The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever

Julia Quinn's The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever is another of the books I got at RWA. I read it last weekend and quite enjoyed it: 4 out of 5.

2 March 1810 . . . Today, I fell in love.

At the age of ten, Miranda Cheever showed no signs of Great Beauty. And even at ten, Miranda learned to accept the expectations society held for her--until the afternoon when Nigel Bevelstoke, the handsome and dashing Viscount Turner, solemnly kissed her hand and promised her that one day she would grow into herself, that one day she would be as beautiful as she already was smart. And even at ten, Miranda knew she would love him forever.

But the years that followed were as cruel to Turner as they were kind to Miranda. She is as intriguing as the viscount boldly predicted on that memorable day--while he is a lonely, bitter man, crushed by a devastating loss. But Miranda has never forgotten the truth she set down on paper all those years earlier--and she will not allow the love that is her destiny to slip lightly through her fingers . . .

This book includes two of my favorite scenarios: unrequited love and diary entries. And Quinn puts both elements to good use. In the unrequited love books I've read in the past few years, the man has been the one to love from afar. In this case, it's the heroine. This was a nice twist. Another element I appreciated was the fact that there's complexity in her feelings. As Turner's life changes and as he changes, she revises her opinion of him. Miranda may love him, but it's not a blind love.

As for Turner, I found myself quite sympathetic to him. Quinn does an exceptional job of showing how his previous marriage affected his thinking. It helped me as a reader to know where he was coming from. I thought his reluctance to admit he loved Miranda was especially realistic. He thought he loved his first wife, so he associated that emotion with the heartbreak he felt. What he felt with Miranda wasn't heartbreak.

Overall, I liked The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. It wasn't my favorite of Quinn's novels, but still one I enjoyed and one I will reread.