My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Honoria Smythe-Smith is:
A) a really bad violinist
B) still miffed at being nicknamed “Bug” as a child
C) NOT in love with her older brother’s best friend
D) all of the above

Marcus Holroyd is:
A) the Earl of Chatteris
B) regrettably prone to sprained ankles
C) NOT in love with his best friend’s younger sister
D) all of the above

Together They:
A) eat quite a bit of chocolate cake
B) survive a deadly fever AND the world’s worst musical performance
C) fall quite desperately in love
It’s Julia Quinn at her best, so you KNOW the answer is . . .
D) all of the above

Honaria is one of my favorite romance heroines in a while. Often, I feel this way because I feel some kinship with the character. In this case I like her quite simply for being herself.

She was a sweet, appropriately naive girl that cared about her family. She wasn’t perfect (which would be annoying!), but her flaws weren’t in my face, either.

The romance actually developed over time, which is my preference. It actually seemed to make sense for both of the parties involved! Their personalities complimented one another, and they had time to know that.

For most of the book, I thought this was going to be one of the most chaste romances I’d read in quite some time. That changed near the end, and if that scene wasn’t entirely in character, it was otherwise well done (brief but emotional and intense).

I’m having trouble identifying what made this book work so well for me, other that the vague comment “it was the writing”. Really, that’s what it is– a very well written book.

I haven’t read a lot of Julia Quinn’s books, but I’ve been very impressed by those I have. I look forward to reading more.

Audio Notes

For more audiobook reviews, check out Sound Bytes

Narrator: I enjoyed listening to Rosalyn Landor narrating Just Like Heaven.

Production: No issues, no extras.

Audio vs. Print:  In general, I found listening to this book to be a very pleasant experience.  The one issue I had is one I frequently have listening to romance novels as audiobooks.  The, um, exciting scenes never seem to occur at convenient times.  I feel odd hanging out with my daughter while the hero and heroine are having passionate sex, so I have to pause the audiobook for awhile.  Even with that, I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to another Julia Quinn romance.
Check out other Audio Book Reviews at Sound Bytes at Devourer of Books!

I received Just Like Heaven for review from Harper Collins Audio.  Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!