The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn
The third novel in Julia Quinn's Smythe-Smith Quartet, The Sum of All Kisses is a Regency era romance novel published in October of 2013. As I had been hoping, it focuses on Lord Hugh Prentice and one of the Smythe-Smith cousins, Lady Sarah Pleinsworth. It deals with bullying by a parent, child abuse, references to sexual violence that is not seen, blood, grief, brief mention of a pregnancy, and an injury with lasting repercussions.
Lady Sarah Pleinsworth was supposed to make her debut the year that her cousin Daniel dueled Hugh Prentice and was driven out of England. The scandal forced their entire family into the country for the season, and Sarah cannot forgive Hugh for nearly destroying her family. That's fine with Hugh, Sarah is far too dramatic for his tastes. Luckily, they don't have to see each other very often since Hugh is notorious for avoiding social commitments. Or, was notorious for avoiding social commitments. Since bartering with his father for Daniel's return to England, Hugh will not be allowed to miss either Daniel's wedding or Daniel's sister's wedding to their friend. Sarah is given the task of keeping Hugh entertained through the wedding events to make sure that he does not feel uncomfortable - this is their chance to show society that the scandal is officially over. But all this spending time together makes them realize that it's a lot easier to hate someone you don't know, and that perhaps they both have sides of their personalities that they've been hiding.
I was quite excited about this installment of the Smythe-Smith Quartet since Hugh Prentice really won be over in the last book, A Night Like This. Unfortunately, he lacked quite a bit of the eccentricities from the last novel. I feel like Julia Quinn has a hard time maintaining a character's personality over the length of a series. Regardless of how they've acted in the past, by the time you reach their novel, the main characters morph into exactly what you've seen in the prior books. Yes, it's a winning combination. Who doesn't love a plucky and spirited woman who matches wits and sarcasm with a charming man who broods more than is strictly necessary? But in this case in particular, both Sarah and Hugh seemed to be less than what I had seen and what I wanted from them. That being said, there's nothing wrong with this book. Like A Night Like This, it deals with some heavier topics - Hugh's dad makes for a good villain, but overall it is fun and light. It has a cute ending and I did enjoy it. I was just hoping for more.
I'm giving The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn 4 stars out of 5. I think I liked this one more than I did the previous two but not enough to give it any higher of a rating. These books are note as spicy as Quinn's Bridgerton novels, it gets a 1 spice rating. I will be finishing the series pretty soon with the fourth and final book, The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy.
For more from Julia Quinn, check out https://juliaquinn.com/
Pairs well with an old-fashioned bride cake and a hand of piquet.
My favorite quote:
"'This may explain why I don't understand women.'"
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