Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn

ISBN: 978-0-06-149189-4
Publisher: Avon Historical Romance

Release: June 2010

Source: I purchased this book to read and review

Ten Things You Should Know About This Book
1 Sebastian Grey is a devilishly handsome rogue with a secret.
2 Annabel Winslow’s family voted her The Winslow Most Likely to Speak Her Mind AND The Winslow Most Likely to Fall Asleep in Church.
3 Sebastian’s uncle is the Earl of Newbury, and if he dies without siring an heir, Sebastian inherits everything.
4 Lord Newbury detests Sebastian and will stop at nothing to prevent this from happening.
5 Lord Newbury has decided that Annabel is the answer to all of his problems.
6 Annabel does not want to marry Lord Newbury, especially when she finds out he once romanced her grandmother.
7 is shocking, 8 is delicious, 9 is downright wicked, all of which leads the way to
10 Happily. Ever. After.

Ten Things I Love About You is yet another feather in Julia Quinn’s cap.  This book tells the story of Sebastian Grey and Annabel Winslow.  Sebastian Grey we met in “What Happens in London”.  Technically he is his uncle’s heir, but his uncle hates him.  Lord Newbury, Sebastian’s uncle plays the villian of this book in  a hysterically evil way only Julia Quinn can carry off.  Lord Newbury is desperate to prevent Sebastian from inheriting his earldom and is trying to marry Annabel to hopefully provide him with an heir before he dies and therefor prevent Sebastian from inheriting.  An interesting aside is that Sebastian doesn’t really care if he inherits the earldom or not, but his uncle is practically frothing at the mouth to prevent that event.

Annabel Winslow is being pursued by Lord Newbury.  She is feeling pressured to marry him by her family who is in bad financial straits supporting 7 children.  Although she feels duty bound to marry the nasty lord, she is completely off put by the information that he once romanced her grandmother!

This book is another winner by Julia Quinn.  I’ve included some of the other reviews below, but first my own thoughts.  I am somewhat biased as I haven’t met a Julia Quinn book that I didn’t like!

Sebastian is a wonderful character!  We find out so much more about him that we did in  What Happens in London.  In my mind, he goes from being an idle, charming somewhat indolent nobleman to a more well-rounded character.  He puts on a facade that few look beyond.  Annabel is a relatively quiet character.  She feels torn by family duty yet strongly attracted to Sebastian.  Several times she tries to sort though the morals of her situation.  Does she marry the earl and support her family well, or marry Sebastian and possibly ruin her family.

Julia Quinn leads us through the difficult love story with humor and sensitivity as she usually does!  At times the story has you rolling with laughter, at other times, gripping the pages and willing yourself to read faster.  This story is a wonderful way to spend a few hours.  A pure love story that is a joy to read!

Two interesting facts:

10 Things made Amazon’s top 10 Romances of 2010
10 Things debuted at #7 on the NYTimes mass market paperback list

RTBookReviews give Ten Things 4.5 stars and labels it a Top Pick.  They say:”Wit, whimsy, poignancy and passion, Quinn’s trademarks, are all here in spades. Her ability to sweep readers into a nonstop love story is what makes her appeal strong. It’s another delightfully uplifting romance from a master.”

Romance Junkies liked Ten Things, and had the following to say: “ What I loved most about this delightful read was the interaction and witty dialogue between the protagonists. The trip to love was not immediate, but fleshed out over several encounters. Though there is a marked instant attraction, there is also irritating characteristics they note about one another. The hero’s secret profession was also a fun addition. If you are in the mood for a light, humorous historical, this read is for you.”