The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy

By: Julia Quinn

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Sir Richard Kenworthy has less than a month to find a bride. He knows he can't be too picky, but when he sees Iris Smythe-Smith hiding behind her cello at her family's infamous musicale, he thinks he might have struck gold. She's the type of girl you don't notice until the second - or third - look, but there's something about her, something simmering under the surface, and he knows she's the one.

Iris Smythe-Smith is used to being underestimated. With her pale hair and quiet, sly wit she tends to blend into the background, and she likes it that way. So when Richard Kenworthy demands an introduction, she is suspicious. He flirts, he charms, he gives every impression of a man falling in love, but she can't quite believe it's all true. When his proposal of marriage turns into a compromising position that forces the issue, she can't help thinking that he's hiding something... even as her heart tells her to say yes.

©2015 Julie Cotler Pottinger (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Love love this book

Wonderful read,I could listen to this book over and over again! Love love the narrator, Rosalyn Landor! Julia please continue to have her narrate your books!!

Cute

This was a cute story. I hated how long it took to get the plot. The sister is pregnant and he needs to find a wife so he can pass off the baby as his. But his sister isn't the most honest person and she is pregnant for a farmer and not the person her brother thinks she is pregnant for. Like a Regancy Murry Show. lol

Another Julia Quinn masterpiece!

Absolutely loved the mystery in this one! Kept you guessing throughout the adorable, history rich novel! Roslyn Landor, your are also the most talented narrator I have yet to discover!

Iris and the readers deserve more.

I like Iris a lot, and I am a fan of flawed protagonists. I know we've seen plenty of flawed men and women in Quinn's novels, and of the dozen or so books I've read, there are only two I can think of that I found completely unlikable, and one of them is Richard.

I think part of the problem is that I as the reader felt duped. Iris had time to come to terms with what happened and remember why she loved him. I had 2 or 3 hours to do the same, and it wasn't enough time.

Maybe if I read the book a second time in order to have more context for what's happening, I would feel differently. However, with so many other wonderful male leads in Quinn's romantic universe, I'd much prefer to reread a different book or try a new one.

The narrator was lovely, as always, though.

In another universe where I didn't care about feeling closure for the happily ever after, I would say this is a well written book filled with drama, a flawed male protagonist, a likeable but also flawed female protagonist, and interesting side characters. As someone wanting a swoonworthy HEA, which is what I think most Quinn fans are after, this just did not do it for me.

(More context on why I am unhappy with Richard's portrayal below. I didn't reveal the big secret, but I definitely consider the rest of this review to be one filled with spoilers.)

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

We spent the "honeymoon" feeling awful for sweet Iris as she agonized over why her husband didn't seem interested in her. When they finally did get physical, we hear Richard's inward turmoil about not being able to satisfy himself because "it wouldn't be right." The whole time we are hearing this dialogue, I am convinced that he doesn't want to push her beyond her limits before he tells her the truth about whatever this mysterious secret involving his sisters is.

So, I was anxiously awaiting the secret, thinking Iris would be mad for a little bit, but that she ultimately would be happy with her decision. I was imagining that he needed to get married soon so he'd be able to pay a dowry for one or both of his sisters or that one of them got into a terrible accident and would need life long care which included a mother figure.

When the real secret is finally revealed, and I learned all those "wouldn't be right" sentences that he thought over and over and over did not have to do with respect for Iris's bodily autonomy and was instead a requirement to ensure his plan for his sister's actual secret remained a secret from everyone in the vicinity forever... Wow. I lost all the respect I had for him.

I get needing to take care of his sister and not realizing there was a better plan. I get that he's afraid to tell Iris the truth because he doesn't want her to hate him. I really do.

However, when I have spent the entire book thinking he was attempting to care properly for his wife (other than the big secret) and then find out that although he did love her, ultimately most of his actions that I thought were for Iris were still for his sister, I was absolutely appalled. It had me questioning his motives for basically all of his actions at that point.

I think Richard's likeability would be dramatically improved if the reader knew much earlier on what his sister's secret was. I don't necessarily think Iris would need to know sooner (although she obviously deserves to!). A book without conflict isn't very interesting, after all. However, I think if the readers were let in on the secret earlier so we could get more of Richard's thought processes, his other actions that were "for" Iris would probably feel a lot more reliable, and it would be easier to understand process hus betrayal and make the 2 or 3 hours of the book after Iris founds out ones where we can root for them as a couple. Instead, I was with Iris questioning every single interaction of their marriage, and I am pretty sure that a re-read is the only way I will get those answers. But to be honest, I didn't enjoy Richard's personality enough to desire a re-read. So, barring a worse malr protagonist in a book I have not yet read, Richard will just forever remain my least favorite protagonist in the Quinn universe.

My favorite Smythe-Smith!

I really loved this book and I’m sad it’s the end of the series. This was a great series. I loved how out with it Iris could be and catch Richard off his guard. My only question for the whole book was… did the aunt know the secret too? And what was her opinion of Richard’s plan? I was on the edge of my seat the whole time waiting for it to spill out.

Ignore ALL OTHER REVIEWS

I almost didn’t listen because of the other reviews. One of my favorite books from the author. Richard falls deeply for Iris, and there is a lot of good drama. Hard to put down

story line was trite. narrator is wonderful.

story line was trite. narrator is wonderful. the only reason I finished this audio was because I paid dearly for it.

Landor is good

why do all of her main male characters sound the same? I am a binge listener. But I have to make sure that I don't get myself into a back to back Landor. it ruins the experience.

Enjoyed

Great storytelling. I enjoyed the book and the twisted and turns that it took me through. Laughs, emotional, shock, unexpected twists. Some things were a bit unforgivable … maybe it the early 19th century a wife was at the whim of her husband. 200 years later? No way in hell!
All of it made for a good story. (even if the wife was a bit quick to forgive!)

Better the second time around

Appreciated the characters much more during the second listen: Iris was brilliant and Richard, though “still” 😄manipulative and controlling, has redeeming qualities 😁