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natalie_chase's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Misogyny and Grief
prashiie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.75
“The hallmark of civilization is routine. But the sign of a truly advanced mind is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.”
As with any Bridgerton book, we have likeable characters that are somewhat flawed.
Hyacinth is very smart and knows what she wants which is partially the reason why she’s on her third season and still unmarried. She spends a lot of time with Lady Danbury and might even be one of the few people that like her. Lady Danbury truly is an amusing character, owing to her brutal honesty. She does not shroom to play matchmaker and nudges Hyacinth towards her grandson, Gareth. Gareth is described to be a rake, just like any other gentleman in this series so far, sigh. Anyway, he dotes on his grandmother, Lady Danbury, who is the only person he has in his life. He does not have a good relationship with his father, the baron. Throughout the story, his father remains a one-dimensional character. Every time Gareth interacts with him, he leaves the scene fully distraught. It makes sense why his father is so angry all the time. He found out his wife cheated on him which led to the birth of Gareth. Whilst nobody in his situation would accept or ignore that, it’s unacceptable to take it out on a child.
When Gareth is in need of an Italian translator, Hyacinth offers to help. They slowly learn more about each other and fall in love. For Gareth this also means that he becomes part of the loving Bridgerton family. It was really heartwarming when Anthony mentioned this to him.
The superficial nature of this story makes it a good read when you are in need of something light and fluffy. What I didn’t really like is that, yet again, the male protagonist is convinced that he must compromise the female protagonist to ensure their marriage. I get that this might be the mindset of that time, but it just annoys me at this time of age.
As with any Bridgerton book, we have likeable characters that are somewhat flawed.
Hyacinth is very smart and knows what she wants which is partially the reason why she’s on her third season and still unmarried. She spends a lot of time with Lady Danbury and might even be one of the few people that like her. Lady Danbury truly is an amusing character, owing to her brutal honesty. She does not shroom to play matchmaker and nudges Hyacinth towards her grandson, Gareth. Gareth is described to be a rake, just like any other gentleman in this series so far, sigh. Anyway, he dotes on his grandmother, Lady Danbury, who is the only person he has in his life. He does not have a good relationship with his father, the baron. Throughout the story, his father remains a one-dimensional character. Every time Gareth interacts with him, he leaves the scene fully distraught. It makes sense why his father is so angry all the time. He found out his wife cheated on him which led to the birth of Gareth. Whilst nobody in his situation would accept or ignore that, it’s unacceptable to take it out on a child.
When Gareth is in need of an Italian translator, Hyacinth offers to help. They slowly learn more about each other and fall in love. For Gareth this also means that he becomes part of the loving Bridgerton family. It was really heartwarming when Anthony mentioned this to him.
The superficial nature of this story makes it a good read when you are in need of something light and fluffy. What I didn’t really like is that, yet again, the male protagonist is convinced that he must compromise the female protagonist to ensure their marriage. I get that this might be the mindset of that time, but it just annoys me at this time of age.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Death of parent, and Grief
mariskyjy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.25
This one is up there in my ranking of the Bridgerton books. I personally enjoy the formula of rakish hero with daddy issues, so I am biased. Hyacinth as a character is a lot of fun, and I found her the most relatable heroine yet (yes, I have ADHD. Maybe those two things correlate.). Gareth is fun when he's not brooding (which honestly doesn't happen often!), and I actually understood why he and Hy were a good match. There's a lot of Lady Danbury in this one, which did not disappoint. Also, some cute espionage stuff in which (small spoiler) our heroine gets to wear britches rather than an elaborate dress!
I enjoy that Julia Quinn gives her romantic leads depth and personality; as this series is my first foray into romance novels, it's great to know it's not all "here is my Gary Sue love interest who could be replaced with a cardboard cutout and there'd be more emotional depth".
The only plot point that others have pointed out - Gareth sleeping with Hyacinth to make her unable to dismiss their engagement - seemed a little more nuanced to me. When he kisses her in her house, he clearly says he doesn't want to live without her, so he proposed, and then suddenly it jumps to sexy time a while later, and he has the aforementioned motive. That leap bumps the rating down for me.
An excerpt directly from my own personal romantic yearnings:
“And I know,” [Hyacinth] said, letting out a short, staccato breath, the sort one did when one couldn’t quite believe what one was saying, “that it’s often rather hard work to love me.”
And suddenly Gareth realized that some things did come in a flash. And there were some things one simply knew without being able to explain them. Because as he stood there watching her, all he could think was—No.
No.
It would be rather easy to love Hyacinth Bridgerton.
He didn’t know where the thought had come from, or what strange
corner of his brain had come to that conclusion, because he was quite certain it would be nearly impossible to live with her, but somehow he knew that it wouldn’t be at all difficult to love her.
I enjoy that Julia Quinn gives her romantic leads depth and personality; as this series is my first foray into romance novels, it's great to know it's not all "here is my Gary Sue love interest who could be replaced with a cardboard cutout and there'd be more emotional depth".
An excerpt directly from my own personal romantic yearnings:
And suddenly Gareth realized that some things did come in a flash. And there were some things one simply knew without being able to explain them. Because as he stood there watching her, all he could think was—No.
No.
It would be rather easy to love Hyacinth Bridgerton.
He didn’t know where the thought had come from, or what strange
corner of his brain had come to that conclusion, because he was quite certain it would be nearly impossible to live with her, but somehow he knew that it wouldn’t be at all difficult to love her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Death, Pregnancy, and Grief
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
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
rafacolog's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Death of parent
kasialipa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Infidelity, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
I wanted to read this book because of the Netflix show that hit on Christmas a few years ago and now Netflix has announced we are getting Polin’s story and I'm hoping we get the full eight seasons for each sibling. I wanted to get ahead and know what is going to happen, so of course I bought all nine books. I enjoyed the first two books in this series, I struggled with Benedict’s and Eloise’s story and didn’t mind Colin’s story and Francesca’s and Hyacinth's story have been adorable.
This novel follows two main characters. The first character is Hyacinth Bridgerton. She is the baby of the family and the eighth child in the Bridgerton household. All of the ton agree, there is no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgeton. She is fiendishly smart, outspoken to some and best in small doses. Her mother and oldest brother are desperate to marry her off, but after four marriage proposal that she has rejected, everyone is slowing giving up. Hyacinth just wants to find a man who doesn’t want to change her and can keep up her outspokenness and her attitude. The second character is Gareth St Clair, he is in London for his grandmother and the one family member that likes him – Lady Danbury, he has no intention getting married as his father is running up debt so that when he dies, the debt goes to his son (who isn’t actually his biological son). Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth’s every word seems a dare, and she offers to help him out with a knotty inheritance problem he’s facing. As they delve into the mysterious St Clair history, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the past but in each other, and that there is nothing as simple or as complicated as a single, perfect kiss.
My favourite things about this book were Julia Quinn’s writing style. It didn’t feel like I was back in time. I mean, obviously they weren’t going on about Snapchat, but it just felt like a modern-day story with a bit of mystery. The only thing that kept me from remembering that it was set in the 1800s was the references of letters and carriages and that they couldn’t Google Translate the diary. The storyline was adorable and funny and heartbreaking, all at the same time. Gareth was a sweetheart and I felt for him for his daddy issues, but also a bit of a dick at the same time. I wanted to smack him for how he was thinking about Hyacinth and the original reason why he wanted to marry her. Hyacinth finally found someone who could deal with her dry humour and then she gets screwed over.
However, that’s not the reason I didn’t rate it five stars. The reason I didn’t rate it five stars was because I miss the Bridgerton gang – in the first four book, they were all together and causing mischief together. Besides Gregory and Anthony playing a small part in this book, they weren’t there. I wanted girl talk and all the sister to spill secrets, I wanted the overprotective brothers who wanted to hunt down Gareth. I just miss the sibling banter and I get that in those days when they got married, they had their own household and children to deal with it, but I just missed them. Also, I think because I've read these books in such a short span of time rather than when they were debut over the years, it was weird to picture little Hyacinth like in the TV show being this elegant and sexy woman and getting laid, it was like reading a young siblings diary.
I cannot wait for Gregory’s story and hopefully it will be all tied together nicely and we see more of the brothers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Miscarriage
insanebookperson's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual content