Os Diários Secretos de Miss Miranda Cheever

Bevelstoke #1

by Julia Quinn

2 de março de 1810… Hoje, apaixonei-me.

Aos dez anos, Miranda Cheever é uma criança dotada, mas não dá sinais de vir a ser uma grande beldade. Sabiamente, já aprendeu a aceitar as expectativas da sociedade. Só que um dia o galante e belíssimo Nigel Bevelstoke - visconde Turner - entra na sua vida, beija-lhe a mão e garante-lhe que, quando crescer, ela será tão linda quanto é inteligente. E, mesmo com apenas dez anos, Miranda sabe que o amará para sempre.

Passados oito anos, a profecia de Nigel parece ter-se cumprido. Já ele, por seu lado, vive uma existência amarga e infeliz. O homem amável que aplacou o orgulho ferido de uma menina ingénua não existe mais. Mas Miranda nunca se esqueceu da verdade que rabiscou nas páginas do seu diário de criança – e não vai permitir que o seu Destino lhe escape por entre os dedos…

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Fiction, Regency Romance

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2007

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn loves to dispel the myth that smart women don't read (or write) romance, and and if you watch reruns of the game show The Weakest Link you might just catch her winning the $79,000 jackpot. She displayed a decided lack of knowledge about baseball, country music, and plush toys, but she is proud to say that she aced all things British and literary, answered all of her history and geography questions correctly, and knew that there was a Da Vinci long before there was a code.

A graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, Ms. Quinn is one of only sixteen members of Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame. Her books have been translated into 32 languages, and she lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.

The Bridgertons, her popular series of historical romance, is currently in production by Shondaland as a Netflix original series starring Julie Andrews, Phoebe Dynevor, and Rége-Jean Page.

Reviews

[Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ · Rating 2 out of 5]

▒ 24 JULY 2015 ▒

Good Lord. Today I fell in love. And then I fell out of love. Sigh.

I ought to be shameful, I know that. What is it exactly? Have I the attention span of a squirrel (don't ask why a squirrel, I have no idea)? I wonder, I wonder.

And yet things had started so well. It appears that I can't help myself : give me a smart, brave, strong-minded heroine who doesn't shy away from her desires and a - a what exactly? A sexy broken man? Put them together and then let the magic begin : hilarious and witty banter, ever growing sexual tension - how could I not fall in love now tell me? It must be a conspiracy or something.

And then Turner started to act like a selfish jerk, so childish, really (I mean really? Seven weeks?) - not to mention 2 or 3 occurrences of grabbing wrists to make people listen to him (I know I'm sensitive about that, maybe too much, but I can't help, there are other way to make a point than using your strength) - just get over yourself, guy, you've been betrayed in the past, yes, but come on. There's a difference between being tortured and bitter, broken and bully. Turner crossed this line and I couldn't find in me to care about him anymore.

And then everything went downhill : pages and pages of unnecessary drama (I mean 2 pregnancies, a wedding, ridiculous and downright stupid miscommunications, a near death experience Aaaghhh THIS IS TOO-MUCH!). Oh. My. God. Just stop already. And please don't give me a child to explain the big revelation (aka. Turner finally realizing that he loves her). I might choke on the cliché here.

They both stay too whiny and insecure far too long for me to bear.

In the end, I couldn't care less about their HEA, and the last page made me GAG. But hey, to each his own, right? As far as I'm concerned, I'll stick with Lisa Kleypas and Tessa Dare.

Can I have a cookie now?

For more of my reviews, please visit:

[Jilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite moment in this book is when the heroine has to be physically restrained because she opens a can of whoop-ass on a bookstore owner who refuses to sell her a book because he only sells to men. Apparently, they had bookstores for men only, and women only. WTF?


You go, girl!

Our story is about a kid who develops a crush on her bff's older brother and then carries that torch for him for years. Even though he turns into kind of an ass, she sees him through rose-colored glasses and is madly in love with him when she is old enough to have him take advantage of that crush marry.

So, of course he ruins her.



They eventually get married, but he refuses to say "I love you" to her. Hmm, trapped into marriage and yet he doesn't love her? How dare he? And, she spends her marriage being all butt-hurt.



Well, girl, maybe if you had kept your legs closed, you wouldn't have this problem.

In the old days, before cellphones and dinosaurs were running wild, my old grammy used to say that you always had to hold a quarter between your knees when you went out on a date. If the quarter ever falls to the ground, you pick it up and find a pay phone to get a ride home immediately.
Grammy was a wise woman.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy a good Regency Romance from time to time. Who better than Julia Quinn to deliver. This is part of her, “Bevelstoke’s” series.

Miss Miranda has been in love with her best friend’s older brother since she was 10 years old. She keeps a diary of her thoughts and thinks there will never be a chance for them to be together.

Thanks to my GR friend Heidi for drawing my attention to this series. I enjoyed it and I loved the fairytale ending.

I’ll continue with the series. Good on audio.

3.5 *

[Katerina · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Tis nice, but it ain't Bridgertons.

[Sans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fair warning: This is a gut-reaction review, written under the influence of my monthly "gift" from mother nature. Perhaps if I'd read this at a different time, I could have found some redeeming qualities about it. But I didn't, so I can't.

I'm slightly horrified by this book. Specifically by Turner and, to a lesser extent, by Miranda herself. I can't think of anything in the book I can qualify as "romance" and still hold my head up high.

First, Turner. An asshat of epic proportions. He's an emotionally stunted bully, pure and simple. I dislike his character so intensely, I can't even state why in clear, concise terms. It's a visceral reaction to his selfish, underhanded, borderline violent ways. Pushing his own sister against a wall and basically threatening her is despicable. Grabbing his mother's wrist and squeezing it in warning? Doing the same to his own wife on numerous occasions? No. Just no. There is no excuse for behaviour like that. I don't care how scared poor widdle Turner is. You don't use force on women. EVER.

Now, why was I forgiving of Kerrick in when he backhanded Avry but I'm ready to lead a lynch mob out for Turner's blood? Simple. Kerrick didn't know Avry and he was very sorry he did it. Turner knew every single woman he put his hands on in anger and didn't apologize but once. No remorse, just a flimsy excuse of not being himself.

Moving on to Miranda. Poor, misguided Miranda, who would prefer to stumble into an unhealthy relationship with her childhood obsession than pick herself up, patch up her heart, and find someone who will treat her the way she deserves to. She's spent the entirety of her formative years pining over a man nine years her senior, never giving a second thought to finding someone who will actually tell her that he loves her and do more than play with her body and placate her. No. She'd rather blindly believe she can "fix" the damage done by Turner's first wife. I call bullshit. You can't change someone and you can't fix something they want to stay broken.

Also: Carriage sex. Really? Did we have to go there? I'd take a star off for that alone if I wasn't rating this so low already.

I had no sympathy for either of these characters and am frankly disgusted by them. The only reason I gave this two stars instead of one is that Quinn has a very good writing style, even if I don't like what she's writing.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got 60% in before I just could not take another moment. Turner is a jerk. How many times does a guy have to break your heart before you move on? This pattern plays on repeat over and over: Miranda feels sympathy, she opens with a vulnerable moment, Turner rejects her and makes her feel small, Miranda retreats to lick her wounds. By the third time, with no apology or even acknowledgement by the jerk, I was just done. Frankly, at this point, Miranda knows who and what he is. I don't see why she'd be "in love" with the jerk, but even if she really is, she should know better than to trust him with anything she cares about—including herself and her future.

So I lost respect for Turner by the start (just after the prologue). And I quit once I lost respect for Miranda. I empathized with her for a while. But signing up for more after knowing full well what to expect was beyond me to engage with.

[Yankeecountess · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I have this mental list of amazing male protagonists from novels, men who get to stand proud and tall in their billowy tucked-in, unbuttoned shirts, as I bestow upon them admission to the exclusive “Best Romantic Heroes in Literature” Club.

…Nigel Bevelstoke, Viscount Turner is not one of them.

**Full-Steam Spoilers (and Rants) Ahead**

First off, I would like to point out that this is the third book by Ms. Quinn that I have read, and funnily enough, the three books I have read have been THIS little series of hers (The Bevelstokes). The first book I read was actually book #3, Ten Things I Love About You which I *loved*--Sebastian, the hero from that book? HE gets admission to the club. Book #2, What Happens in London was ok, though it by no means wow-ed me the way #3 had, but all in all, it wasn’t bad. So I finally pick up book #1, and I read the premise and think “this will be good!”

Boy was I wrong.

Fair warning, I am going to spoil the crap out of this book, as well as rant about how much I hated it, and I’m not saying that lightly—I hated it, and the hero can have admission to the other club for WORST “romantic” Heroes of All Time.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever opens with our darling Miranda at the tender age of 10, attending the birthday party of her best friend Olivia (the future heroine of What Happens in London). Miranda needs an escort home as apparently her father is neglectful and spends all his free time studying ancient antiquities rather than knowing where the hell his only child is, and so Olivia’s mother asks Olivia’s 19-year-old brother Nigel (who hates that name and prefers to be called “Turner”, the name of his title…but since I hate him, I’m calling him Nigel) to take Miranda home, which he dutifully does. And while traveling, Miranda reveals that another girl teased her at the party, making some mean comment about her looks (she’s not supposed to be very pretty), to which Nigel says that the other girl was wrong, that he thinks there is nothing wrong with Miranda’s looks, even going to the point of declaring that he believes the color violet looks lovely on her, unknowingly going against something the mean girl previously said to Miranda. FROM THIS ONE REMARK ALONE, 10-year-old Miranda falls head over heels in love with Nigel Bevelstoke, and for the next ten years, harbors a crush on him.

During this ten year period, Nigel (I’m still refusing to call him Turner) gets married to a cardboard cut-out villainess named Leticia, who has recently died, as well as done many a dastardly deed off page, so all we have to go on when it comes to her horribleness is Nigel’s rather bias memories of her. Apparently Leticia (the hussy) charmed him, making him think he was in love with her, convincing him to marry her even though she was pregnant with another man’s child, but after marrying, not only does she lose that child, she continues with her various affairs for years and years and years, until finally one day she dies due to a riding accident.

“…Under mysterious circumstances”…actually no, that never comes up, though I thought it might. It certainly would have made things a bit interesting, as this book was rather BORING, when it wasn’t pulling out all the stops to infuriate me.

But Loathsome Leticia has left her mark on “poor wittle Nigel”, and it’s apparently all her fault that he’s now a complete asshat. Miranda attends the funeral, momentarily reminiscing about the day she witnessed him marry Leticia, and how “in love” he seemed, while she remained in love with him (gag). The Bevelstokes often invite Miranda to stay with them (they’ve practically adopted her), and so she goes to the library to fetch something and runs into a drunk Nigel who makes several bitter remarks before shocking Miranda by kissing her. But it’s not sweet, nor is even done out of passion, or if there is passion, it’s an angry, punishing kind, and Miranda even remarks to herself that his kiss is hurting her. He then dismisses her and she runs back to her room, tears streaming down her face, her heart shattered because the kiss she has always longed for and imagined from him has been destroyed. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with him and I’m thinking, “Ok, this might work—she’s ‘woken up’ from her crush and now he’s going to have to reform and seek forgiveness and earn her love and trust…” Oh if only I had been so lucky. But not so. His apology to her the next day is half-assed at best, and despite her “convictions” to detest him, she fails miserably and continues to love him from afar.

As a reader, this romance was so *painful* to watch. Miranda seemed to have multiple personalities, because one minute she was “strong-willed heroine who wasn’t going to put up with Nigel’s bullshit” and the next she was “submissive doormat who can’t stop mooning over him”. It was exhausting to see. As for Nigel, for the first half of the book—perhaps even longer—he has 0 interest in Miranda; he sees her as nothing more than Olivia’s friend, he even thinks of her at times as a “little sister”, if he does think of her. He’s condescending, he’s patronizing, he’s a bully even, he makes it clear that he doesn’t want to marry again, he just wants a shack up with some widow, and when he does learn that Miranda is in love with him, he’s practically horrified by the revelation! You would think if he were THAT steadfast in his convictions of wanting to avoid her or at the very least, not wanting to develop anything further than an acquaintance through his sister, he WOULD return to the country, he WOULD encourage his younger brother to pursue Miranda, but no, he has to mettle, and he strikes me as one of those guys who can’t stand the thought of a girl liking anyone BUT them, even if they themselves have no intentions of pursuing something.

But while that’s pretty bad, that isn’t why I hate Nigel Bevelstoke. Because up until this point, I was willing to give this book 2 stars, in fact I WANTED to give it 2 stars, because that would mean there was something salvageable about it, but no…no, Nigel ruined everything after he seduces Miranda against her will.

There are A LOT of “red flags” in this book in regards to abuse. Nigel and Miranda find themselves seeking shelter from a storm in a little hunting lodge (typical trope, it was even used in Lisa Kleypas’ Scandal in Spring, a book I gave 5 stars to!), and Miranda asks Nigel to leave the room she’s occupying so she can undress and dry off. Instead, Nigel makes it SOUND as if he’s left the room, walking away and shutting the door, BUT without really leaving. Miranda doesn’t realize he’s still in the room (she has her back to him) until he groans at the sight of her naked skin and quite rightfully she shrieks and tells him to get out, but he doesn’t! No, NOW he wants her, NOW he’s interested; never mind that he disregarded her wish to be left alone in that moment, or that he betrayed her trust and refused to listen to her when she asked him to leave.

Things quickly go downhill from here. They have sex, and he promises Miranda that they will get married, BUT, he needs time to “think”, apparently (YOU SHOULD HAVE “THOUGHT” BEFORE YOU HAD SEX, YOU ASS!) but yeah, he needs a fortnight to think about things before announcing their engagement. He “assures” Miranda this is for the best, because if he announces right now that they’re engaged, everyone will assume they’re guilty of the thing they actually did, so really, he’s doing this out of "HER best interests". But turns out he’s not gone for a fortnight; he’s gone for 2-3 months! And Miranda has no way to contact him, and then she learns that she’s pregnant.

So Miranda has been knocked up and left to fend for herself by a man who MORE THAN ONCE has shown NO regard for her feelings, and has made it clear that entering into a marriage with her is not on his priority list.

When Nigel does finally reappear, instead of groveling and begging for Miranda’s forgiveness, he gives half-assed apologies and makes various threats that THEY WILL marry because HIS PRECIOUS HONOR is at stake.

It’s not about Miranda, it never has been. The guy couldn’t give a flying fuck for her feelings or reputation in all this, but oh no, HIS HONOR might be called into question, so NOW they have to marry. THAT is the incentive, not her.

The threat of physical violence is EVERYWHERE in this book. Nigel shoves his sister against a wall when she’s upset at the prospect of losing her friend; he shakes her like a ragdoll and threatens to backhand her if she doesn’t tell him why Miranda has gone to Scotland (she retreated there when she found out she was pregnant and Olivia is the only person who knows the reason), and when he corners Miranda in Scotland, he tells her that he has people watching her house so she can’t escape. He grabs her wrist and painfully squeezes it until she complies and agrees to whatever he wants, and gives her many a disturbing glare, all with the threat that something *bad* is going to happen to her if she dares disobey him.

This is NOT a man to fawn over. This is not a man, period. This is a monster, and by no means is he worthy of giving one’s heart to. Furthermore, Nigel treats Miranda like a child, cruelly teasing her, bullying her, continuing to talk to her in a patronizing manner, taking the book she’s reading straight out of her hands and mocking her…HE IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER ASS!

…And yet she still loves him. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???

She can’t stay angry with him, though I truly wish she would. She gives in, marries the douche, but apparently he’s a “stand-up guy” again (like he ever was) and I skimmed over the wedding night chapter because I’m not that much of a masochist.

Oh, and she loses the baby. Apparently during that 2-3 three month period when Nigel was away leaving Miranda to fend for herself, she miscarried, but no one seems to be heartbroken about it, least of all Miranda. It’s skimmed over and presented like an after-thought. But not to worry, because she soon gets pregnant again, and then the book does a crazy time jump in a matter of two pages and BOOM, it’s now 8-9 months later and Miranda is approaching her due date.

And if Nigel weren’t enough of a asshole, let’s also throw in the fact that Miranda tells him, just before he leaves for London (why, I don’t know) that she loves him (because all this time, he’s never once said the big L word to her). Nigel panics and his throat dries up. He CAN’T say it back; his speech is quite literally crippled. Miranda’s heart is broken (again) and they begin a “separation”, where they are married, but living like two strangers under the same roof. Nigel fumes and broods and is angry at Miranda for forcing them to be apart, but doesn’t truly try to make things right. He’s man enough to recognize that *this* is at least his fault, but he doesn’t seem to be as sorry as he should be. And it should be noted that while he can’t say “I love you”, he WANTS to hear her say to him over and over. Double-standard hypocrite.

Well the book does have a “happy ending” if you can call it that. For me, a happy ending would be Miranda leaving Nigel’s ass and running off with his younger brother who seemed sweet on her at the beginning of the story. Any other writer would have done just that, but nope! No, in this case, it’s the sound of his daughter’s cry when she is born that FINALLY has Nigel realize “OMG, I *DO* love Miranda!” But before he can say anything, she’s losing blood AND MIGHT DIE. But she doesn’t, and when she wakes up from her mystical birthing coma, she hears Nigel confess that he does love her. Awwww—barf.

I mention all of this because I NEED people to know how disgusting and unlikable Nigel Bevelstoke, aka “Turner” is. He’s not swoon-worthy, he’s not admirable, and he definitely is not the kind of guy, fiction or real, that should be desired by anyone. He’s a condescending, patronizing, hypocritical, abusive dickhead who needs to be kicked in the balls repeatedly.

Miranda can do so much better. And so can readers.

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

A couple of years ago when I first joined Goodreads, one of my favorite things to do was stalk my favorite authors' bookshelves.

It probably still would be, but when I say "stalk" I mean it, so I've already added anything of interest, and to keep doing it would crossover into creepy territory.

Can't have that.

*snickers*

At the time, I still hadn't ever read a straight-up historical romance, but after my success with KMM's Highlander series, I was more open to the possibility, so when Ilona Andrews (my FAVORITE) recommended When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James (again, HR with a twist--this time of the fairy tale retelling persuasion), I. Was. So. There.

And thus began my pursuit of my new favorite guilty pleasure.

So now you know two important things:

1. I've only read MAYBE a couple dozen historical romances, and am by no means an expert.

2. Only two of those were written prior to 2000, so I have a very skewed and admittedly biased perception of what I refer to as, "my grandmother's historical romances."

Well, you didn't know that second one, but you do now.

SO. I'm my limited HR experience, I've discovered several authors whom are almost guaranteed to send me into raptures of pure delight and happiness. Those authors are: Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, Sarah MacLean, and Julia Quinn.

This is (so far) my favorite Julia Quinn.

Miranda Cheever meets her best friend's elder brother Turner for the first time when she is only ten years old, and she loves him instantly. Nearly ten years later, she still loves him, but Turner is no longer the bright and optimistic young man she first gave her heart to.

I've already said that HR is my new favorite guilty pleasure, so I have no problem admitting that I LOVE this premise--girlish crush becomes unrequited love becomes not-so-unrequited love. LOVE it. And of course there are many (MANY) obstacles along the way.

Said obstacles are why I lowered my original rating, incidentally. On the second pass, the book was still as funny and clever as I remembered. The characters, both main and secondary, were still as endearing . . . BUT Turner was just a bit too thick-headed for me this time. He could have saved both himself and Miranda a ridiculous amount of heartache if he had just stopped being so damn stubborn.

For me, there's a fine line between, "Nothing worth having comes easily," and, "I'm over it already." Turner didn't quite cross that line, but it was a near thing.

Still, it was an absolutely divine historical romances, and I recommend it to all lovers of the genre as well as anyone contemplating giving HR a chance for the first time.


"Lovely. Lovely, lovely."

[Lisa (Remarkablylisa) · Rating 1 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS BLOODY FUCKING AWFUL and I'm so glad I went backwards and read this book last in the series or I would have never read the other two.

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really fell off for me in the last third. I like Quinn's writing (despite the scattering of anachronistic expressions which sometimes threw me out of the era), I mostly liked Miranda, and I was prepared to like Turner if he got over his conviction that his previous lousy marriage entitled him to be a jerk. But I was really waiting not for him to fall in love with Miranda but to develop some respect for her and treat her as an adult, a friend, an equal. And I felt that Quinn wrote their personalities so that would have been believable, then for some reason pulled a cliched "oh noes you almost died having my baby I luuuv you!" This was one of a number of cliches that weakened the book: running into the drunk hero in the library in a virginal-yet-hott white nightgown, check. Raining catching the h/h in an isolated shed where they must remove their wet garments and immediately be overcome by passion, check. Make-out scene in a carriage, check. Also, the titular "secret diaries" neither had a role in the plot nor much substance to them. Basically, I thought it was a decent book that was marred by a degree laziness on the part of the author and editor.

[Pepa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reeseña completa: https://masromance.blogspot.com/2020/...

Relectura y le he bajado una estrella
Es una novela muy del estilo de la autora, divertida, entretenida, con un argumento de lo más típico.
Quizás serían 3.5 estrellitas, pero antes valoraba más a la alza

Si os apetece una lectura entretenida y divertida sin grandes complicaciones, es una opción ideal
Pero, hay ciertos comportamientos que ahora no me han cuajado. Turner no llega a redimirse (perdón), y el final es demasiado precipicado
Miranda me ha gustado mucho, su independencia y su feminismo, pero hay cosas que no he terminado de creerme
La fuerte relación entre ella y Olivia, de pronto, pasa a un segundo plano y personajes que desaparecen sin mayor explicación.

Eso no quita que me lo haya pasado muy bien con esas ironías de Miranda y los diálogos entre ambos.
No es de las mejores novelas de la autora, pero tampoco de las peores.

[Maxine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Usually I like Julia Quinn, but this was awful.

Why:

1. Nigel is a huge douche. He knocks Miranda up and does not ask her to marry him even though anyone who's read even a page of a Regency romance knows that just a kiss means you're a dirty dirty whore to the Ton. After he finds out he knocks her up, he goes on a six week bender. No letter, no communication, just getting crunk in Cornwall or whatever. When he finally mans up and goes to her Scotland baby-birthing place to do the right thing, he is relieved that she miscarried. WTF? After they marry (under duress or relief, who can tell?), his inability to say I love you proceeds to ruin his marriage. Does he man up and say it? Only when Miranda is on her childbirth deathbed, no sooner. Makes me question: does he love her or does he love her because she's dying? Way to take her for granted. Douchebag.

His reason for his marriage aversion? His dirty dirty whore wife. Get over it... don't you know what goes on in peripheral Regency marriages? Get a courtesan and get over it.

2. Miranda is a doormat and a fool, loves Nigel after all his douchebaggery. Why? He's only said one kind thing to her once when she was 10. He has minimal contact with her in the years between then and the book's present. Then he proceeds to completely disillusion her of the idea of the man she believes him to be. She forgives him too easily for it too. Just because she wrote that she loved him in her diary however many years ago doesn't mean she has to make it true. Hell, it doesn't even mean that it was true in the first place.

3. People are strangely unemotional about her miscarriage. Weird. I mean sure, her mother had them pretty often but you don't just get used to that sort of thing.

4. Nigel is a huge douche. Oh, I said that already.

5. The worst part is that Julia Quinn writes this with the conviction that Nigel is A Good Man in Bad Circumstances. Nigel is not a good man, if he was that randy bastard would have kept his dick in his pants out of respect for Miranda.

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Charming break from thrillers and mysteries. I find that I rarely go wrong with a Julia Quinn novel. Her characters are quirky or slightly imperfect— and therein lies the charm.

My only complaint with this one was the drawn out ending— and the use of a near-death experience was slightly obvious— but still a charming read.

(Reviewed 3/9/20)

[Juliana Philippa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited for this book as Julia Quinn is a favorite of mine; I normally love her work and I also (surprise, surprise) love to see the quiet/shy girl get the guy. Though there was witty dialog and moments that had me laughing out loud, I really have to say I was disappointed and bothered by many aspects of this book.

PRAISE:
(1) Funny moments that will make you laugh
(2) Connection between Turner and Miranda is interesting to watch in about the first half of the book
(3) I liked Olivia and Turner's mother

CRITICISM:
Key: *Semi-spoiler, **Spoiler
(1) Turner (hero) and Miranda (heroine) are not written / portrayed consistently; they seem to (often) do things that are just very out of character
(2) Depiction of Miranda's father was very flat and I know he's supposed to be the absent-minded-doesn't-really-pay-attention type of character, but these type of one-dimensional portrayals bother me
(3) Development of their relationship is very uneven and they have sex at a pretty reasonable point in the book page-wise (halfway or so), but their relationship had definitely not developed fast enough for that; only two other physical scenes before that, both kissing, and one of them doesn't count because it is before Turner is really attracted to Miranda and is done more in anger
* (4) Miranda was really spineless throughout the latter half of the novel. I think that Turner's horrible absence either needed to be kept and her reaction and anger upped or he needed to show up much, much sooner to deserve her easy acquiescence. (I mean she caves in to marrying him after 3 days when she doesn't supposedly want to? Have a backbone!)
** (5) Miranda is not even UPSET by the fact that she miscarries and regardless of the kind-of-explanation that her mother had many miscarriages also, I just found this VERY troubling - you'd think she would somehow be affected
** (6) I didn't like the progression of the book, one example being the fact that we basically skip over the first six months of Miranda's second pregnancy and are just given one of her diary entries as a substitute
** (7) I was annoyed with Miranda (if you couldn't tell, Miranda gets progressively more annoying as you read) when she finally gets her long-awaited declaration of love and she reacts negatively at first because she doesn't want him to have realized his love only because he almost lost her
(8) The ending was very, very corny and yes, I know, I'm reading a romance novel, but the whole journal-revealing moment and Turner's comments ("My God, Miranda," he breathed reverently. "You really love me, don't you?")

CONCLUSION:
Save your money, buy one of Julia Quinn's other books as she has many great masterpieces to offer that will be one of those reread and keep-forever historical romances. Some suggestions include: The Viscount Who Loved Me, An Offer From a Gentleman, and Romancing Mister Bridgerton - these three are amazing.

[Paula Nácar · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Los diarios secretos de Miranda" de Julia Quinn es una novela encantadora que me hizo sonreír en más de una ocasión. La historia sigue a Miranda Cheever, una joven que ha estado enamorada de Nigel Bevelstoke, el vizconde Turner, desde que tenía diez años. A lo largo de los años, Miranda ha mantenido un diario donde ha plasmado sus sentimientos y sueños.

Lo que más disfruté de este libro fue la evolución de Miranda como personaje. Es una protagonista entrañable, con una mezcla de vulnerabilidad y determinación que la hace muy real. Turner, por su parte, es un héroe complejo, marcado por el dolor y la pérdida, y su relación con Miranda está llena de momentos tiernos y emotivos.

La escritura de Julia Quinn es, como siempre, ligera y divertida. Los diálogos son ingeniosos y las situaciones cómicas añaden un toque de frescura a la historia. Sin embargo, le di a "Los diarios secretos de Miranda" un 7.75/10 porque, aunque es una lectura agradable, sentí que la trama en algunos momentos se volvía un poco predecible. Además, algunas subtramas podrían haberse desarrollado más para añadir profundidad a la historia.

A pesar de estos pequeños inconvenientes, la novela sigue siendo una lectura entretenida y encantadora. La química entre Miranda y Turner es palpable, y su viaje hacia el amor verdadero es satisfactorio. Los personajes secundarios también aportan mucho a la historia, añadiendo capas adicionales de humor y calidez.

En resumen, "Los diarios secretos de Miranda" es una novela que recomiendo a los fans de Julia Quinn y a aquellos que disfrutan de las historias románticas con un toque de humor. Aunque no es mi favorito de la autora, sigue siendo una adición encantadora a la serie Bevelstoke.

[Bibiana In Bookland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️
Menudo personaje es Miranda. La he adorado con ese carácter y temperamento, así como su lengua. Me han encantado los diálogos 🤣. Sin duda es ideal para pasar un buen rato con estos dos protagonistas que no paran de tirar y aflojar.

[fleurette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know if this book has aged poorly or has never been good from the start, but I am very disappointed. I was expecting something more both from this author who I know can write great books and from this book which had high rates and good reviews.

Unfortunately, nothing can hide the fact that Turner, our hero, is a regular asshole. I usually like when the hero in my historical romance has some bad experiences from a previous relationship, and the heroine allows him to believe in love again. But even that didn't save Turner in this case. He's just an asshole and nothing justifies his character. Neither his past experiences nor the trauma of his previous marriage can justify the way he treats Miranda.

And on many levels. Starting with the fact that he causes an intimate situation between them several times, and then he accuses her of his lust. He even punishes her for it. And while it is said that she did not mind his kissing, that does not excuse him for pointing it out to her. As if it was all her fault. But of course soon afterwards he goes back to treating her like a little baby sister. He's so condescending to her that I really couldn't stand it at times.

And of course, since he was so cruelly hurt by his former wife, he cannot remarry. And since he is attracted to Miranda, she must not be interested in any other man. It would be best if she died in spinsterhood, longing for him. Because if she admitted that she loves him, she is now his forever. Though he would, of course, never marry her. And she should remain alone anyway. Dog in the manger.

I found the whole story annoying and rather uninteresting. I expected much more from this author.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a rare one-star book that I actually finished, largely because I'm still waiting for the two books I want to read to come in the mail and I couldn't sleep last night.

I'm afraid this is everything trite and meaningless about HEA romance. I can't stand romance novels in which the crux of the tension is the hero's inability to say three words. This book exacerbates the problem because it is so perfectly obvious that the hero does love the heroine and he shows her in a million ways, which leads to the other eye-rolling part of the tension: the heroine's desperate need to hear three little words or her life is simply unbearable. Gag.

I hate to say it, but this novel would have been better if the heroine had die. It's a bit of a spoiler to say but not much since I already said it's an HEA romance (that's happily ever after for those who are unaware). But there was an opportunity for the heroine to die at the end as we waited in not-so breathless anticipation to find out that she would make it, I found myself thinking how much better the book would be if she did die. Because then there would, at least, be a moral in the idea that you need to love people while you have the chance. I'm not saying the book would have been good had that happened, but I think it would have deserved at least 3 stars that way for sheer nerve.

And I hate to continue this rant here when I have generally been enjoying Julia Quinn's books (every author has a doozy) , but it really would be nice if romance authors would *consider* breaking the rules once in a while.

[Pepito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was such a sweet story. I loved every page of it. I couldn't put it down, which I'm sorry because it was over so fast that I feel bad for having spend money in something that lasted useful in my hands only some hours,lol. Then again, I can't think in anything better than spending my money in this amazing books,lol, I don't regret it of course. It's just that sometimes it hurts to see my money being consumed so fast. But I guess you just can't help it when you find a good book.

Julia Quinn is just an amazing writer. I would strongly recommend this author to all LK fans because they are so much alike that you just can't help to love them both. I mean each has her own writing style but it doesn't come any more similar to LK than JQ and vice versa. Love them both terribly, they are my two fav romance writers.

I'm glad I took some time before reading another historical romance book again. I guess now I realized I was missing the genre. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to switch between genres for once in a while, that way you will enjoy them much more.

I loved everything about this book. I don't wanna loose time talking about the book because for that you can read the summary at the back of the cover. Just wanted to say that after having read her Bridgerton's series I though she couldn't write anything just as good, but let me tell you that this series does not disappoint.

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no bookshelves to put this book on.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever was my third book by Julia Quinn, and it seems that the third try is the charm. -ish.

While I wasn't deeply offended by it, as I was with The Duke and I , or so indifferent to it that I found it utterly forgettable, as is the case with To Catch an Heiress, The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever leave still a lot to be desired.

What bothered me most, besides the age difference and the fact that the heroine is only nineteen, which I can't state enough, creeps the ever loving life out of me, is the great imbalance between Miranda and Turner. The author did nothing to try to even the ground between those two, instead, as almost on purpose trying to show us just how immature Miranda is and how grown up Turner is.

His manner with Miranda is always either patronizing or condescending. And even as she tries to hold her own with him, he somehow always gets the upper hand. I had the feeling that they weren't equal, that he'll always have some imaginary advantage over her and she'll always be lacking. Because she's so freaking young. *major creeps ensue when they're making love because she seems too young for him*

Two stars because 60% of this book are perfectly enjoyable. So I guess, it's not the worst book that I've read. That title goes to The Duke and I. I will be continuing with the series in the hope that it'll improve with every sequel.

[Brittany B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not surprised ths one the Rita award in 2008! It very much deserved it.
A Must Read!
I ADORE Miranda Cheever. She and her sweet friend Olivia are two of my favorite characters in modern writing.

The story was lovely and unexpected, filled with the unrequited love of a ten year old girl. (Miranda Cheeser) And with the pain and disenchantment with life that comes when all your hopes and dreams in life are shattered. (Turner Bevelstock) And it is about so much more, to be sure.

One of the themes that affects me most is the loss of wide-eyed innocence; the true detriment of a broken heart and soul. It happens to all of us at some point in our journey. How we rebuild is a measure of our character and resilience.

Quinn has a very interesting way of writing, that feels different with each book.
She never fails to deliver.
And this in one of my favorites!

Thanks for the rec Anzu! :))))

Audio format: narrated by Jenny Sterlin = 3.5
not the worst, but only because the story was so good. Sounded like she just got braces and head-gear that day.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upping to 3.5 stars second time around.

First time:
This may be my least favorite Julia Quinn book, certainly in the bottom three. Miranda was too foolish and Turner was too much of a jerk for it to strike me as amusing.

[Lady Nilambari Reads HR · Rating 3 out of 5]

God, this book might be one of the JQ best! It’s full of longing and raw pain. Turner is an alphahole, but I get it. Miranda is lovely and resilient! Great book!

[~Calliope~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Abril Camino · Rating 4 out of 5]

No había leído nunca a Julia Quinn (aunque he devorado la serie de los Bridgerton en Netflix) y me ha gustado mucho su narrativa. Esta es una historia entretenida, la clásica trama de Regencia, aunque con una protagonista muy diferente y original. Lo he devorado y me lo he pasado genial leyéndolo.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Regency romance with sex.

I really don't think Julia Quinn even wrote this. It just doesn't seem like something she'd write. There's very little humor in it & JQ is all about humor in her stories.

I didn't like Miranda. Her heart is always on her sleeve & for what? One act of kindness 10 years ago? We get the tired old "Let's get you out of those wet clothes" trope. Divested of her virginity, Miranda waits in vain for a kind word or marriage proposal.

Turner is a Jerk with a capital J. Selfish. It's all about him & his poor 1st marriage. After having sex with Miranda (NOT making love!) he takes off for 7 weeks to a rowdy house party. Nice.

IMO the worst book JQ has ever written :(

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

#RetoRita

Una delicia.
Es una novela de esas con una protagonista femenina con carácter, apasionada e ingeniosa. Es la historia de un amor infantil, se transforma en un amor adulto, verdadero y apasionado.
Turner, desengañado y absolutamente decepcionado del amor (con toda la razón).
Los diálogos entre ellos son chispeantes, un tira y afloja continuo, muy divertidos.
Es una de esas novelas, que sin ser una historia con grandes pretensiones, resulta una delicia. Romántica, divertida, dulce. La he disfrutado muchísimo otra vez.

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

And the end of the year ends with a sweet romance, so sweet that my teeth ache! 😂

I loved parts of the book, especially the character of Miranda. And other parts of the book annoyed me. The whole, “Why don’t you love me?” plot was a bit much. The book could have been about 70 pages less and got a better rating from me.

I’ll still continue with the series though because I’m sure there will be a story about Olivia and I’m looking forward to that book!

[Sabina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished this and for the first 2/3 of the book I really enjoyed it. There’s a ton of witty dialogue that is trademark Julia Quinn. She has a way of making you feel a part of her protagonists’ lives. I loved the diary entries.

[Kimberly Carrington-Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nuestra reseña del #RitaJulia en A la cama con... un libro

3-3'5 estrellitas.
Iba muy bien pero en un determinado momento se torció la cosa y ya no me entretuvo tanto.