Splendid series tells
love stories between the Lyndon cousins and also their group of close friends.
The series is Historical Romance, which contains adult contents, although not so vulgar but still not suitable for anyone under 18 years old.
All stories take place in England during year 1816 to 1826. The Splendid Series
is Julia Quinn’s first debut series. All 4 books in the Splendid series can be
read as a stand-alone novel in any order, but it’s advisable to read them in
their order starting from the first book to maximize your reading experience
and not to get any spoilers.
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Serial
Splendid menceritakan kisah-kisah cinta antara para sepupu dari keluarga Lyndon
dan para teman terdekat mereka. Serial ini merupakan cerita Historical Romance,
yang mengandung materi orang dewasa, yang walaupun tidak vulgar tetapi tidak
sesuai untuk mereka yang masih di bawah 18 tahun. Seluruh cerita di dalam
serial ini mengambil latar di Inggris pada kurun waktu tahun 1816 sampai dengan
1826. Dan serial Splendid ini merupakan debut karya perdana dari pengarangnya,
Julia Quinn. Semua buku dalam serial Splendid ini dapat dibaca sebagai novel
tersendiri tanpa urutan apapun, tetapi sangat disarankan untuk mengikuti urutan
dari serinya supaya dapat memaksimalkan pengalaman membaca kalian.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book
1 : Splendid
Copyright © 1995 by Julie Cotler
Pottinger
First Published
in Indonesia on 2010 by Dastan Books
Paperback,
25 Chapters + Prolog and Epilog, 490 Pages (for Indonesian Edition)
Genre :
Historical Romance, Adult Novel
Other books
in the series : Dancing
At Midnight (Splendid #2), Minx (Splendid #3) and A Tale Of Two Sisters (Splendid #4, a Novella part of Where’s My Hero)
There
are two things everyone knows about Alexander
Ridgely. One, he’s the Duke of Ashbourne. And two, he has no plans to
marry anytime soon…
That
is until a redheaded American throws herself in front of a carriage to save his
young nephew’s life. She’s everything Alex never thought a woman could be : smart
and funny, principled and brave. But she’s a servant, completely unsuitable for
a highborn duke—unless, perhaps, she’s not quite what she seems…
American
heiress Emma Dunster might be
surrounded by Englishmen, but that doesn’t mean she intends to marry one—even
if she has agreed to participate in one London Season. When she slipped out of
her cousins’ home, dressed as a kitchen maid, all she wanted was one last taste
of anonymity before her debut. She never dreamed she’d find herself in the arms
of a dangerously handsome duke… or that he’d be quite so upset when he
discovered her true identity. But true love tends to blossom just when one
least expects it, and passion can melt even the most stubborn of hearts.
Splendid tells a
romantic story between Emma Dunster, an American born from British parents,
with Alexander Ridgely, Duke of Ashbourne.
When her father asked
Emma to go to London and stay with her aunt, Caroline Countess of Worth, for a
year for London Season in 1816, of course Emma protested. She doesn’t want to
leave Boston and her family company, Dunster Shipping, just to get married to
some stranger in England. Emma likes her life in Boston. She likes to study the
Business that someday will belong to her and help her father running the
company. But since it is uncommon at that time for a woman to be running a
Business, especially a shipping business, then Emma has no choice but to comply
with her father to go to London and stay with her uncle and aunt, Earl and
Countess of Worth, and also her two cousin: Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon, Viscount
Burwick, and his sister Lady Arabella Blydon, also known as Belle.
Alex’s first
encounter with Emma is in a unique situation since at that time Emma is in her
maid’s clothes on her way home from a store when she saves a boy, which happens
to be Alex’s nephew, from a speeding carriage. Emma has to lie to maintain her
undercover as her maid and cover her real identity from this astonishing Duke
and his sister. Taken by her looks and her courage, Alex insisted to take this
beautiful maid back to her workplace. Since Emma is still feeling a little bit dizzy
from the fall when she rescue Alex’s nephew, and she also has to go back
immediately to her aunt’s house for her debutante ball this evening, she accept
the offer.
Since Alex is worried
and cannot get the beautiful maid from his head, he decided to go to the Ball
held by Countess of Worth that evening, to make sure the beautiful maid’s
condition is really ok. Imagine his surprise when he sees the beautiful maid
that he saw that afternoon is actually the Countess’ niece, Emma, the belle of
the Ball with her red hair and violet eyes.
Actually Splendid
is quite interesting to read, even though all the characters’ exploration is
feel lacking compare all Julia Quinn later works, which such a pity since the
sequels for this novel is quite good. The portrayal of Alexander Ridley, Duke
of Ashbourne as a Hero Character seems a little bit shallow and it is very hard
for me to imagine that someone like Emma could madly fall in love with him for
other reasons besides his good looks. Here in Splendid, Alex is portrayed as
an arrogant snob with a big ego. This portrayal didn’t do justice to Alex’s
character in the other books (Dancing At Midnight and Minx) as a charming and loveable
Duke.
Emma’s character also
feels lacking, and so does all the secondary characters like Belle, Ned,
Dunford, and Sophie. They didn’t leave any strong impression for the reader.
It’s a bit disappointed since for those of you that have read the sequels (Dancing At
Midnight and Minx), their characters’ growth and their
friendship interaction between them is very interesting and quite well.
Splendid is Julia
Quinn’s first debut work as a writer, so we can forgive the imperfection since
overall Splendid
is quite interesting and easy to read. We also can see the potential for family
antics and friendship interaction that eventually will become Julia Quinn
trademark in her later series. It is interesting to see Julia Quinn’s
development and improvement in writing technique from Splendid to her later works such
Agents of
the Crown Series, Bridgerton Series, and The Smythe-Smith Series, that
sets the bar high for all Historical Romance writers out there. And for this
reason alone and also because Julia Quinn is one of my favorite author of all
time, makes Splendid
is worth to keep in my book collection.
Characters in Splendid are as follows :
Emma Dunster : an American Heiress, daughter of
John Dunster.
John Dunster : Emma’s father, the owner of
Dunster Shipping Company, and currently living in Boston, America.
Caroline Blydon : Countess of Worth, John Dunster’s
sister, Emma’s aunt.
Henry Blydon : Earl of Worth, Caroline’s
husband, and Emma’s uncle by marriage.
Arabella ‘Belle’
Blydon : Emma’s cousin,
the only daughter of Earl and Countess of Worth.
Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon : Emma’s Cousin, Viscount Burwick,
older brother of Arabella Blydon, the only son and heir to Earl of Worth.
Alexander Edward
Ridgely : Duke of
Ashbourne.
Sophie : Countess of Wilding, Alex’s
sister.
Charlie : Sophie’s son.
William Dunford : one of Alex’s best friend since
Oxford.
Anthony Woodside : Viscount Benton.
Rating for
Splendid
is 6.5/10.
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Splendid bercerita
mengenai kisah cinta antara Emma Dunster, seorang gadis Amerika keturunan Inggris,
dengan Alexander Ridgely, Duke of Ashbourne.
Saat
ayahnya menyuruh Emma untuk tinggal bersama dengan keluarga Bibinya, Caroline
Countess of Worth, selama setahun untuk menjalani season di London pada tahun
1816, tentu saja Emma protes keras, karena ia sama sekali tidak berniat untuk
cepat-cepat menikah dan meninggalkan Boston serta perusahaan perkapalan milik
ayahnya, Dunster Shipping. Emma sangat senang terlibat dalam mempelajari segala
sesuatu mengenai perusahaan yang kelak akan diwarisinya itu, namun berhubung
karena ia seorang wanita, dan pada saat itu masih tidak lazim bagi seorang
wanita untuk memimpin sebuah perusahaan, apalagi jika bisnis perusahaan
tersebut merupakan dunia perkapalan yang merupakan dunia pria, maka dengan
terpaksa Emma menuruti permintaan ayahnya untuk tinggal di London bersama
Paman, Bibi dan kedua sepupunya, Ned dan Belle Blydon.
Alex
pertama kali bertemu dengan Emma saat gadis itu menyamar sebagai pelayan wanita
yang tanpa sengaja menyelamatkan keponakan Alex dari tabrakan kereta kuda yang
melaju kencang. Terpesona dengan penampilan dan keberaniannya, Alex memaksa
untuk mengantarnya pulang. Emma berbohong untuk menutupi jati dirinya, tetapi
tidak bisa menolak untuk diantarkan pulang berhubung ia harus segera kembali ke
rumah untuk persiapan pesta debutnya malam itu dan juga karena kepalanya terasa
agak sakit akibat benturan saat menyelamatkan sang keponakan.
Penasaran
untuk memastikan kondisi pelayan yang sudah menyelamatkan keponakannya, Alex
memutuskan untuk menghadiri pesta di kediaman Countess of Worth malam itu.
Betapa terkejutnya ia saat mengetahui bahwa gadis pelayan yang tadi siang
ditemuinya itu ternyata adalah Emma, keponakan dari Countess of Worth yang
mencuri perhatian kalangan bangsawan dengan pesona rambut merah dan mata
ungunya.
Sebenarnya
Splendid
ini cukup menarik untuk dibaca, walaupun karakter dari para tokoh-tokohnya
terasa kurang tergali dengan secara maksimal di dalam buku ini, yang agak
disayangkan karena buku-buku lanjutannya cukup bagus. Tokoh Alexander Ridgely
sebagai Duke of Ashbourne di sini terasa agak dangkal dan sulit untuk dapat
dibayangkan apa yang membuat karakter kuat seperti Emma dapat jatuh cinta
setengah mati selain dari sisi penampilannya saja, karena disini Alex
kebanyakan digambarkan sebagai seorang pria angkuh yang suka memaksakan
kehendaknya dan bertingkah sesukanya. Baru di dalam buku-buku lanjutannya Dancing at
Midnight dan Minx, karakter Alex sebagai Duke of Ashbourne
baru mulai terlihat cukup menawan.
Karakter
Emma Dunster juga kurang tergali dengan baik. Karakter-karakter lainnya seperti
Belle, Ned, Dunford dan juga Sophie juga ditampilkan hanya sekadarnya saja
sehingga kurang meninggalkan kesan yang kuat di sini. Padahal sayang sekali
karena bagi yang sudah membaca cerita kelanjutan dari Splendid ini (Dancing at
Midnight dan Minx), keseluruhan karakter mereka dan
interaksi persahabatan menarik antara mereka baru dapat terlihat dengan lebih
hidup dan cukup baik di buku-buku selanjutnya.
Memang
sih Splendid
ini merupakan buku debut pertama oleh Julia Quinn, sehingga dapat dimaklumi
jika masih ada beberapa kekurangan di dalamnya. Bagi yang sudah pernah membaca
karya Julia Quinn lainnya dalam serial Agents Of The Crown, serial Bridgerton
ataupun serial Smythe-Smith,
jelas terlihat perkembangan dan proses penyempurnaan teknik menulis Julia Quinn
dari Splendid
ini menjadi karya-karyanya yang menarik dan berstandart tinggi dibandingkan
dengan novel-novel historical romance lainnya. Julia Quinn merupakan salah satu
pengarang favoritku, dan walaupun untuk Splendid ini terasa biasa-biasa saja dan
kurang menonjol dibandingkan novel-novel Julia Quinn lainnya, tetapi masih
cukup membuat Splendid
ini layak untuk dijadikan salah satu buku koleksi.
Adapun Tokoh-tokoh dalam Splendid adalah sebagai berikut :
Emma Dunster : seorang pewaris dari
America, anak perempuan satu-satunya dari John Dunster.
John Dunster : ayah Emma, pemilik
salah satu perusahaan pelayaran terbesar saat itu, Dunster Shipping, dan
tinggal di Boston, America.
Caroline Blydon : Countess of Worth,
saudara perempuan dari John Dunster, bibi Emma.
Henry Blydon : bergelar Earl of
Worth, suami dari Caroline, dan paman Emma dari pernikahannya dengan Caroline.
Arabella Blydon : sepupu Emma, anak
perempuan dari Earl dan Countess of Worth.
Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon : sepupu Emma, bergelar
Viscount Burwick, kakak laki-laki dari Arabella Blydon, anak laki-laki dan
pewaris gelar dari Earl of Worth.
Alexander Edward Ridgely : Duke of
Ashbourne
Sophie : Countess of Wilding, adik
perempuan Alex yang menikah dengan Earl of Wilding.
Charlie : anak laki-laki Sophie.
William Dunford : salah satu teman baik
Alex sejak mereka bersekolah di Oxford.
Anthony Woodside : Viscount Benton.
Nilai
rating untuk Splendid
ini adalah 6.5/10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book 2 : Dancing at Midnight
Copyright © 1995 by Julie Cotler
Pottinger
First
Published in Indonesia on 2010 by Dastan Books
Paperback,
24 Chapters, 432 Pages (for Indonesian Edition)
Genre :
Historical Romance, Adult Novel
Other books
in the series : Splendid (Splendid #1), Minx
(Splendid #3) and A Tale Of Two Sisters
(Splendid #4, a Novella part of Where’s
My Hero)
Lady Arabella Blydon has
beauty and a brain, and she’s tired of men who can see only one without the
other.
When
a suitor tells Arabella he’s willing to overlook her appalling bluestocking
tendencies on account of her looks and fortune, she decides to take a break
from the Marriage Mart. During an extended stay in the country, she never
expects to meet Lord John Blackwood,
a wounded war hero who intrigues her like no other man.
Lord
John has lived through the worst horrors of war… but nothing could have been as
terrifying to his tormented heart as Lady Arabella. She is intoxicating,
infuriating… and she makes him want to live again. Suddenly he’s writing bad
poetry and climbing trees in the pitch-dark night… just so he can dance with
her as the clock strikes midnight. And even though he knows he can never be the
sort of man she deserves, he can’t help wanting her. But when the harsh light
of day replaces the magic of midnight, can this tormented soul learn to love
again?
Dancing At Midnight tells a romantic story between Lady Arabella
Blydon with Lord John Blackwood.
Arabella,
or also known as Belle, is the only daughter of Earl and Countess of Worth; and
cousin to Emma Dunster, Duchess of Ashbourne, the Heroine from previous novel Splendid.
Since the 1816 London season already over, Belle’s parents are in Italy and her
older brother, Ned already coming back to Oxford for his final year, Belle is
staying with her cousin Emma, who just a couple months married to Alexander
Ridgely, Duke of Ashbourne; at their country home at Oxfordshire.
Belle
meets John Blackwood, Alex’s neighbor, during one of her time exploring the
estate. Belle, who previously never has any romantic interest for any Gentleman
or one of her suitor in London, finds that John makes her curious and his
presence makes her heart flutters. She also confused with him, because
sometimes he is quite fun, really smart, and appreciates her interest and love
with books; but other times he is moody and unpredictable.
John is a
wounded war hero, the youngest son of an Earl, and just earned his own Baron
title for his service at the Peninsula war. He also a friend of Alex during
their time in the war, even saved Alex’s life once. John thinks Belle is beyond
his reach and she deserves someone much better than a wounded man with limp
foot and dark past like himself.
Belle
whose pride is hurt by John’s rejection, decided to go back to London and
forget about John. But Dunford, her best friend, that never seen Belle so
captivated and broken hearted by a man before, tried to convince Belle to reach
for her happiness by giving John another chance. Dunford gives Belle idea to
try to make John jealous and make him hurried come to London by the prospect of
Belle marrying someone else.
When John
and Belle finally seems to be getting their happy ending, suddenly there’s someone
from John’s past that wants to hurt them by trying to kidnap Belle and also
trying to murder him.
Dancing At Midnight is interesting to read with all the
intrigue, drama and mystery from the very beginning parts of the story. Also in
this book, we as readers can see the characters development for Emma, Alex,
Belle and Dunford from Splendid. Although this Historical Romance is not
in my top 10 list of my favorite books from Julia Quinn, but still recommended
for your collection.
Characters in Dancing At Midnight are as
follows :
Arabella ‘Belle’
Blydon : the only
daughter of Earl and Countess of Worth.
Emma Dunster : Duchess of Ashbourne, Belle’s
cousin.
Alexander Ridgely : Duke of Ashbourne, Emma’s
husband.
Caroline Blydon : Countess of Worth, Belle’s
mother.
Henry Blydon : Earl of Worth, Belle’s father.
Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon : Viscount Burwick, Belle’s older
brother, the only son and heir to Earl of Worth.
William Dunford : Belle’s best friend and also
Alex’s best friend since Oxford.
John Blackwood : Alex’s neighbor in Oxfordshire, a
war hero, granted a Baron title as his
service in the war.
Rating for Dancing At Midnight is 7.4/10.
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Dancing
At Midnight menceritakan mengenai kisah cinta antara Lady Arabella
Blydon dengan Lord John Blackwood.
Arabella, atau yang lebih dikenal dengan
Belle, merupakan anak perempuan dari Earl dan Countess of Worth, dan sepupu
dari Emma Dunster, Duchess of Ashbourne, tokoh utama dari novel Splendid.
Belle bertemu dengan John Blackwood saat ia sedang mengunjungi sepupunya Emma,
yang baru beberapa bulan menikah dengan Alexander Ridgely, Duke of Ashbourne,
di rumah pedesaan mereka di Oxfordshire karena London season than 1816 sudah
berakhir dan kedua orang tua Belle sedang bepergian ke Italy, dan kakak Belle,
Ned Blydon, sudah kembali ke Oxford untuk tahun terakhirnya.
Belle yang selama ini tidak pernah merasakan
ketertarikan romantis apapun dengan seorang pria dari sekian banyak pengagumnya
di London terusik dengan keberadaan John yang dirasanya membingungkan dan
mengacaukan perasaannya. Di satu sisi John terkadang bersikap cukup
menyenangkan dan sangat cerdas, sangat jarang ada seorang pria yang dapat
mengerti dan menghargai kecintaan Belle terhadap buku serta dapat
bercakap-cakap dengan cerdas mengenai apapun dengan Belle. Sedangkan di sisi
lainnya kadang John sering membuat Belle bingung dengan perubahan mood nya yang
sering terjadi secara tiba-tiba.
John yang merupakan seorang veteran perang
dan baru saja mendapatkan gelar Baron dari kerajaan atas jasa pengabdiannya di
perang Peninsula, adalah tetangga dan teman lama Alex yang pernah menyelamatkan
nyawa Alex saat perang. John yang terluka saat perang dan pulang ke Inggris
dengan kaki yang pincang, merasa rendah diri terhadap keadaan dirinya yang
cacat. Ia merasa Belle berada jauh dari diluar jangkauannya dan gadis itu
pantas mendapatkan lelaki yang jauh lebih baik darinya. Selain itu John juga
masih dihantui oleh pengalaman buruk yang terjadi pada masa tugasnya di masa
perang sehingga ia selalu menganggap dirinya tidak layak untuk mendampingi
Belle.
Belle yang harga dirinya terluka akibat
penolakan John terhadap dirinya akhirnya memutuskan untuk kembali ke London dan
mencoba melupakan John. Tetapi Dunford yang tidak pernah melihat Belle yang
patah hati seperti ini mencoba meyakinkan Belle untuk berusaha mencoba meraih
kebahagiaannya dengan memberikan kesempatan sekali lagi kepada John. Dunford
memberi ide kepada Belle untuk mencoba membuat John cemburu dan membuatnya
bergegas datang ke London untuk memenangkan kembali hati Belle.
Saat akhirnya John dan Belle sepertinya akan
mendapatkan akhir bahagia selamanya, tiba-tiba muncul musuh misterius dari masa
lalu John yang bertekad untuk menghalangi kebahagian John dengan segala cara,
termasuk usaha untuk menculik Belle dan percobaan pembunuhan terhadap John.
Dancing
At Midnight novel yang cukup seru untuk dibaca dengan adanya ketegangan
dan aura misteri yang sudah dimunculkan dari bagian-bagian awal cerita. Dan di
dalam buku ini lebih terlihat perkembangan karakter-karakter dalam buku
sebelumnya yang lebih tergali dengan baik untuk Emma, Alex dan Dunford.
Walaupun buku Historical Romance ini tidak termasuk dalam daftar 10 besar buku
Julia Quinn favoritku, tetapi cukup recommended untuk dikoleksi.
Adapun para tokoh dalam Dancing At Midnight adalah sebagai berikut :
Arabella ‘Belle’ Blydon : anak perempuan
dari Earl dan Countess of Worth.
Emma Dunster : Duchess of Ashbourne,
sepupu Belle.
Alexander Ridgely : Duke of Ashbourne,
suami Emma.
Caroline Blydon : Countess of Worth,
ibu Belle.
Henry Blydon : Earl of Worth, ayah
Belle.
Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon : Viscount Burwick,
kakak laki-laki Belle, anak lelaki satu-satunya dan pewaris gelar Earl of
Worth.
William Dunford : sahabat Belle dan
juga sahabat baik Alex dari saat mereka bersekolah di Oxford.
John Blackwood : tetangga Alex di
estatenya di Oxfordshire, seorang pahlawan perang yang dianugerahi gelar Baron
atas jasa-jasanya.
Nilai
rating untuk novel Dancing At Midnight ini adalah 7.4/10.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book
3 : Minx
Copyright © 1996 by Julie Cotler
Pottinger
First
Published in Indonesia on 2010 by Dastan Books
Paperback,
24 Chapters + Prolog and Epilog, 482 Pages (for Indonesian Edition)
Genre :
Historical Romance, Adult Novel
Other
books in the series : Splendid (Splendid
#1), Dancing
At Midnight (Splendid #2) and A Tale Of Two
Sisters (Splendid #4, a Novella part of Where’s My Hero)
It
takes a minx to tempt a rogue…
Henrietta Barrett has
never followed the dictates of society. She manages her elderly guardian’s
remote Cornwall estate, wears breeches instead of frocks, and answers to the
unlikely name of Henry. But when her guardian passes away, her beloved home
falls into the hands of a distant cousin.
…and
it takes a rogue to tame her
William Dunford,
London’s most elusive bachelor, is stunned to learn that he’s inherited
property, a title… and a ward bend on making his first visit his last. Henry is
determined to continue running Stannage Park without help from the handsome new
lord, but Dunford is just as sure he can change things… starting with his wild
young ward. But turning Henry into a lady makes her not only the darling of the
ton, but an irresistible attraction to the man who thought he could never be
tempted.
Minx tells a
romantic story between William Dunford and Henrietta Barret, take place in
Cornwall and London, England on 1817.
Dunford is the best
friend of Lady Arabella Blydon, now Lady Blackwood (Dancing at Midnight), and
Alexander Ridgely, Duke of Ashbourne (Splendid), that stolen the show from both
Heroine and hero in their previous novels. Even Dunford also make appearance in
How To Marry
A Marquis (Agents of the Crown Series #2).
The story in Minx
follows a few months after the ending in Dancing at Midnight. Dunford never expect that
someday he will inherit a title of Baron and a small estate in Cornwall named
Stannage Park. The late Baron Stannage was Dunford’s long long relatives
(Dunford 8th cousin to be exact), that Dunford never knew or even
heard of until the day Dunford learn from the lawyers about the late Baron
passing and that he is the closest heir to the title.
Out of curiosity,
Dunford then decided to go to Cornwall and investigated his new estate,
Stannage Park. He’s surprised to find a well sustain and very efficient running
estate. He’s even more surprised to find that the one behind the successful
estate is a girl in her 20’s, whom prefer to wear shirts and pants than gown.
Henrietta is a tomboy
girl who prefer to be called as Henry, grows up in Stannage Park under the
guardianship of the late Baron Stannage, Lord Carlyle and his late wife Lady
Viola (who is the cousin of Henry’s grandmother). The late Baron and Lady
Stannage didn’t have their own child so they treat Henry as their own daughter.
But after the passing of Lady Stannage when Henry was 14 years old, Lord
Carlyle became withdrawn and closed to the world around him and let Henry takes
over his responsibility to Stannage Park until his death in 1817.
Henry who loves
Stannage Park as her own home more than anything else, thinks that the new
Baron is just a pampered dandy gentleman from London who doesn’t understand
about running an estate. And he will eventually ruin all of Henry’s hard work all
these years. She also afraid that the new Baron will kick her out from Stannage
Park and give the responsibility to run Stannage Park to someone else. Since it
is uncommon at that time for a woman to do a men’s job and wears men’s clothes.
So with these thoughts in her head, she comes up with a plan to make the new
Baron doesn’t want to stay a long time in Stannage Park, give the
responsibility to run the estate to Henry, and go back to London immediately.
After Dunford and
Henry spent some time together while inspecting the property, Henry realize that
what she thinks about Dunford before was all wrong, then they become friends
and secretly attracted to each other. But after Dunford learns that Henry is
his ward, try to suppress his feelings for Henry and decided to take Henry to
London to give her the opportunity to debut in the 1817 season.
But Dunford cannot deny
his feelings for Henry any longer and become very jealous when Henry charmed
the tons and she got a lot of suitors, even the rakish Earl of Billington (Brighter Than
The Sun – Lyndon Sister Series #2), one of Dunford’s friends.
I really think that
Minx is the best and the most interesting to read from the whole Splendid Series.
The development of Dunford’s character also doesn’t disappoint, he stay true to
his character from Splendid to Dancing to Midnight to his own
story in Minx.
The humor and funny interactions between all the characters feels naturally
flowing and nothing feels forced. Basically Minx is a very funny romantic
story and very entertaining.
Characters in Minx are as follows :
William Dunford : The Hero in Minx, recently
inherit the title of Baron Stannage and a small estate in Cornwall.
Henrietta Barrett : The Heroine in Minx, a distant
relatives of the previous Baron Stannage.
Carlyle : the late previous Baron Stannage,
and a distant cousin of Dunford (8th cousin to be exact).
Viola : late wife of Carlyle, the previous
late Baron Stannage, Henrietta’s grandmother cousin, the only family Henry have
left, she died when Henry was 14 years old.
Arabella ‘Belle’ Blydon
Blackwood : Lady Blackwood, daughter of Earl and Countess of Worth.
Caroline Blydon : Countess of Worth, Belle’s
mother.
Henry Blydon : Earl of Worth, Belle’s father.
Emma Dunster : Duchess of Ashbourne, Belle’s
cousin.
Alexander Ridgely : Duke of Ashbourne, Emma’s
husband.
John Blackwood : Baron Blackwood, Belle’s husband.
Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon : Viscount Burwick, Belle’s older
brother, the only son and heir to Earl of Worth, just graduated from Oxford.
Charles Wycombe : Earl of Billington,
one of Dunford friend.
Christine Fowler : Dunford’s mistress
before he met with Henry.
Lady Sarah-Jane Wolcott : Lady Wolcott,
one member of the Tons.
Rating for Minx is 8.4/10
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Minx
menceritakan mengenai kisah cinta antara William Dunford dan Henrietta Barret,
bersetting di daerah Cornwall dan London, Inggris pada tahun 1817.
Dunford merupakan sahabat dari Arabella
Blydon (Dancing
at Midnight) dan Alexander Ridgely, Duke of Ashbourne (Splendid)
yang sedikit mencuri perhatian pembaca di kedua novel sebelumnya itu, bahkan
Dunford juga muncul sekilas di dalam How To Marry A Marquis (Agents of the Crown
Series #2).
Kisah di dalam Minx terjadi beberapa bulan
setelah kisah dalam Dancing At Midnight selesai. Dunford tidak
pernah menyangka bahwa ia suatu hari akan mewarisi gelar kebangsawanan Baron
Stannage dan sebuah estate dan lahan pertanian kecil di Cornwall bernama
Stannage Park. Almarhum Baron sebelumnya merupakan kerabat jauh Dunford,
tepatnya sepupu ke-8, yang bahkan tidak pernah diketahui keberadaannya oleh
Dunford.
Berhubung Dunford penasaran dengan warisan
barunya yang tidak terduga ini, ia memutuskan untuk berangkat ke Cornwall dan
mengunjungi Stannage Park. Sesampainya ia di sana, ia sangat terkejut karena
menemukan estate yang terurus dengan sangat efisien dan baik, bahkan ia menjadi
lebih terkejut lagi karena ternyata estate itu dikelola oleh seorang gadis
berusia 20 tahun yang untuk alasan kepraktisan lebih suka berpakaian sebagai
laki-laki.
Henrietta adalah seorang gadis tomboy yang
lebih suka dipanggil dengan nama Henry, dibesarkan di Cornwall sebagai anak
perwalian dari Lady Viola dan Lord Carlyle, almarhum Baron Stannage sebelumnya
(istri sang Baron merupakan sepupu dari nenek Henry). Pasangan Baron Stannage
yang sudah tua itu tidak mempunyai anak dan memperlakukan Henry sebagai anak
mereka sendiri. Tetapi sesudah kematian Lady Stannage saat Henry berumur 14
tahun, Baron Stannage menjadi tertutup dan banyak mengurung diri, serta membiarkan
Henry mengambil alih tanggung jawabnya dalam mengelola estatenya, Stannage Park
sampai saat kematiannya tahun 1817.
Henry yang sangat mencintai Stannage Park
sebagai rumahnya, awalnya menyangka bahwa pewaris Baron Stannage yang baru
adalah seorang bangsawan pesolek yang manja dan tidak mengerti apapun mengenai
mengurus tanah pertanian. Henry juga takut kalau pemilik baru Estate tersebut
akan mengusirnya atau mengalihkan tanggung jawab dalam mengelola Stannage Park
dari Henry kepada orang lain. Karena memang tidak lazim di masa itu bagi
seorang wanita untuk mengelola tanah pertanian yang merupakan tanggung jawab
seorang pria, apalagi wanita yang lebih senang memakai baju pria. Henry
kemudian menyusun rencana yang dapat membuat pewaris baru tersebut menjadi
tidak betah berlama-lama tinggal di Stannage Park, menyerahkan tanggung jawab
mengelola Estate tersebut kepada Henry, dan segera kembali ke London.
Tapi setelah Dunford dan Henry saling
mengenal lebih dekat, Henry akhirnya menyadari bahwa dugaannya terhadap Dunford
selama ini salah sehingga akhirnya mereka menjadi sahabat baik dan menjadi
saling tertarik. Tetapi Dunford yang belakangan baru mengetahui bahwa Henry
adalah anak perwaliannya, berusaha menampik perasaannya tersebut dan memutuskan
untuk membawa Henry ke London untuk mengikuti London season dan melakukan
debutnya.
Tetapi Dunford tidak dapat lari lagi dari
perasaannya itu saat ia cemburu buta ketika Henry sukses besar dalam memikat
kaum bangsawan di London dan mengumpulkan cukup banyak pengagum, bahkan Earl of
Billington (Brighter
Than The Sun – Lyndon Sister Series # 2).
Menurutku Minx merupakan novel yang terbaik
dan paling menarik dari keseluruhan serial Splendid Trilogy ini. Karakter
Dunford yang terus berkembang dari Splendid dan Dancing At Midnight sangat tidak
mengecewakan dan tetap setia pada penggambaran karakternya. Kelucuan yang
terjadi di dalam novel ini juga terasa mengalir dengan alami dan tidak ada
kesan dipaksakan. Memang sedikit konflik yang terjadi antara Dunford dan Henry
terjadi karena kesalahpahaman konyol yang sebetulnya tidak perlu terjadi,
membuatku sedikit kesal kepada Henry atas tingkah bodohnya. Tetapi secara
keseluruhan Minx
merupakan kisah yang sangat romantis, lucu, dan juga menghibur.
Adapun para Tokoh dalam Minx adalah sebagai berikut :
William Dunford : tokoh utama pria yang
baru saja mendapat warisan gelar Baron Stannage dan estate di daerah Cornwall.
Henrietta ‘Henry’ Barrett : anak perwalian
Carlyle, Baron Stannage sebelumnya.
Carlyle : Baron Stannage sebelumnya yang
sudah meninggal, kerabat jauh dari Dunford (lebih tepatnya sepupu ke-8
Dunford).
Viola : istri Carlyle, Baron Stannage
sebelumnya, sepupu dari nenek Henry, satu-satunya kerabat Henry yang tersisa,
meninggal saat Henry berusia 14 tahun.
Arabella ‘Belle’ Blydon Blackwood : Lady Blackwood, anak perempuan satu-satunya dari Earl dan Countess of
Worth.
Caroline Blydon : Countess of Worth, ibu
Belle, sponsor Henrietta dalam musim debutnya di kalangan kaum bangsawan
London.
Henry Blydon : Earl of Worth, ayah
Belle.
Emma Dunster : Duchess of Ashbourne,
sepupu Belle.
Alexander Ridgely : Duke of Ashbourne,
suami Emma.
John Blackwood : Baron Blackwood,
suami Belle.
Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon : Viscount Burwick,
kakak laki-laki Belle, anak lelaki satu-satunya dan pewaris gelar Earl of
Worth, baru saja lulus dari kuliahnya di Oxford.
Charles Wycombe : Earl of Billington.
Christine Fowler : wanita simpanan Dunford
sebelum ia bertemu dengan Henry.
Lady Sarah-Jane Wolcott : Lady Wolcott,
salah satu kalangan bangsawan London.
Nilai
rating untuk novel Minx ini adalah 8.4/10.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book 3.5 – Spin Off : A Tale Of Two Sisters (also part of Novella Where’s My Hero)
(Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon and Charlotte Thornton)
Copyright © 2003 by Julie Cotler
Pottinger
First
Published in Indonesia on 2011 by Gagas Media
Paperback,
7 Chapters + Epilog, 392 Pages (for Indonesian Edition of Where’s My Hero novella)
Genre :
Historical Romance, Adult Novel
Other
books in the series : Splendid (Splendid
#1), Dancing
At Midnight (Splendid #2) and Minx (Splendid #3)
After
years of searching for the perfect wife, Ned Blydon found himself falling in love
with Charlotte Thornton mere
days before his wedding. The only problem was– he was supposed to marry her
sister!.
A Tale Of Two Sisters
tells a romantic story between Edward Blydon (or mostly known as Ned) and Charlotte
Thornton, take place in Ned’s estate Middlewood in Derbyshire, England on 1826.
Ned is Belle’s
brother (from Dancing
At Midnight) and Emma’s cousin (from Spendid). When we last see him
in both Splendid
and Dancing
At Midnight, Ned is still a young man and still studying in
University (since he’s only one year older than her sister). And after that,
Ned only mention briefly in Lady’s Whistledown gossip column in the Bridgerton
Series. So the story in this A Tale Of Two Sisters happens 10 years after Splendid
and Dancing
At Midnight, when Ned is already in his 30s.
Ned secretly wants
what his sister and cousin have with their spouses, which is a marriage based
on love. That’s why he is taking his time to search for a perfect woman to
become his future wife that he can truly love. But after spent 8 seasons in
London searching without any luck, his logical side of him took over and makes
him settle for a marriage of convenience. His choice fell to Miss Lydia
Thornton, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thornton, who own an estate next
to Ned’s estate in Middlewood. But just three days before the wedding, he found
himself falling for the wrong Miss Thornton.
Well, to be honest
Ned Blydon is not my favorite character in the series due to his silliness and
reckless behavior in Splendid. But luckily, he has matured a lot
over the years and become a loveable character in his own story A Tale Of Two
Sisters (part of Where’s My Hero novella). I can say that I
quite enjoying myself reading this novella. But with only 8 chapters, not much
supporting characters from previous books could appear in A Tale Of Two Sisters. We only
see Belle and Emma briefly, and the rest of the story focusing to Ned and
Charlotte. The story also feels rushing for Ned and Charlotte to falls in love
in such a short time, which kinda feels forced and doesn’t make any sense. But
I guess the author doesn’t have much room for characters to grow in this short
novella, so it is understandable and not much of a flaw.
Characters in A Tale Of Two Sisters are as
follows :
Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon : Viscount Burwick, the only son
and heir to Earl of Worth.
Lydia Thornton : The oldest daughter of
Mr. And Mrs. Thornton.
Charlotte Thornton : Lydia’s younger sister.
Hugh Thornton : Lydia’s and
Charlotte’s father.
Arabella ‘Belle’
Blydon Blackwood : Lady Blackwood, Ned’s sister.
Emma Dunster : Duchess of Ashbourne, Ned’s
cousin.
Rupert Marchbanks : a scholar who lived
near the Thornton family.
Rating for A Tale Of Two Sisters is 7.5/10.
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A
Tale Of Two Sisters menceritakan kisah cinta romantis antara
Edward Blydon, Viscount Burwick (atau lebih dikenal dengan nama panggilan Ned),
dengan Charlotte Thornton. Kisah ini terjadi di daerah Derbyshire, Inggris pada
tahun 1826 di sekitar estate milik Ned bernama Middlewood.
Ned adalah saudara laki-laki Belle (dari Dancing At
Midnight) dan sepupu Emma (dari Splendid). Terakhir Ned muncul di dalam Splendid
dan Dancing
At Midnight, dia masih merupakan seorang pemuda yang masih belajar
di universitas (karena Ned hanya satu tahun lebih tua dari adiknya, Belle). Setelah
itu Ned hanya disebut sekilas di dalam kolom gossip Lady Whistledown di dalam serial
Bridgerton. Kisah Ned dalam A Tale Of Two Sisters ini terjadi 10 tahun
setelah Splendid
dan Dancing
At Midnight, saat usia Ned sudah matang di awal 30 tahunan.
Sebenarnya Ned diam-diam menginginkan kondisi
pernikahan seperti pernikahan adiknya, Belle dan sepupunya, Emma dengan para
suami mereka, yaitu kondisi pernikahan atas dasar cinta. Keinginannya itulah
yang menyebabkan Ned membutuhkan waktu yang cukup lama untuk mencari wanita
sempurna yang dapat menjadi istri yang dapat dicintainya. Tetapi setelah ia
menghabiskan 8 London season tanpa hasil, sisi logika Ned memutuskan bahwa
sudah waktunya baginya untuk melepaskan keinginannya mencari cinta dan menikah
atas dasar manfaat. Pilihannya kemudian jatuh pada Miss Lydia Thornton, putri
sulung dari pasangan Tuan dan Nyonya Thornton, yang mempunyai property di
sebelah property Ned di Middlewood. Tetapi tiga hari sebelum hari pernikahannya,
ia menyadari bahwa kemungkinan ia memilih Miss Thornton yang salah.
Kalau mau jujur, sebenarnya Ned Blydon
bukanlah karakter yang aku sukai di dalam Splendid Series ini karena kelakuannya yang
konyol dan ceroboh di Splendid yang menyebabkan kekacauan yang
bodoh. Tapi untungnya dengan berjalannya waktu selama beberapa tahun kemudian
ia berubah menjadi pria yang lebih dewasa dan menjadi karakter yang dapat
dicintai di dalam kisah cintanya sendiri di A Tale Of Two Sisters ini (yang
sebenarnya merupakan cerita pendek bagian dari novella Where’s My Hero – ada 2 cerita
kontribusi dari pengarang lainnya selain Julia Quinn). Setelah membaca A Tale of Two
Sisters ini, dapat aku katakan bahwa aku sangat menikmati membaca
novella ini. Tapi berhubung ini hanya merupakan cerita pendek yang hanya
berisikan 8 bab, tidak banyak karakter lainnya dari Splendid Series yang dapat
muncul di dalam A
Tale Of Two Sisters ini. Hanya Belle dan Emma yang muncul sekilas,
dan sisanya cerita berfokus pada kedua tokoh utama, Ned dan Charlotte. Cerita
untuk Ned dan Charlotte ini terasa sangat cepat bagi mereka untuk dapat saling
jatuh cinta sehingga sedikit terasa dipaksakan dan tidak masuk akal. Tapi aku
rasa dengan adanya limitasi dari segi halaman novella, dapat dimaklumi bahwa
Julia Quinn tidak mempunyai cukup banyak ruang untuk mengembangkan jalan
ceritanya serta para karakter tokohnya dengan lebih baik lagi, jadi hal ini
tidak menjadi masalah yang cukup berarti untuk mendapatkan nilai minus.
Adapun para tokoh dalam novella A Tale Of Two Sisters ini adalah sebagai
berikut :
Edward ‘Ned’ Blydon : Viscount Burwick,
anak laki-laki dan pewaris gelar Earl of Worth.
Lydia Thornton : anak perempuan sulung
dari Mr. dan Mrs. Thornton.
Charlotte Thornton : adik Lydia yang
umurnya hanya selisih 11 bulan lebih muda.
Hugh Thornton : ayah Lydia dan
Charlotte.
Arabella ‘Belle’ Blydon Blackwood : Lady Blackwood, adik perempuan Ned yang sudah menikah.
Emma Dunster : Duchess of Ashbourne,
sepupu Ned.
Rupert Marchbanks : seorang pemuda
terpelajar yang tinggal di dekat kediaman keluarga Thornton.
Rating
untuk A Tale
Of Two Sisters adalah 7.5/10.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~