Brighter Than the Sun (Lyndon Sisters, #2)

by Julia Quinn

Eleanor Lyndon was minding her own business when a lord of the realm fell - quite literally - into her life. When Charles Wycombe, the dashing and incorrigible Earl of Billington, toppled out of a tree and landed at Ellie's feet, neither suspected that such an inauspicious meeting would lead to marriage. But Charles must find a bride before his thirtieth birthday or he'll lose his fortune. And Ellie needs a husband or her father's odious fiancee will choose one for her. And so they agree to wed.

Ellie never dreamed she'd marry a stranger, especially one with such a devastating combination of rakish charm and debonair wit. She tries to keep him at arm's length, at least until she discovers the man beneath the handsome surface. But Charles can be quite persuasive - even tender - when he puts his mind to it, and Ellie finds herself slipping under his seductive spell. And as one kiss leads to another, this unlikely pair discovers that their marriage is not so inconvenient after all...and just might lead to love.

• ISBN10: 0060766468
• ISBN13: 9780060766467
• Publish Date: 29 June 2004
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Out of Print: 11 April 2013
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amanda]

Brighter Than the Sun is the first book of JQ's earlier works where the brilliance of her later works shines through. And it was awesome. Suddenly, reading in 15 or 30 minutes snippets just wasn't enough.

One, Charles is a character from a previous book, and that always earns extra points with me. I adore characters that carry through in other books/series and who get their own stories. Plus, reformed rakes do hold a special place in my heart, even when their rake-ish-ness is talked about more than shown.

And the pacing issues I've talked about with previous books wasn't quite as prevalent with this book. There were moment that were still quite obvious for me, as the reader, what was happening, even though the characters were still clueless.

But as far as the story arc or problem, it seemed much more cohesive than previous books. It had me wanting to read through my breaks on work, and while that's not necessarily good for work, it's good for the book. I actually kind of liked all the issues Charles and Ellie had, and their marriage of convenience was fun.

Even if Ellie did seem to resist just a tad too much. But then again, it's that need for unnecessary drama. One thing that I did like -- that I could have had even more of -- was Charles's list making. It was a wonderful way to build his character.