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fromthefoxhole's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
At this point in the Bridgerton series, i’m starting to think that despite all the surrounding drama, the stories are the exact same.
Virginal girl meets reformed rake with some small temper issues, he does something foolish right when she realizes she could love him, they kiss and make up. rinse and repeat ad nauseam.
Hyacinth is clever and charming, Gareth is suave and sometimes condescending, and Lady Danbury as always stole the show. Julia Quinn does this thing with her men where they are just deplorable for no reason?? Why on earth does Gareth think he has to compromise her to keep her in the marriage instead of communicating like they’ve done the rest of the book? we may never know lmao
Virginal girl meets reformed rake with some small temper issues, he does something foolish right when she realizes she could love him, they kiss and make up. rinse and repeat ad nauseam.
Hyacinth is clever and charming, Gareth is suave and sometimes condescending, and Lady Danbury as always stole the show. Julia Quinn does this thing with her men where they are just deplorable for no reason?? Why on earth does Gareth think he has to compromise her to keep her in the marriage instead of communicating like they’ve done the rest of the book? we may never know lmao
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Infidelity
cielosiluminado's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gareth and hyacinth were very cute!! their story was really fun and refreshing in the bridgerton series.
my favorite thing was hyacinth never changing herself for a man despite that meaning less marriage prospects for her and despite all the warnings gareth got about her being “too smart” and “difficult to manage”, he still loved her. he loved her quirks, confidence, and brains.
there was just two things that made me not give it a perfect rating: (1) gareth’s glaring daddy issues led him to seduce and compromise her pre-wedding so she wouldn’t back out of the engagement. that was a very questionable action. but i wasn’t that bothered once i read when hyacinth learns that he compromised her on her purpose, she reaffirms that despite being peeved that he resorted to compromising her, she still enjoyed their first time together. and (2) there was also a little lull for me in the story shortly after their engagement.
but i was able to look past those two hiccups because i enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story. the betrothed couple breaking and entering the clair house was so funny to me. i laughed so hard at the imagining hyacinth wearing breeches and cackled when they scaled up the walls to climb into the windows was hilarious to picture. also, the scene between anthony and gareth had me cry laughing because they were both so unserious. i also adored lady danbury and hyacinth’s relationship in this book. it was so heartwarming, especially when lady d had been plotting gareth and hyacinth’s relationship for over a year!
this one is going to be a fun season for netflix to adapt tbh
my favorite thing was hyacinth never changing herself for a man despite that meaning less marriage prospects for her and despite all the warnings gareth got about her being “too smart” and “difficult to manage”, he still loved her. he loved her quirks, confidence, and brains.
there was just two things that made me not give it a perfect rating: (1) gareth’s glaring daddy issues led him to seduce and compromise her pre-wedding so she wouldn’t back out of the engagement. that was a very questionable action. but i wasn’t that bothered once i read when hyacinth learns that he compromised her on her purpose, she reaffirms that despite being peeved that he resorted to compromising her, she still enjoyed their first time together. and (2) there was also a little lull for me in the story shortly after their engagement.
but i was able to look past those two hiccups because i enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story. the betrothed couple breaking and entering the clair house was so funny to me. i laughed so hard at the imagining hyacinth wearing breeches and cackled when they scaled up the walls to climb into the windows was hilarious to picture. also, the scene between anthony and gareth had me cry laughing because they were both so unserious. i also adored lady danbury and hyacinth’s relationship in this book. it was so heartwarming, especially when lady d had been plotting gareth and hyacinth’s relationship for over a year!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Grief, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Death, and Death of parent
meghanm404's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse
mrsmishler's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
bzliz's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Not my favorite. There were some aspects that I enjoyed- the jewel hunt and translating the diary- but the romance aspects felt like recycling previous books and Frankensteining them together. Most of the MMCs are reformed rakes and Gareth is no exception, his father isn’t really his father, he feels the need to trap Hyacinth into a marriage so his cruel father will be proven wrong, etc. I did like Hyacinth though. She has admirable tenacity and doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind. And getting more of Lady Danbury is fantastic. I genuinely think she’s my favorite character from the whole series.
On the other hand, I could have done without the other “engagement”. It’s heavily implied that Mary has some kind of mental disability so Gareth’s evil father trying to trap him into marriage with her to get his hands on her dowry is downright despicable. And just plain stupid. Even if he’s your second son, even if he’s technically an illegitimate child you’ve legitimized, something can always happen to your heir. For someone so obsessed with appearances, it would never make sense to put your family lineage in jeopardy. It feels like a cheap plot point made to show that underneath his exterior, Gareth has a kind heart. There were other ways that could’ve been done.
Unfortunately, the book’s biggest sin is that it feels incomplete without the second epilogue.The jewel search/heist was the most interesting part of the book so to leave it fruitless was deeply unsatisfying. It feels even weirder that in the original epilogue, their daughter finds the jewels almost by accident and doesn’t tell anyone. All I can say to sum it up is that it’s probably good that this is the second to last book in the series.
On the other hand, I could have done without the other “engagement”. It’s heavily implied that Mary has some kind of mental disability so Gareth’s evil father trying to trap him into marriage with her to get his hands on her dowry is downright despicable. And just plain stupid. Even if he’s your second son, even if he’s technically an illegitimate child you’ve legitimized, something can always happen to your heir. For someone so obsessed with appearances, it would never make sense to put your family lineage in jeopardy. It feels like a cheap plot point made to show that underneath his exterior, Gareth has a kind heart. There were other ways that could’ve been done.
Unfortunately, the book’s biggest sin is that it feels incomplete without the second epilogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Emotional abuse
Minor: Ableism and Infidelity
abby_can_read's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
October 2023-⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧
This was a light and cute book. It was an enjoyable read, like most of the series. My favorite character was probably Lady Danbury. To be honestly, she's my favorite from the entire series.
March 2022-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱
This was an adorable book. I enjoyed it. Hyacinth and Gareth were a cute match, though it didn't seem like love love to me. I like the subplot with Garett's father.
🎧
This was a light and cute book. It was an enjoyable read, like most of the series. My favorite character was probably Lady Danbury. To be honestly, she's my favorite from the entire series.
March 2022-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱
This was an adorable book. I enjoyed it. Hyacinth and Gareth were a cute match, though it didn't seem like love love to me. I like the subplot with Garett's father.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Child abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Miscarriage
siankrb's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This wasn’t my favourite in the Bridgerton series but it was a nice book to chill out to. I found Hyacinths character fun and likeable and the side plot about the diamonds was different to the other books in the series. I think my main issue was that I was less interested in Hyacinth and Gareth as a couple than others in the series, although Lady Danbury being a large character in this book was fun.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexism, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Misogyny
allison87's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
The mystery aspects of this one were fun. The characters' personalities are still mostly copy paste from all her other main characters, but this story was at least a bit more intriguing.
The fact that Hyacinth enjoys reading entertaining but poorly written books (with Lady Danbury) was extremely ironic, as that's exactly what I'm doing. Quinn's writing is not as bad as the author within her own book, but I still see so much more potential for her novels to be so much better. All the framework is there, it's just never explored fully.
I do think, also, that Hyacinth might be on the spectrum. She is a perfectionist with a strong sense of justice, social bluntness and more. If we ever get her season on the Bridgerton series, I hope they explore that rather than take her character in a different direction.
Julia seems to make all her heroes state somewhere along the way that the heroine is "Not like the other girls". I don't think I noticed until this one that she does this every time without fail. I do think Hyacinth was at least more unique than usual (but still mostly copy paste personality wise save a few threads that weren't pulled on hardly enough). But it's an annoying trope to compare women like that.
The fact that Hyacinth enjoys reading entertaining but poorly written books (with Lady Danbury) was extremely ironic, as that's exactly what I'm doing. Quinn's writing is not as bad as the author within her own book, but I still see so much more potential for her novels to be so much better. All the framework is there, it's just never explored fully.
I do think, also, that Hyacinth might be on the spectrum. She is a perfectionist with a strong sense of justice, social bluntness and more. If we ever get her season on the Bridgerton series, I hope they explore that rather than take her character in a different direction.
Julia seems to make all her heroes state somewhere along the way that the heroine is "Not like the other girls". I don't think I noticed until this one that she does this every time without fail. I do think Hyacinth was at least more unique than usual (but still mostly copy paste personality wise save a few threads that weren't pulled on hardly enough). But it's an annoying trope to compare women like that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse
k_l_smith's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
rachaelbunny's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity