It's in His Kiss (Bridgertons #7) by Julia Quinn

It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn

My Rating: ★★★★

As Hyacinth Bridgerton begins another season on the marriage market, she’s begun to wonder why she hasn’t come across a suitable man that she might be interested in marrying. Just when she starts to wonder if the problem is her, not that she would entertain the idea for more than a second, Gareth St. Clair stumbles into her presence. Sure, he’s good looking, but what Hyacinth needs and wants is someone who can keep up with her wit. Luckily for her, Gareth doesn’t mind if a woman is smart and doesn’t feign ignorance. He just needs to get his head on straight, first…

Like the previous novels in this series, we follow the protagonists through rotating perspectives. I was extremely excited to start this novel because the more we saw of Hyacinth in the later installments, the more I liked her. I’ve come out of this book declaring that she’s my favorite Bridgerton. She’s such a funny, smart, and sassy character. I would honestly follow an entire series with her as the protagonist if that was something in the cards. I’m happy to see that she was matched with Gareth, who is equally hilarious and sassy while also being smart. Of course he’s smart. He’s gotta be on the same page so he can keep up with Hyacinth!

Gareth is a new character with a complicated backstory that leaves him at odds with his father. There’s a lot of trauma, hurt, and bitterness there. The more we learned about his dad and their dynamics when Gareth finds himself in his father’s company, the more I found myself supporting Gareth. His father is a truly awful person all around and I’m glad he’s not real because that would be just one more terrible person in the world going around inflicting psychological trauma on people.

I think that Hyacinth and Gareth are well matched. I love their dynamics as well as how they are truly into each other. I also loved seeing the Bridgerton family accept Gareth into the folds as a Bridgerton. They know he only has one family member who loves and cares for him, and they instantly accept him as a new family that will never leave him feeling like there’s no one again. Plus, well, he’s going to need all the help he can get to keep up with his new bride. Hyacinth gets an idea in her head and runs with it, leaving everyone in her dust. I think they make a great duo.

It was also nice revisiting some of our favorite characters. I loved how much time we got to spend with Lady Danbury. She is one of my favorite characters in the show and the book series, so I loved how much we got to see of her since she’s close with Hyacinth. The friendly yet hilarious relationship between the two characters had me laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. It was also hilarious to see Anthony again. Without giving any spoilers, I can say that just about anyone is going to love when he turns up.

Now that I’ve finished the seventh book, I’m going to be sad when I finally finish the series! I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Gregory, but I’m also not ready because it’s the final book. I know there’s a few spin-offs, so I’ll likely check those out next.

A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts by Leanna Renee Hieber, Andrea Janes

 
A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts by Leanna Renee Hieber, Andrea Janes
My Rating: ★

I received a copy from Kensington Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this ARC because I was interested in the stories behind the hauntings of America in addition to the known hauntings and ghost sightings of women that sounded extremely interesting. I don’t know if the final edit of the book is better than what I read, but the ARC I read is in a state of confusion. It can’t seem to decide what it wants to be: the story behind hauntings, historical events, historical sights, famous hauntings, feminist manifestos, feminism and justice, but sometimes something about justice but the exact point didn’t quite land. I think all of these things would make great subjects on their own as well as smaller groups of them in combination, but not all of them together in one book.

I also find it strange that not a single haunting covered throughout the chapters were personally witnessed by the authors. That seemed like it would be a given due to the author’s personal experiences. One runs a ghost tour company in addition to being a tour guide for said company. The other declares that they have a long history with spirits. However, we don’t get to see their personal experiences with any spirits or any kind of ghost sighting at any point throughout the book. The opening was wonderful and interesting. It made it seem like we, the readers, were about to be in for quite the read given their experiences in addition to wanting to bring facts to the table. That fizzled out fast and I read a mishmash that wasn’t quite sure what it wanted to be while also not having personal experiences with at least one of the hauntings.

That said, there was some good and interesting information covered. There were even some historical facts on things that happened that I was unaware of. I had heard of the events, but I didn’t know what happened after or about the alleged hauntings. However, these things were overshadowed by the rest of the book, which made me reach the final chapter feeling like I had some kind of metaphorical whiplash. Parts of it were solid on their own, but together, I think that different parts of the book would’ve worked out much better being explored as separate books.