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prashiie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“This thing between them, this bond–it wasn't just passion, and it wasn't wicked. It was love, and it was divine.”
An interesting story and different from the other Bridgerton books. I don’t think I will read this again, mainly because of the red flags. Acknowledging the fact that everyone is flawed coud enhance the reading experience.
The main characters are Francesca Bridgerton and Michael Stirling.
Francesca was married to John, Earl of Kilmartin, and after only two years of marriage she was left a widow. She has always loved John a lot and griefs him deeply. She would not even think of remarrying if she didn’t have an immense desire to have a baby. So marriage is now on the table and she is determined to find someone to marry even if she has to settle for a marriage without love. Because in her opinion, a woman would not simply find love like that twice in a lifetime.
On the other hand we have Michael, John’s cousin. He has loved Francesca since the moment he laid eyes on her. Incidentally, this was just a few days before she got married to John. Michael would never hurt or betray his cousin, so his love for Francesca remained hidden and instead a great friendship flourished between Francesca and Michael.
This story is woven with threads of grief and guilt. They both loved John very much and dealt with his loss in their own ways. For Michael inheriting the earldom and everything that came with it felt like he was taking over John’s life. He could not possibly also have Francesca. Michael put up such a great facade, that Francesca does not believe him to be a suitable husband. Once a rake, always a rake. Little does she know that he puts on this facade to momentarily escape from his feelings for her.
I had trouble understanding Michael’s change of heart. At first he is reluctant to even consider marrying Francesca as it felt like he was dishonouring his cousin. Then he was determined to get her no matter what, almost like he flipped a switch within himself. Too abrupt for my liking. Not to mention his approach… uhmmmm… excuse me!! I don’t want to spoil it but you can find it in the list below.
Now for the red flags:
An interesting story and different from the other Bridgerton books. I don’t think I will read this again, mainly because of the red flags. Acknowledging the fact that everyone is flawed coud enhance the reading experience.
The main characters are Francesca Bridgerton and Michael Stirling.
Francesca was married to John, Earl of Kilmartin, and after only two years of marriage she was left a widow. She has always loved John a lot and griefs him deeply. She would not even think of remarrying if she didn’t have an immense desire to have a baby. So marriage is now on the table and she is determined to find someone to marry even if she has to settle for a marriage without love. Because in her opinion, a woman would not simply find love like that twice in a lifetime.
On the other hand we have Michael, John’s cousin. He has loved Francesca since the moment he laid eyes on her. Incidentally, this was just a few days before she got married to John. Michael would never hurt or betray his cousin, so his love for Francesca remained hidden and instead a great friendship flourished between Francesca and Michael.
This story is woven with threads of grief and guilt. They both loved John very much and dealt with his loss in their own ways. For Michael inheriting the earldom and everything that came with it felt like he was taking over John’s life. He could not possibly also have Francesca. Michael put up such a great facade, that Francesca does not believe him to be a suitable husband. Once a rake, always a rake. Little does she know that he puts on this facade to momentarily escape from his feelings for her.
I had trouble understanding Michael’s change of heart. At first he is reluctant to even consider marrying Francesca as it felt like he was dishonouring his cousin. Then he was determined to get her no matter what, almost like he flipped a switch within himself. Too abrupt for my liking. Not to mention his approach… uhmmmm… excuse me!! I don’t want to spoil it but you can find it in the list below.
Now for the red flags:
-
When Francesca miscarries her baby with John and she tells Michael that the baby was to have been his in a way too. WHAT?! That’s such a weird thing to say. Granted, she does not know about his feelings for her and in the historical context of this book it makes sense since women were mostly dependent on men. But still… It felt very manipulative and off-putting when reading this in modern times. -
Michael’s approach to get Francesca to marry him. His intentions and love for Francesca are pure, but despair makes one do stupid things. If he can’t sway her into marriage using logic, then he would do so by using passion. He decides to compromise her and get her pregnant so that she has no other option than to marry him. In the end, the passion that they both share is what unites them and they realise that they’re perfect for each other. The final destination is great, but the journey itself had me rolling my eyes. -
Francesca is hurt and feels invisible and neglected when her siblings have gotten married or are getting married without her presence. Michael uses this to convince her to get married immediately.
The mothers in this story on the other hand were green flags! It’s no surprise that Violet is a good mother who gives Francesca great advice and support. But it’s a blessing to have a great mother-in-law! Janet understands Francesca and wishes her the very best.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Death, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
Minor: Death of parent
mgondwe's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This is a 3.5 stars. I always enjoy reading Julia Quinn books, and appreciate her writing style. This book started off really well for me, but the ending (while I’m happy that the characters received a good ending,) just wasn’t satisfying to me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
zzzuuk's review against another edition
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
the plot points are getting repetitive at this point, and the emotional aspects continue to be pretty shallow. scotland though!
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Death
lauryn_with_a_y's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
overall: i think i liked it? i love francesca as a character and parts of the romance worked (namely the Yearning on michael's end) but christ alive the casual misogyny and not-so-veiled rape threats got to me. most of the romance didn't work for me for precisely that reason; michael wants to marry francesca, and instead of telling her he's been in love with her for six years and that her late husband would want her to be happy, he decides to seduce her in an attempt to manipulate her into marriage. he threatens to continue having sex with her (implied to be with or without her consent, at one point even threatening to tie her up so she can't get away) until she gets pregnant and is FORCED to marry him. romance!
after all that, i almost didn't finish the book. but then ms quinn hit me with a truly poignant and moving portrayal of grief, trauma, and moving on and allowing yourself to be happy again after the unthinkable has happened. that, combined with the really fun and heartfelt relationship of the bridgerton family, almost made it worth it for me. almost.
after all that, i almost didn't finish the book. but then ms quinn hit me with a truly poignant and moving portrayal of grief, trauma, and moving on and allowing yourself to be happy again after the unthinkable has happened. that, combined with the really fun and heartfelt relationship of the bridgerton family, almost made it worth it for me. almost.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Grief, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Medical content, Misogyny, and Death
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Rape
Minor: Classism, Colonisation, and War
meghanm404's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Blood, Child death, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Alcohol
bzliz's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This installment is so different from the previous five. The majority of the action takes place outside of London and the rest of the Bridgerton clan play very small parts, if they’re mentioned at all. The only one who really gets supporting role credit is Colin and his appearance is more like a fairy godmother (or fairy of common sense).
I loved that because of her status as a widow, Francesca is afforded a pinch more freedom than the previous FMCs have been given. She also doesn’t have the same level of ignorance going into sex with Michael that creates such a power imbalance in the other books. (It also happens to be the steamiest of them, by a lot.) In addition, Francesca has bigger hurdles to clear: miscarriage, grief over her husband’s death, her own infertility, guilt over having feelings for someone else. The simultaneous timeline between Colin, Eloise & Francesca’s stories was fun. A lot less ‘okay, that’s done so now we can focus on the next child’ feeling.
There was still some ick around some of the scenes that honestly just feels inevitable for historical romances. And these men just can’t control themselves! (The creep in the garden, the creeps at the club, and even Michael as he’s trying to coerce Francesca into marriage.) I enjoyed it but I still prefer Colin’s story to this one.
I loved that because of her status as a widow, Francesca is afforded a pinch more freedom than the previous FMCs have been given. She also doesn’t have the same level of ignorance going into sex with Michael that creates such a power imbalance in the other books. (It also happens to be the steamiest of them, by a lot.) In addition, Francesca has bigger hurdles to clear: miscarriage, grief over her husband’s death, her own infertility, guilt over having feelings for someone else. The simultaneous timeline between Colin, Eloise & Francesca’s stories was fun. A lot less ‘okay, that’s done so now we can focus on the next child’ feeling.
There was still some ick around some of the scenes that honestly just feels inevitable for historical romances. And these men just can’t control themselves! (The creep in the garden, the creeps at the club, and even Michael as he’s trying to coerce Francesca into marriage.) I enjoyed it but I still prefer Colin’s story to this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Grief, Sexual content, and Infertility
Minor: Sexual harassment
nicollette_13's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Death, Chronic illness, and Infertility
chrissandrapherlv's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Death, Grief, Sexual content, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Alcohol
sleepy_stacey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
My favorite of the series so far! Loved every second!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Grief, Infertility, and Death
abby_can_read's review against another edition
emotional
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-⭐️⭐️⭐️
After re-reading this book and the series so far, I have to say that this book is rather dull. I liked the characters. The story just went on too long.
March 2022-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed this book. It's not my favorite in the series I went back and further in trying to rate this one. Michael Stirling was the best character - and probably one of my favorites from the series.
This was another enjoyable book in the Bridgerton series.
After re-reading this book and the series so far, I have to say that this book is rather dull. I liked the characters. The story just went on too long.
March 2022-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed this book. It's not my favorite in the series I went back and further in trying to rate this one. Michael Stirling was the best character - and probably one of my favorites from the series.
This was another enjoyable book in the Bridgerton series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Infertility and Grief
Minor: Sexism and Misogyny