“'Isn’t it nice,' the older lady said, leaning in so that only Penelope could hear her words, 'to discover that we’re not exactly what we thought we were?'”

I loved this installment and I loved Penelope. She's vying with Kate for my favorite heroine so far.

The thing I love best about this series is the consistent bringing forward of background characters from the previous novels. We were introduced to Penelope Featherington in Book 1 as a wallflower amongst the ladies out in society. She is often the brunt of a joke and generally looked over as one destined to end up a spinster. She appears repeatedly throughout the series, though, and Julia Quinn has a way of showing her in an increasingly sympathetic light, so that, when she finally appears as a main character, we are already rooting for her.

I can see the same thing happening in Book 5, which I believe will center on Eloise Bridgerton, is Penelope's best friend in this book. Again, just a side character up until this point, but Quinn makes sure we develop a relationship her with now so that she can dive right into her story next. I really think it's done brilliantly well.