i loved this book, one of my fav. Julia Quinn books, it is laugh out loud funny. The bannter is witty and delicious I could not but it down!

Julia Quinn's books are all very appealing - she has great characters whose verbal fencing is generally very amusing. You don't read her books for historical accuracy - this is certainly not her strong point - but they are fun and enjoyable reading.

"Brighter Than The Sun", like her other books, has a feisty heroine, Ellie Lyndon, who finds herself in a marriage of convenience with handsome rake Charles Wycombe, Earl of Billington. But can she reform him and can they learn to live together happily despite some strange occurrences that seem to be causing them danger.

The overall plot of this book is pretty thin - the marriage of convenience turning to love, and various acts of sabotage against both Ellie and Charles - but that's not really the point of the book. Julia Quinn seems to delight in writing amusing dialogue between her characters and this book feels almost as if it's entirely made up of conversation; there's very little description, we learn about most things through our characters' words. Of course they're speaking in a 21st century voice most of the time, no Georgette Heyer-esque Regency accuracy here. Still, it's fun to read and both characters are very charming, Charles particularly. I think the earlier Bridgerton stories are probably better than this (which is, I believe, an older novel reprinted) but this is still an enjoyable read for a lazy afternoon.