The Secret Diaries Of Miss Miranda Cheever (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
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 motherCRITICISM: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.
Oduvijek sam bila skeptična prema povijesnim ljubićima. Nekako se uvijek odlučim za one moderne. Ovoj knjizi privukao me intrigantan naslov, predivna naslovnica te preporuke ostalih čitatelja koji su se zaklinjali da Julia Quinn odlično piše. Nisam donijela lošu odluku kada sam uzela ovu knjigu u ruke. Očekivala sam u najmanju ruku osrednji ljubić s naporinim opisima udvaranja iz prošlosti. Jako mi je drago što sam se prevarila. Kad od nečega očekujete tako malo a ispadne jako dobro, rezultat je veliko oduševljenje. Nakon čitanja ove knjige prvom ću prilikom nabaviti i “Deset stvari koje volim kod tebe” iste autorice. Miranda Cheever cijeli je život prijateljica s Olivijom Bevelstoke. Njena je kolegica prekrasna i vrlo popularna pa Mirandu ne iznenađuje količina udvarača koji ju salijeću. Ona sama ne izaziva previše muške pažnje pošto je povučenija. Također, smatra se neuglednom i nezanimljivom. Miranda i Olivija će zajedno otputovati u London gdje traje društvena sezona jer obje moraju pronaći dobre muževe. No, Miranda u srcu ima mjesta samo za jednog muškarca – onog koji joj je zabranjen i koji je nikada ne bi pogledao. Ili se možda vara?Likovi iz ove knige odmah su me osvojili. Mlada i povučena Miranda, oštrog jezika i mudrih spoznaja, uvijek umjerena u svemu. Njena suprotnost, Olivija, predivna koketa koja je uvijek u centru pažnje, s jezikom bržim od pameti što knjigu čini jako zabavnom. I naravno, tu je Turner, prekrasan udovac kojeg je žena toliko razočarala da nije siguran može li ponovno voljeti. Logičniji izbor su mu udovice i lake žene za zabavu, no osjećajima se ipak ne da upravljati… Kada na isto mjesto stavite dvoje tvrdoglavih ljudi i uz njih osobu kojoj ništa ne može promaknuti a ipak joj treba puno toga zatajiti, dobijete odlično, opuštajuće a opet napeto štivo. U knjizi, gdje se radnja odvija otprilike 1820. godine, odlično je opisano društvo i položaj žene, njena prava i što se damama pristoji. Također je opisano i što se događa kada se pravila prekrše. Iako sam očekivala da će to kod mene izazvati dosadu, dogodilo se upravo suprotno – autorica na zanimljiv način prikazuje prilike tog doba, bez sumornih i napornih opisa i detalja. “Tajni dnevnici gospođice Mirande Cheever” ispala je predivna ljubavna priča, opis kakva bi ljubav zaista trebala biti. Knjiga je prepuna lijepih misli i citata o ljubavi, patnji, žudnji i osjećajima pa vam ne ostavlja drugog izbora nego da se zaljubite u samu knjigu.Ova mi je knjiga otvorila vrata u potpuno novi svijet , tj. novi žanr koji mi se dopao, zbog čega će mi ostati utisnuta u sjećanju kao posebna te vrste. Preporučam svima koji vole ljubiće, čak i ako do sada niste čitali povijesne. Ovaj vas neće razočarati!
What do You think about The Secret Diaries Of Miss Miranda Cheever (2007)?
Si salva dall'avere una sola stellina solo perchè la Quinn scrive bene; per il resto, non sembra neanche scritto da lei, per contenuti ed evoluzione della storia.La Quinn ha completamente toppato sia nei personaggi che nello svolgimento degli eventi. Turner, che esordisce alla grande nel prologo, viene presentato come un eroe tormentato, ma poi quest'aurea perde subito potenza e coerenza, e il suo personaggio diventa solo uno stupido, immaturo, incoerente idiota. Così lo definisce Miranda a un certo punto, e così rimane fino all'ultima riga. La Quinn non è stata assolutamente in grado di gestire l'evoluzione del personaggio, arrivando a farmelo odiare in molte circostanze, per me cosa rarissima nei confronti di un eroe romance, ed evento unico per un personaggio creato dalla sua penna.Miranda si salva, anche se pure lei ha dei comportamenti non del tutto coerenti con l'intelligenza del personaggio; soprattutto sono arrivata a chiedermi come potesse amare alla follia un tale idiota.Verso la fine il romanzo addirittura peggiora, finendo peggio quello che già era iniziato male.
—Manuela
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.
—valee
So...I started off loving this book even though the "hero" (Turner) was kind of (for a lack of a better word) weak. I instantly connected with Miranda... oh how I love the ugly duckling turned beautiful swan stories...but something happened that threw the book way off track and it never came full circle for me. I have read so many books where the main man went through a great tragedy and never quite moved on until he was faced with the loss of the smartest and the most gorgeous gal in England. Turner just didn't fit the bill and I kept hoping Quinn would man him up a bit, but she never really did. I hate that Miranda didn't get the man that she deserved...I bet that's one thing she'll never write in that diary of hers!
—Barbara M.
