Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

What Happens in London
What Happens in London
What Happens in London
Audiobook10 hours

What Happens in London

Written by Julia Quinn

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Rumors and Gossip . . . The lifeblood of London

When Olivia Bevelstoke is told that her new neighbor may have killed his fiancée, she doesn't believe it for a second, but, still, how can she help spying on him, just to be sure? So she stakes out a spot near her bedroom window, cleverly concealed by curtains, watches, and waits . . . and discovers a most intriguing man, who is definitely up to something.

Sir Harry Valentine works for the boring branch of the War Office, translating documents vital to national security. He's not a spy, but he's had all the training, and when a gorgeous blonde begins to watch him from her window, he is instantly suspicious. But just when he decides that she's nothing more than an annoyingly nosy debutante, he discovers that she might be engaged to a foreign prince, who might be plotting against England. And when Harry is roped into spying on Olivia, he discovers that he might be falling for her himself . . .

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateJun 30, 2009
ISBN9780061952586
What Happens in London
Author

Julia Quinn

#1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn began writing one month after graduating from college and, aside from a brief stint in medical school, she has been tapping away at her keyboard ever since. Her novels have been translated into 43 languages and are beloved the world over. A graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, she lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.  Look for BRIDGERTON, based on her popular series of novels about the Bridgerton family, on Netflix.

More audiobooks from Julia Quinn

Related to What Happens in London

Related audiobooks

Historical Romance For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for What Happens in London

Rating: 4.032188785407725 out of 5 stars
4/5

699 ratings50 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    umm really nobody is telling her parents she is entertaining men in the drawing room all alone?? i think a servant would have said something. if ind it hard to believe her mother would to be allover any potential suitors. and we are just going to forgive the Prince for saying those nasty things about Olivia??? umm not me. i did really love all the window scenes.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not as good as the first Bevelstoke book. But enjoyable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An enjoyable and frivolous historical romance. I don't think it's Quinn's best book, but it's pretty good. The characters veer a bit close to being cardboard cutouts at times, but most of the time they're pretty well rounded and there are some great comic moments. There's not a lot of plot but since most of the book is firmly centred on the characters' personalities it all jogs along nicely enough - which makes the whole Deadly Peril at the Russian Embassy section near the end seem somewhat dissonant.Although I'm not entirely convinced that the hero and heroine are as much in love and as committed to one another as they claim to be by the end of the book, I can see them heading firmly in that direction, and I do think they're well suited to one another.All in all, a nice, light read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Laughed out loud lots of times during this book. Very entertaining!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    this book was fast paced and exciting to read. I enjoyed the story of Olivia and Harry, as well as the prince of Russia; it was a tale of love, jealousy, and a ridiculous book reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love her books but I definitely love when they have epilogues attached. And this one didn’t. Still a good ending.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    After the viscount who loved me - this by far is my second favorite book from Julia Quin. I was trying to find something new to read after the bridgeton series and this was one of the books that exceeded my expectations! This book definitely had a few laughs and The chemistry between the lead was really good..
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Forget what it says on the cover. This is nothing like Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer. A few aspects of the book might be set in that era, but the people and plot are thoroughly modern.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It was okay not as fun as her other books but entertaining enough
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A delightfully funny and engaging book. Kidnapping, false identities, and the usual Julia Quinn quick witted turns of phrase. Highly recommend!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If you're considering reading this, you've probably already read other Julia Quinn novels. True to form; this is another great one. It is very witty. If different parts don't make you laugh out loud, you'll at least laugh in your head. The closing scene made me snort, as every JQ novel should!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I wpuld.have to say out of all the Quinn books I have listened to, this one has been my favorite. A good, slow romance, spies and intrigue, Russians... It was different and I loved it. Also really loved the Hero and Heroine. Great characters!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is my favourite Julia Quinn novel, and I’ve read almost all of them. I highly recommend this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An enjoyable and frivolous historical romance. I don't think it's Quinn's best book, but it's pretty good. The characters veer a bit close to being cardboard cutouts at times, but most of the time they're pretty well rounded and there are some great comic moments. There's not a lot of plot but since most of the book is firmly centred on the characters' personalities it all jogs along nicely enough - which makes the whole Deadly Peril at the Russian Embassy section near the end seem somewhat dissonant.Although I'm not entirely convinced that the hero and heroine are as much in love and as committed to one another as they claim to be by the end of the book, I can see them heading firmly in that direction, and I do think they're well suited to one another.All in all, a nice, light read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Gostei muito do livro. Excelente narradora. A estória é engraçada. Contudo é um pouco simples. Mas vale a leitura.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a good read for anyone that enjoyed the Bridgerton series. I enjoyed the character of Harry and look forward to reading about his cousin in the next book in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ridiculous, hilarious, full of the infuriated lovebirds sniping at each other with witty dialogue and finding themselves mistaken about all kinds of things. Also features a truly hysterical dramatic reading of the book with the pigeons, and phlegmatic Russian commentary. Hurrah for Bevelstoke!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I didn't dislike these characters, they just didn't particularly grow on me. The story was sort of middling, if I had really liked the characters it would have been entirely adequate, but as it was I just kind of trudged along through it. I'm not worse off for having read it or anything, but I didn't gain very much either.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very delightful and lovely :) I loved Sir Henry and Lady Olivia and the whole window thing :) it was very... delightful :) and very funny :)

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    What Happens in London
    3 Stars

    Lady Olivia Bevelstoke is convinced that her seemingly innocuous neighbor is up to something nefarious for he spends far too much time pouring over the documents at his desk. Sir Harry Valentine works for the War Office as a translator, but due to his position in society has been assigned to watch Olivia as she has caught the eye of a Russian Prince, who may or may not have ties to Napoleon. With these two spying on each other at every turn, it is not surprising that sparks fly when they finally meet in person...

    Ironically given the title, absolutely nothing actually happens in this book until the very end.

    The story is mainly comprised of an endless series of conversations, at times witty and at others trivial, between the main characters. The small suspense subplot has potential, but rather than appearing at the start and building toward an exciting climax, it comes out of the blue and all the action is rather confusing with no backstory to support it.

    Olivia and Harry have very little chemistry and their romance feels forced. Harry’s learned spy qualities are intriguing, however, they are completely underdeveloped and he would have been far more interesting were he a little less John Watson and a little more Jack Ryan. Olivia is a brainless busybody and aside for her beauty has nothing to recommend her as a heroine.

    On a final note, although this is the 2nd book in the Bevelstoke trilogy, there is no connection between the stories and it can be read as a standalone. This is unfortunate as the first book was very engaging and an update on Miranda and Turner would have been welcome.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed the relaxed comfortable chemistry between the two leads. It was a good fit and I had a few laughs!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Cute historical romance with a lightweight plot and heavy with characters thoughts but most of them pretty funny. Olivia hears a rumor that her new neighbor Sir Harry, a translator for war office, killed is fiance so she watches him from her window.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I adored this book! My favorite Julia Quinn so far. I didn't care about Olivia in the first book of this series, but in her stand-alone book, I loved her.

    The tension in the relationship was built up to just the right degree. It wasn't too cheesy, and the ending was perfect. I never thought I'd love any of her books more than the Bridgerton series. I was wrong. This was great! <3
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this book! I love Julia Quinn's style, and the characters in this book are charming. While I don't think they're as well developed as the Bridgertons, and this story has a few plot holes and not a lot of sex, it's definitely worth reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A smart & fun romance novel, just the ticket for an evening of lounging around.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love a romance that makes me laugh out loud!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It was cute but at one point (don't want to spoil and say where) there was, in my opinion, some unnecessary espionage and I was like "whaaa?!?". I was looking for something fluffy and not requiring all that much brain power and this one fit the bill.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A charming story from JQ. The heroine was smart and funny, and the hero was, well, heroic. Wonderful banter between them. It bugs me, though, that the author thinks Russian princes are "royalty." They were not.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The first part of the book dragged a bit, but the 2nd half really picked up. I enjoyed the relationship between the h/h. They had excellent banter. Highly enjoyable.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Okay, I don't normally read romance. Not because I look down on the genre or people who read it -- different people enjoy different things, and I don't enjoy romance novels.

    It has something to do with the usual dynamic, with this woman presented as "strong" and "different," but invariably beautiful and intelligent and weak-kneed about this certain man and thinks it's romantic when he orders her around.

    Or maybe it's the all-too-frequent trope of man and woman meet, man and woman hate at first site, man and woman have sexual tensions galore, man rapes woman but it's not really rape because she enjoyed it even though she kept saying no and never gave permission, woman then falls in love with man.

    Or maybe it's the appalling inattention to historical detail.

    Or maybe it's just the fact that there's only so many synonyms for "cock" or "breast," and apparently "cock" is too foul to use in many romance novels, so you end up with ridiculous phrasing like, "Hard, thick, shaft."

    I'm absolutely certain that someone who adores romance but dislikes my favored genres (sci-fi, fantasy, non-fiction) could, if they so desired, list off various things they dislike about my beloved genres. And they might even be right -- but I either overlook/ don't care/ don't see these flaws as important.

    All that said, I like Julia Quinn. I like that she seems to be laughing at herself, and she seems to have a sense of humor. I like how her writing is all playful and bubbly, and even though she follows certain tropes (true love is always recognizable by weak knees and a willingness to follow orders when he's the one giving them!), it all seems so light-hearted.

    Plus, I can't feel anything but pleased and encouraged by the fact that sex, when it finally happens, happens in the latter part of the book. After they've already had multiple conversations and realized they're in love. I don't like the trend of romance novels for sex being the impetus to love. That's not cool.

    I mean, I have nothing against loveless sex, or sex for passion or pleasure's sake. And I'm sure that some people get into a no-strings attached sexual relationship and end up falling in love. But the thing is, generally a the realization of love doesn't come from a night of hot sex, and romance novels perpetuate a damaging belief with that.

    So I think it's pretty cool that Quinn always has the relationship build first, then mixes in the sex.

    I've read other romance writers, and I have to say, Quinn is the most readable. I usually find myself laughing out loud or grinning stupidly at least twice during one of her books, and usually more frequently. I recommend her highly.