Ten Things I Love About You Mass Market Paperback – May 25, 2010

Julie Quinn is my favorite author and this was bought to replace a lost copy. Her characters always have a sense of humor and vulnerability that makes me smile.

They compliment each other and have tolerance for each other in their lives. She discovered about his writing career and did not interfere.

Anyone have a time machine I can borrow? I want to visit my 19th century book boyfriend, Sebastian Grey.His charm in "What Happens in London" left me smitten. In "Ten Things..." his vulnerability hidden right below the surface of his easy going manner, and his sense of fairness had me fall madly in love. If only Julia Quinn had written a story that focused more on him. That's not to say the heroine, Annabel, wasn't appealing. I was quaking over her plight. Just, Sebastian's issues like his PTSD took a back seat. Actually, they were locked in a trunk and never saw daylight.The main reason I'm docking a star was that the climax was a disappointment. Rather than feeling JQ was in control of the narrative from beginning to end, it felt like she tossed in several ideas to please a wide range of readers. It left me feeling blah.

Julia Quinn is truly one of the best writers in this genre: Historical Regency Novels. This book is another really good example of her excellence. Ms. Quinn understands fully the societal values of this era and reflects them. Because of the historical accuracy of the characters' values, morals and thinking, it could be difficult for many without the historical knowledge to understand. For the women who do not value virginity, there is an explanation in the book. However the different attitudes of the women of the era ALSO include NOT saying the first thing that comes to mind and being content to rule the household, and their family, in a much less straight-forward in-your-face method. The Hero in this book is the most interesting I have seen in quite a while. This book deals with a situation that would strike fear to modern women, but was probably more normative of the time: forced, arranged marriage. Furthermore, the idea that the support of an entire family is based upon a good marriage, or that money is not available to people making efforts is also probably foreign. But this book accurately reflects the Regency time period. Ms. Quinn is as good a writer as Georgette Heyer, and, in my estimation, exceeds Ms. Heyer in her description of affection between her heroes and heroines. I highly recommend this book, along with any other one written by this author.[And here you thought I NEVER gave a book five stars!!]

Oh, JQ, you've done it again!I have several authors on my "when I grow up, I want to be like..." list, and Julia Quinn is definitely somewhere near the top of it. Once again, she's woven light humor, sharp wit, and incredible passion into a lighthearted tale of two people who were never meant to fall in love--but of course, they did.Annabel Winslow is by far one of my favorite JQ heroines. She's thrust into the desperate situation of being the eldest of eight siblings. Her family's financial future rests solely on her shoulders and Annabel's ability to marry well. The best prospect is the unappealing--and old--Earl of Newbury. Newbury is determined to beget an heir, and much to Annabel's dismay, she is the very picture of fertility in Newbury's eyes.But one evening, attending a Season event, the lovely Annabel escapes to the heath because--much to her horror--Newbury cornered her and fondled her. Strangely, she finds a man there awaiting an assignation, and they engage in an entertaining conversation. Annabel finds herself wondering who this interesting character could possibly be. She finds out the next day when she runs across Newbury's nephew, Sebastian Grey, in the park while walking with her cousin Louisa.What ensues after they discover one another's identity is laugh out loud funny. While Annabel would prefer to forget the meeting, Sebastian is fascinated by her. Annabel feels the pressure of her family's position, and attempts to keep Sebastian at a distance while remaining disgusted with his uncle's continued attentions.This is definitely reread worthy, and I would like to see JQ write Louisa and Edward's stories. They are strong secondary characters I want to get to know better.

I don't know what the gripe that some others have about this book, because I found this entirely amusing and engaging and read it almost in one sitting.So maybe it's a 4-1/2 star book, but I'm giving a 5-star rating to hopefully counterbalance some of the other lower ratings.This is a cute novel with two likable protaganists--Annabel, who needs to marry well to save her family from financial ruin (her dad has died and her mom and 7 siblings need support), and Sebastian, who appears to be a charming wastrel, but hides a strange secret--he secretly writes gothic novels under a female nom de plume! Enter Sebastian's nasty, slimy uncle who wants to marry Annabel in order to quickly produce an heir, and we have a strange love triangle (though there's no "love" where the uncle is concerned).There was a lot of banter back and forth and it was fun! Maybe I found it so amusing because I read it almost in one sitting--I guess if it had taken longer to finish it, would have seemed to drag. But I didn't, and because of that it was perfectly charming and a fun read to me.I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, which I presume is going to be about Annabel's thin and quiet cousin. I get the impression there's a lot more to her than what meets the eye!