It’s been some months since I touched the Bridgerton series, but with the Netflix show premiering next month, I knew I had to finish this eight-book Regency romance series. The series follows a family of eight siblings as they fall in love. It’s a very popular romance series and while some of the books haven’t been my favorite, others have completely enthralled me, and Book 7, It’s In His Kiss was one of them!

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The summary, from Amazon:

From New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes the seventh novel in the beloved Regency-set world of her charming, powerful Bridgerton family, now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sum of All Kisses and Because of Miss Bridgerton comes the story of Hyacinth, the youngest child of the famed Bridgerton siblings.

Meet Our Hero . . .

Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth’s sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past . . . and the key to his future. The problem is—it’s written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.

Meet Our Heroine . . .

All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She’s fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken, and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there’s something about her—something charming and vexing—that grabs him and won’t quite let go . . .

Meet Poor Mr. Mozart . . .

Or don’t. But rest assured, he’s spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual—and annually discordant—Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth’s every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other . . . and that there is nothing as simple—or as complicated—as a single, perfect kiss.

This edition includes the second epilogue from The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After.

Buy It’s In His Kiss here.
(Or better yet – go for the whole series!)

What makes a novel in this series work for me is the characters, and It’s In His Kiss was full of winners for me. I knew going into it that even if the hero and heroine didn’t work for me (which they did), I loved Lady Danbury, the person who connects them. Lady Danbury is a staple of the Bridgertons series. She’s a tough old lady who is willing to crack you with her cane if you need some sense knocked into you. Hyacinth, the youngest Bridgerton sibling, is a friend of hers and reads to her once a week, and Gareth is her grandson.

We’ve seen Hyacinth in the other books in the series, but she was always the kid sister. Now, she’s twenty-two and a person of her own. Her family is eager to marry her off. She’s had three seasons and a few proposals, but nothing worth considering, and her strong personality doesn’t make her an ideal match for most men in Regency London. Lady Danbury considers Hyacinth a grandchild, and would like nothing more than to see her marry her grandson. Gareth, meanwhile, meets Hyacinth while visiting Lady Danbury with the purpose of finding someone to translate a diary left to him by his deceased brother. The diary was written by their other grandmother in Italian. Gareth is genuinely curious about it, and also suspects it could provide information on who his real father is. He does not get along with his father, who in recent years has revealed to him that Gareth is not his actual child.

It turns out Hyacinth can read Italian, and so the two work together. They realize that Gareth’s grandmother hid a secret treasure, which of course Hyacinth is eager to uncover. Meanwhile, the two fall in love, and their romance is filled with so many tropes I adore. They’re the kind to butt heads and get on one another’s nerves, but in a totally playful manner – though they do inevitably have a serious quarrel or two throughout the book. I liked that for the most part their communication is excellent, and their dilemmas are only caused by how similar and stubborn they are.

I don’t think this was my favorite book in the series. I’ll give that to When He Was Wicked. I must note, part of what I loved about When He Was Wicked was how sex-positive it was. The first in this series was published in the naughties while the most recent were published just a few years ago, and you can see the author’s tone shifting with the times – which is great. It’s In His Kiss is also incredibly sex positive. It does include a bit of a problematic trope with Gareth thinking he should compromise Hyacinth to secure a marriage with her, but Hyacinth never sees what they did as something particularly bad, and while she is completely virginal, she knows what she wants in bed and is only a little nervous to ask for it.

Overall, this was a 5 star read for me. I am loving this series and am excited to read the finale next.

Find out more about how I rate books here.

It’s in His Kiss by Julia Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m trying to finish this series before the premiere of the Netflix show and I’m so glad I revisited it. Hyacinth and Gareth’s story was sweet, sexy, and exciting. I love Hyacinth and her relationship with one of the best characters in the series, Lady Danbury.

View all my reviews

Book Club Questions

1. Did Gareth propose to spite his father, or because he had feelings for Hyacinth – or both? Did he have to come to terms with his emotions regarding his father before he was truly able to fall in love, or did falling in love help him come to that realization?
2. Was the outcome of the epilogues satisfactory? Did you like the role of Hyacinth and Gareth’s daughter in Hyacinth’s discovery?
3. Do you think Lady Danbury and Hyacinth ever wrote their book? What was it about?