Customer Reviews

What Happens in London LP

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Sir Harry Valentine has been fluent in English, Russian, and French since the age of twelve. After years in the Army, Harry now rents a residence south of Rudland House. The War Office often delivers documents to Harry which needs to be translated to English quickly. Harry spends most of his time in his office doing these translations; however, he keeps getting distracted by the fact that Lady Olivia Bevelstoke keeps standing at her window staring at him. Harry has no idea whether she is just a curious debutante or is actually a spy. After a couple of meetings Harry decides Lady Olivia is neither a spy, nor kind. In fact, Harry decides he does not like her at all.

When Harry is summoned to the offices at Horse Guards in Whitehall he knows the reason cannot be good. A Russian prince is visiting at the same time that three known sympathizers of Napoleon are in town. It is rumored the prince's late father had favored Napoleon, but no proof was ever found. It is also rumored that his fortunes have diminished and the prince seeks a bride. He has been paying much attention to Lady Olivia. Thus Harry has been ordered to keep an eye on the prince and to make sure Olivia did not unwittingly commit treason. As Harry spends time with Olivia he finds that she is not as cold and remote as he had assumed. Olivia is full of humor and mischief. Perhaps Harry's mission will not be as boring as he had once believed.

***** FIVE STARS! This story overflows with humor to help offset the serious spy content. Harry gives Olivia "a lurid gothic novel" that had been recommended by his sister. Over half of this story is sprinkled with hilarious gems from the gothic novel (which Olivia demanded Harry read and suffer through too). I absolutely could not hold back my laughter as the pair verbally rips the story to shreds often. Once again the author, Julia Quinn, shows readers how her story-telling talent puts her on the Best Seller lists so often. Absolutely marvelous! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This latest book by Julia Quinn is, I suppose, a pleasant read. I was somewhat bored in that this book is highly similar in nature and structure to her last few books, all of which lack a certain something that made her early books and the Brigerton series so fantastic. It's almost like Ms. Quinn is trying too hard to make her novels quirky and different from other books in the genre. The rambling inner dialogue of her characters has become annoying in its redundancy. While I can remember the plots and characters of her early books clearly, these last three or four are all jumbled in my mind. The heroines look different but share the same personality, it seems.

Anyway, this was a light, easy read (of course) and I've already forgotten most of it. I put it on my paperback swap list as soon as I was done reading it. Not a keeper.

Vomit. I can't believe that I would recommend a romance book, or any other book for that matter, that begins with such a topic. Then again this is Julia Quinn and she can tackle any number of odd ball subjects with aplomb. Not being a huge fan of the last three books, I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Quinn's trademark clever quips, witty character banter as well as a nice love story are all here -but something is definitely missing. I'll skip the summary here and get into the meat of the problem. In the beginning Harry and Olivia reminded me a bit of Anthony and Kate, The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgerton Series, Bk. 2), but lack the intensity of their relationship. That's too bad. Its that emotional connection to the reader that I'm looking for in my romance books. And it just wasn't there. The character interaction started out well but kind of leveled out towards the end and then just became boring unlike another of Quinn's books When He Was Wicked (Bridgerton Family Series) which is my favorite of mine. That one was gripping from beginning to end. Even the villain in What Happens In London was blah, he sort of tapers out in the end. Nothing that exciting. I think WHIL would have been fantastic if another fifty pages or so were added.

However, there are some very funny moments (plucked to death by pigeons!?!) and really nice romantic ones (loved how Harry and Olivia spoke across to each other from their windows) so I'll be keeping this one even though its not Quinn's best IMHO. She has a very distinct and unique style in this genre and its worth reading. WHIL is a good example. Therefore I would recommend this historical romance to readers who enjoy light romantic fluff. An lovely way to spend an afternoon without the tissue box.

My other favorites of Quinn's-
Splendid
How to Marry a Marquis (Avon Romantic Treasure)

What Happens in London offers possibilities in a title and in a smart youtube video teaser-but just does not live up to the hype.

This is the Story of Olivia Bevelstoke - 19th century "IT" girl and Harry, son of an embarrassing alcoholic and translator extraordinaire - the party girl and the brain - the most unlikeliest of matches.

Olivia is breathtakingly beautiful and has either broken off engagements or cleverly prevented having to find herself having to refuse potential offers. People rarely look at her beyond her beauty and she is both frustrated by this and the result is a clever and funny inner thought pattern that Quinn shares with us.

On the other hand, Harry avoids hanging with the ton and avoids young ladies like Olivia. It isn't until he finds Olivia spying from her window into his that he starts to suspect that she is not as innocent as she appears to be.

The pluses of this novel is the dialogue. This is always Quinn's strong suit-clever dialogue and humor. This is the reason why she got my three stars--she entertained in this aspect. What is missing is the passion. The romance...that deep inner conflict and feeling. This is what I think has been lacking in her books since When He was Wicked...with the exception of Miranda's Diary because at least one of the two had this sort of passion.

Harry realizes that he is going to marry this girl and that is that. There really is no deep fear that Olivia will make the mistake of her life or that Harry has to really win her over. It is just..well..blah.

Perhaps, the saddest part of this novel is that the guy who steals the show is Harry's cousin Sebastian-who thankfully is the subject of her next book. He sounds promising.

And the other sad part of this book is the love scene. (and there really is only one) It looks more like an afterthought that Quinn had to squeeze in. It just..didn't fit. And with the suggestive title "What Happens In London" (stays in London) you would think that this would be a pretty..well steamy, exciting story.....and it is not even close.....

....I am just so sorry...I am just not that into this book. Julia..please bring back the passion and romance in your Romance novels!

I won't rehash the story, I will voice my protest. Harry deserved better. Olivia deserved better. I as the reader deserved better!
I know exactly how Olivia felt reading "Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron" I felt the same reading "What happens in London" I would go ahead to different chapters hoping it would get better only to be dumdfounded by the what was going on.
Where was the romance? What was with the kidnapping? The book never explained the real reason for the kidnapping.
Who and what was Vlad?

The end was rushed...the love scene was so rushed it was nonexistant, but there was endless amounts of time spent on a bad book. Yes, I know exactly how Olivia felt when she did not understand what was going on in the book Harry gave her. I felt the same reading "What happens in London" I read the book and I still have no idea what happens in london.

I tried, I really did, but good Lord, this was like watching an episode of that Hilary Duff show on the Disney channel that my little sister watches. It was awful. The heroine was the most immature person in the whole book. I mean, she thought Harry was weird because he tossed a crumpled up piece of paper in the fire. How could the hero fall for somebody like her? I thought he was a lot more intelligent than that. Do not bother with this one.

There wasn't even any romance in it either! Nothing. Nada. Zip. Ziltch. No chemistry, no sensuality, no passion, no nothing.

It makes me very sad to type those words. I've loved Julia Quinn since 'Minx' the first novel I read by her. Her characters have always been fun and sassy, with so much depth of character that set them apart from the cardboard cutouts of other romance novels. But alas... it is no more.

So the last couple of her books have been bad. The diary of Miss Miranda Cheever, The Duke of Windom debacle(I didn't bother to read the second, the first was so awful) and now What happens in London. Three strikes and your out, well i guess I am. Julia Quinn seems to have lost the spark she used to have in earlier books. Maybe she is running out of plot lines, or needs to branch into different time periods, i don't know, but what made me lover her work before is gone.

Overall the story was just boring. The leading man, Harry, was boring as dishwater. I kept hoping that I'd read the back of the book jacket wrong, and she was going to end up with the Alexei, not Harry. There just wasn't anything special about him. He was nice and good looking and could speak Russian, that was really it. None of the fire that was in previous heroes was there, he was just...boring. Olivia, the leading lady, was a little feistier, but not by much. She was abnormally quirky, but not in an original way. More like Quinn was sitting at her computer screen thinking..."Quirky, quirky, how can I... Oh, i know, she'll make weird lists! That's quirky" I found Olivia to be likable, but not really lovable. I wasn't invested in her life, so when she falls in love I didn't really care. The only person I did actually like was Alexei, the Russian prince. He was a jerk, but had some personality at least. If he had been the leading man, now that would have been a story.

As for the plot, well, Meh... It was kinda pointless. All of the plot points seemed forced and unnatural. Like when Harry forces himself into her parlor and refuses to leave for the entire afternoon, what type of gentleman would do that? Or the random kidnapping in the end. It came out of nowhere and was irrelevant to the plot. Sure it gave them a climax, but a stupid and pointless one. Plus her reaction when they found her, her idiocy of questioning her supposed love because he was speaking Russian was absurd. If I had been kidnapped, I don't care what my husband was speaking Russian or Chinese, it wouldn't matter as long as it meant I was going to get out.

Also, where the heck were Olivia's parents? Harry and the Prince were over her house an obscene amount of time, yet her mother never once popped her head in the door to see if everything was going alright?

I found myself scoffing at most of the book, not believing any of the actions. Quinn wasn't able to get me to elevate my suspension of disbelief and go along with the story, which was disappointing. I wanted to. I really wanted to like this book, but i couldn't. I'm not with Quinn.

I really wanted to love this book because of my enjoyment of Julia Quinn's earlier novels but I was just left feeling happy that I didn't hate it.

I haven't enjoyed the last several JQ books despite loving her earlier works. This book is better than the last four but it just felt like an average romance novel - certainly not the caliber of her earlier books.

This wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't that good and at this point I'm not sure I'll keep trying JQ's books.

If only Julie Garwood would come back to historical novels....

When you are a perpetual gossip like Lady Olivia Bevelstoke and you hear that your new neighbor Sir Harry Valentine is a potential fiancée killer you have to kick it up a notch and turn into a spy of some sort even though Olivia is not a very good sneak and an even worse spy. So Olivia decides keeping track of him through her bedroom window is a brilliant idea since she can see into Harry's bedroom with a nice, clear view even if this is not the proper thing to do. The problem for Olivia is Harry is working for a spy office and while he is not in the covert side of it he is still involved enough to have a few tricks up his sleeve and when from day one he sees her he is able to out-maneuver her tactics and figures two can play at this game and play they do. They court, argue, dance and burn up the night with long talks and book discussions through their open windows - or at least that is what they are leading everyone to believe.

This matchup is great since Olivia is outgoing and Harry reserved but both are competitive individuals and when a Russian prince comes to town to court Olivia and invades Harry's space well the game just went into overtime. A normally laid back Harry becomes ferocious in his pursuit of Olivia and while he is still recovering from the effects of his service in her Majesty's Army as well as the drama of growing up the child of an alcoholic Harry is more than prepared to take this contender on especially with his first class knowledge of Russian thanks to his grandmother. What Harry also discovers is something new never thought to obtain - unconditional love. Olivia turns out to be not only a beautiful and somewhat chaotic surprise for Harry but a wonderful breath of fresh air in his stale life.

I have yet to encounter a Julia Quinn book that is not first class, well written and just to perfect for words. I question with each new book if she can produce another hit and she does time and time again. Not with a loud roar but with a soft word and gentle manner that has just the right combination of romance and love on every single page. Always pick up a Julia Quinn book, sit back in your chair, sip your tea and realize you will not stop reading until the book is concluded.

I'll be honest: the only reason I bought this book was because I was stuck in an airport with nothing to read and very limited options at the bookstore. I've been a faithful JQ fan for years, but I was so mad at her after the five-book-long streak of disappointments (It's in His Kiss, On the Way to the Wedding, Miranda Cheever, and the horrible failure that was the Dukes of Wyndham experiment) that I had completely given up on her. This book changed things for me. It's not the best JQ book (I doubt she'll ever be able to top When He Was Wicked (Bridgerton Family Series)), but it's definitely one of her better ones.

Olivia and Harry are both interesting characters and are actually good people. Neither of them has a particularly haunted past or an undeserved bad reputation or a deep, dark secret or any of the other traits that have become cliches in Regency romances. Harry has some bad memories, true, and he has a secret, but JQ doesn't define him based on these things--they're details, not his whole story. For the most part, the characters don't do stupid things for no good reason. It's a very believable book: the main characters act like real people, and they fall in love slowly, gradually, and realistically. There is something that keeps them from being together immediately, but if there wasn't, it would be a very short book. The humor that was forced or missing in her last books is back in this one, and I laughed out loud several times (mostly in relation to the Miss Butterworth book).

The proposal scene was unexpected and fabulous. The perfect ending to a sweet, happy story.

Really, the only flaw in this book was that the whole kidnapping sequence was mostly irrelevant and seems to have been added because there would have been almost no conflict without it. If you like your romances heart-wrenching and filled with tears and struggles, this is definitely not the book for you. If you like your heroes tortured and brooding and your heroines stubborn and unladylike, look elsewhere. But if you like light-hearted, humorous, and energetic stories about people falling in love, you will love this book.