Dancing at Midnight (Blydon Book 2)

DANCING AT MIDNIGHT is book 2 in the "Blydon" series and was a re-read for me. If you've never read a Julia Quinn novel I would highly recommend this series which was absolutely wonderful! Belle is smart and free spirited, while John is a wounded (both physically and mentally) former soldier. Because of John's past this story had some very serious elements to it, but as usual Ms. Quinn's humor and charm shine through and keep the story from becoming depressing. The love between this couple took my breath away at times, it was just so moving and lovely. In the end I thought it was a beautifully written story with wonderful characters and an engaging plot. A true pleasure to read and one I'll definitely enjoy again and again =)Below is a list of the entire "Blydon" series and reading order for those who don't already know:Book 1 - SPLENDID (Emma Dunster & Alexander Ridgely aka The Duke of Ashbourne)Book 2 - DANCING AT MIDNIGHT (Arabella "Belle" Blydon & Lord John Blackwood) Belle is Emma's cousinBook 3 - MINX (Henrietta "Henry" Barrett & William Dunford) Dunford is Alex's best friendBook 3.5 - A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (a novella originally released in the "WHERE'S MY HERO?" anthology, featuring Ned Blydon) Emma's cousin and Belle's brother

This is the 2nd book in the Blydon trilogy and features Belle Blydon. Alex and Emma from Splendid appear often throughout the book - Emma is pregnant with their first child.In fact, as the story opens, Belle is stating at Westonbirt while her parents are in Italy. Belle is just completing the Grand Shakespearean Quest in which she is reading all of the plays in alphabetical order. She is reading The Winter's Tale when she meets a handsome man with a limp; he introduces himself as John, Lord Blackwood; he has recently bought a country house very near Westonbirt.It turns out that Alex served with John during the war, which is where John acquired the limp; he was shot in the leg and refused to allow the surgeon to amputate. Belle and John have an immediate attraction to each other, but John is very moody. He eventually tells her that he is haunted by guilt because one of his men raped a young Spanish girl, after John had promised her mother that he would protect her; the girl committed suicide three days after the rape. The rape (and rapist) and John's guilt constitute the major conflicts in the book.Apparently, Splendid and Dancing at Midnight were both published in 1995, but JQ's writing is much more polished in Dancing. The dialogue is smoother and the awkwardness that was present in Splendid is much less in evidence. Although Dancing is darker and more angsty, there is plenty of humor and wit. 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4.

This book captured me from the very beginning. I love John Blackwood in the first half of the book. He is one of those characters that has a sort of dark past, he's full of remorse and regret. But Belle swoops in to rescue him.But now I have to be honest.. I was only really in love with the first half of this book, which I plan to read over and over. It was just perfect. Quinn gave her characters more depth than I thought she was capable of. I fell for John immediately (call me a sucker for the wounded hero type). But right in the middle of the book, after some 200 or so pages of originality, I couldn't help but get the feeling that I've read this book before, though I was pretty sure I'd never picked it up until then. So I guess Quinn just fell into the trap of writing a stereotypical romance novel's side story of some great trauma occurring. Like some guy from the hero's past coming back to try and kill him. It's just so been there, read that. In addition: I believe Belle and John just sort of lost their charm from the beginning of the book. I'm currently wadding through to get to the end of the novel.But I would recommend buying a one cent used copy from Amazon. It made my day :]

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖Feels: 🦋Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔Tension: ⚡⚡Romance: 💞💞💞Sensuality: 💋💋💋Intimate Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑Steam Scale (Number of Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥 (Didn’t get an exact count here but It’s probably about a solid 3)Humor: Yes (I think there was quite a bit here too that was meant to be funny, but it wasn’t for me, you might find it more humorous than me!)Perspective: Third person perspective from both the hero and heroineShould I read in order?It’s not super necessary. Much of the book is just the two main characters together. There is some time spent with the hero and heroine from book 1 – they are supposed to be the chaperones of this book’s heroine. They have their HEA in book 1 so if you’re okay with missing that you could pick this one up (though, of course, ultimate enjoyment, including some minor character development for Belle, happens in book 1) (another note: I liked book 1 more than this one, so sure, read that one too hehe)Basic plot:Belle retires to the country after being totally unimpressed with society’s marriage mart. There, she meets John Blackwood, a wounded war hero.Give this a try if you want:- Regency time period (1816)- Mix of London and country estate setting- Soldier hero- Disability featured – hero has a severe limp from war- Heroine chases hero (she’s pretty determined in the beginning of the story)- Lots and lots of push and pull between the characters including the hero believing he’s not good enough or worthy of the heroineMy thoughts:So I read this one quite a few years ago and was so angry, annoyed and not into it. This was my top ‘not favorite’ book for years. I just remember I couldn’t stand the hero and their romance.So I reread it – because I had never read Splendid or Minx and I figured I’d reread the middle book as well. I did like it more this time around! I guess I’ve read worse since my first reread lol. But I still did struggle with similar issues.The hero carries a lot of guilt with him. He suffers from a war injury and limps, he wants to be a recluse at his estate and be left alone. But he meets our heroine, who is quite determined to bring him out of his shell. And she starts to have feelings for him and encourages him to embrace them as well.The first half of this book annoys me purely for the non stop ‘shes too good for me’ mentality. And I think I’ve probably just read too much of this because it’s a fairly common theme in the early 2000s hr romance I’ve read haha. So, once he finally gets over that I had a few other issues – the constant push and pull of the characters, their enemy feeling banter...none of it really endeared them to me and I ended up not caring about either character much at all. Overall I just wanted the story to be over with.

Good to the very end

He leído el primer día de la saga y me pareció entretenido.El comienzo de este es similar, pero luego se repite mucho el el final es muy flojo una decepción, la verdad.

Non è tra i migliori. l'inizio è come sempre avvincente ma poi diventa un po' noiosetto. Insomma mi aspettavo di meglio.

I was never a big fan of romance novels, but current quarantine stripped me from all other interesting books (as I read them ALL - Ok perhaps a little exaggeration…but it seemed that way). I stumbled upon “Duke and I” by Julia Quinn, since it was only 0.99 and has so many reviews and such a high score. I read it through it, and like it a lot. So naturally I have read the whole series and mostly enjoy it. It finished to quickly so I went on the spree and bought a lot of other books by this author.I got a bit hesitant with “Splendid”. It has not many reviews and wasn’t recommended as much. But I have read it and like it. Naturally I went after second instalment in Blydon series.A lovely surprise! I was never a fan of swooning, blushing and ridiculous misunderstandings that seems to be the core of every romance. You would expect some, of course. But reading this book I laugh a lot! I made several “awww’s”. And most of all I really enjoyed the fact that not everybody was perfectly looking, behaving, titled and rich. Disproportions and imperfections are what real life relationship are made of!I have enjoyed that book immensely! It can be read as stand alone. Enjoy your laughs and your “awww’s”. I certainly did!

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