Quickie Review: The Lady Most Likely... by Julia Quinn, Connie Brockway, and Eloisa James

Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pub Date: December 28, 2010
Publisher: Avon/Harper Collins
FTC: Purchased myself
Blurb: At end of review due to length

I have to admit, I was more than a little nervous about reading this one. I used to be a big fan of Julia Quinn, but her more recent efforts have fallen very flat with me. It's been a long time since I've read either Eloisa James or Connie Brockway, too. But I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

This is technically not an anthology, but given the fact that it's a novel written in three parts about three different couples, I'm going to review it as one.

Julia Quinn

Surprisingly, my favorite part of the story. The shy heroine is a favorite trope of mine, and while this one does not bring anything startling new, it is still charming without losing heart and substance.

Connie Brockway

It's been so long since I've read a book by Connie Brockway. I remember liking them, but that's about it. This was another solid story in the book, even if the plot was pretty tired and overused. I really liked Captain Oakes.

Eloisa James

My least favorite of the three, and I'm not sure why. Maybe because Hugh didn't seem like the same character from the first two novellas. It's the smuttiest (not in a bad way) of the three, but I just didn't see Georgie's capitulation as believable. I think it would take far, far more than an afternoon with Hugh to change her mind.

Bottom line: If you usually like all or any of these authors, you'll probably like this one. But if they aren't usually your cup of tea, this will not change that. There's a necessary sketchiness that comes from the novella length of each story, too, so be prepared for that.

Overall Grade: B/B-

The Blurb:

Three of the brightest stars of historical romance invite you to a party at the country home of the Honorable Marquess of Finchley

Hugh Dunne, the Earl of Briarly, needs a wife, so his sister hands him a list of delectable damsels and promises to invite them— and a few other gentlemen—to her country house for what is sure to be the event of the season.
Hugh will have time to woo whichever lady he most desires . . . Unless someone else snatches her first.
The invitation list includes:

• The horse-mad but irresistibly handsome Earl of Briarly
• The always outspoken Miss Katherine Peyton
• The dashing war hero Captain Neill Oakes
• The impossibly beautiful (and painfully shy) Miss Gwendolyn Passmore
• The terribly eligible new Earl of Charters
• The widowed Lady Georgina Sorrell (who has no plans to marry, ever)

And your hostess, Lady Carolyn Finchley, an irrepressible matchmaker who plans to find the lady most likely . . . to capture her brother’s untamed heart.