The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever

Overview

2 March 1810 . . .
Today, I fell in love.

At the age of ten, Miranda Cheever showed no signs of Great Beauty. And even at ten, Miranda learned to accept the expectations society held for her--until the afternoon when Nigel Bevelstoke, the handsome and dashing Viscount Turner, solemnly kissed her hand and promised her that one day she would grow into herself, that one day she would be as beautiful as she already was smart. And even at ten, Miranda knew she would love him forever.

But the years that followed were as cruel to Turner as they were kind to Miranda. She is as intriguing as the viscount boldly predicted on that memorable day--while he is a lonely, bitter man, crushed by a devastating loss. But Miranda has never forgotten the truth she set down on paper all those years earlier--and she will not allow the love that is her destiny to slip lightly through her fingers . . .

Editorial Reviews

Quinn's first title since 1999 not to feature the Bridgerton clan (On the Way to the Wedding), this Regency concerns Miranda Cheever, who fell in love with the aristocratic Nigel Bevelstoke, Viscount Turner, when she was 10 and he 19. Now 20, and still in love, Miranda's designs are thwarted by the indiscretions of Nigel's late wife--heartbroken, Nigel isn't willing to risk another shot at love, even if it means hurting his close friend Miranda. Quinn's pitch-perfect humor remains intact, but her latest relies too much on romance conventions, including Miranda's scholarly but benignly neglectful father; an even more overused device involves Turner's hot-and-cold feelings toward Miranda, which reduce the heroine to tears more than once. However, the two make a lovable couple, and Miranda in particular shines, as do Turner's two siblings in strong secondary roles. Though a bit stale, this well-written, often funny and occasionally tender romance has much to enjoy. (July)
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Author Information

Bio of Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn started writing her first book one month after finishing college and has been tapping away at her keyboard ever since. The New York Times bestselling author of sixteen novels for Avon Books, she is a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.

Customer Reviews

• So Real

  Posted May 25, 2008 by Jade, Wyoming USA

  Normally stories that are classified as regency romance aren't big on making the characters seem real. The books and stories are still good and you still can't put them down easy but you know that the characters aren't real. In this one you almost question their realism. There are no bad guys in this book. No secrets out to break the couple up. No instant attraction (at least on his part) or family members designed to break the couple up because of unsuitability. There simply is no bad guy. This is a story about a girl who falls in love with the older brother of a friend. Hero worship that turns into something else as she grows up. He sees her (when he takes the time to look) as the friend of his sister and no more. Then something happens, his wife dies, and circumstances are that he starts to see her as a person instead of a non-entity. There is a bunch of miscommunication in the story as they assume certain things that we, as the reader, know to be inaccurate and they try to make the most of the situation. But his issues with his first wife come back to haunt them as Miranda tries to remind him of the man he once was before his first wives constant indiscretions. By the end there were a few tears as I wondered if she was going to die. Julia Quinn did an excellent job making her characters seem real in a genre where characters rarely have any realism to them. It brings to mind that usually, in real life, the only one out to destroy your relationships with those around you is you.

Additional Info

Imprint

HarperCollins

Filesize

969.21 KB

Number of Pages

384

eBook ISBN

9780061454707