Now patriciar

Hier geht's zur Lesenacht.Julia Quinn is my first and only historical romance author. I haven't read anything from anyone else, because I usually don't like the genre, but Quinn's books are always entertaining, light and character-driven. It's in his Kiss was in the beginning enchanting. Actually the first half or more was. And even after that the book wasn't bad, but through some actions the hero made himself very unlikeable and being the unforgiving person that I am, I had my problems with that and the fact that he got his happy end. Gareth and Hyacinth both were very funny, witty characters with several scenes that made my day/night. Their story was a typical Quinn read so I'll leave it at that and won't repeat my or other people's other reviews about Quinn's writing and focus on why my rating is lower than I had expected when I started the novel.The hero and his actions. I don't think he's a despicable asshole, I can actually understand why he's afraid of losing Hacinth, but the way he dealt with the problem was horrible. It spoke volumes of his love for her – A love that imo isn't there if he forces her into marriage with him. I usually hate sentences like 'If he loved her, he would have..' but in this case it's true. If you love someone you wish them the best, right? You want them to be happy, with or without you. It's this kind of unselfishness that screams love. (and maybe masochism, but that's another matter)But he was afraid that she wouldn't marry him if she knew the truth about him. Another 'if': 'If you love someone you want them to love you back. Not your pretendings, but you. Without any lies.' but he was afraid and he thought she would actually not marry him if she knew the truth, which means that he simply wanted to have her so much that he didn't care about her happiness, which – if he had been right – would've been pretty non-existent in a marriage with a guy she did neither love nor like anymore. This isn't love, this is selfishness, stubborness and fear.The book had it's good parts, though and with a book written by Quinn it's impossible to give less than the 'average' rating (=2.5-3 stars). I liked Gregory and the whole Bridgerton family. Anthony had an impossibly epic moment and I remember how I choked on my pasta when I read that scene (yes, I ate while reading.. I know. Shame on me.)If Gareth had been honest or at least had dealt with the situation differently, this might have been my favorite or one of my favorite Bridgertons. But as it is, it's while being an enjoyable read (and it was that, seriously! I don't regret reading it in the least!) it pissed me off in the end, leaving me with the impression that I can't give more than 3- stars.