Search - Mr. Cavendish, I Presume (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Bk 2)

If you've already read The Two Dukes of Wyndham, then you can bypass almost the whole of Mr. Cavendish and pick up with the last two chapters. This book rehashes the entire prequel and tries to develop the relationship between Thomas and Amelia that just doesn't work. The final proposal scene was romantic and lovely but hardly enough to make their love for each other close to believable. What I really wanted to to know is what happened to the Dowager Duchess. 2.5 stars out of 5.

I am a great admirer of Julia Quinn's books, but this one fell way short. It is not because of great expectations and tepid writing. The book is well written, only it is The Lost Duke written from a Amelia and Thomas' point of view. You go through the entire book thinking, ok now the story is going to begin, but the reader ends up reading entire passages that are exact replicas from the previous book. Even this would not bother me if the story actually reflected Amelia and Thomas' story, but it was like reading a different POV of Grace and Jack's story. The lead characters never connected, and Amelia was a nice, boring person. She kept saying she was a smart person, but the character never reflected that quality. Amelia did not reflect a one outstanding quality that would make Thomas think, this is why I love her. Thomas himself showed no qualities that would make the reader think he was a man to love. You get the last chapter that is devoted to Thomas and Amelia only and I would say that fizzled out, but it actually never warmed up.

Poor Thomas Cavendish! He comes home to discover that his title of Duke may NOT be his.

This book as better than Jack's story. I actually cared about the leads. Thomas had his faults and at times didn't know how to handle them. His childhood was less than loving. His grandmother never held back her disdain.

Amelia Willoughby was betrothed to Thomas since birth and just bided her time until Thomas came to collect her. Still after twenty years, she's still waiting. Thomas doesn't see the rush, he'll get around to it eventually. Amelia was tired of waiting.

There was parts of this book, that didn't like. I really didn't like Thomas teasing Amelia near the beginning. He basically ignored the girl until it suits him and really didn't give thought to her feeling. Then Amelia all but melted to becomes a doormat slightly. But as time went on, I liked their rapport because unlike Jack and Grace, theirs was more emotional.

I am, evidently, of the opposite opinion of most reviewers. I LOVED the concept by Ms. Quinn of telling the same story from two different view points. When reading a book that focuses on the two main characters and to then have other characters exit the scene, I usually wonder just what they are up to. With this book you KNOW what Thomas and Amelia were doing while Jack was pursuing Grace. The two books together are just one story with all the gaps filled in. Granted there is repitition from the previous book but don't you ever go back and reread parts of books you have already read? This book save you the trouble.

I was glad to see that the other reviews reflect my feelings of disappointment. I kind of feel a little cheated because I really wanted know Thomas and Amelia story. Not a regurgatation of her last book. I skipped major sections because they were a repeat of her last book - word for wrod. Very little new things were written about the couple throughout this book. I think Ms. Quinn had to refer to the previous book for story line purposes, but she should have summed up those parts instead of just copied them over again or both stories should have been combined into 1 book. It would have made more sense and not disappointed so many readers.

The first book, The Lost Duke of Wyndham, is excellent. This sequel, whose story runs at the same time as Wyndham, is a bit of a disappointment. Instead of running parallel to the first book and giving the reader a brand new perspective, Ms. Quinn instead uses the first book as an outline for this one, simply filling in a few story holes here and there to keep the reader tantalized.

Entire sections of dialogue are painstakingly repeated word for word, as though the author was desperately trying to prove these storylines occurred at the same time. Instead of giving the reader a unique perspective, it is simply tedious.

It's nice to find out what happens to Thomas Cavendish, and the long-suffering Amelia -- so you will read it, of course. Just don't expect to be enthralled. Not a page-turner by any means.