Reviews

Bridgerton - Der Duke & ich by Julia Quinn

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booksareareason's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Content Warnings

janetmf3's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective sad 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

Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, has hatched a plan to keep himself free from the town's marriage-minded society mothers. He pretends to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton. After all, it isn't as if the brooding rogue has any real plans to marry-though there is something about the alluring Miss Bridgerton that sets Simon's heart beating a bit faster. And as for Daphne, surely the clever debutante will attract some very worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, she soon forgets that their courtship is a complete sham. And now she has to do the impossible and keep herself from losing her heart and soul completely to the handsome hell-raiser who has sworn off marriage forever!

'The Duke and I' by Julia Quinn is a delightful treat for readers who adore lighthearted, humorous, and romantic tales of fake dating and love set in the Regency era, with a dash of wit and charm, making it a perfect fit for fans of historical romance and those seeking a feel-good, emotional rollercoaster ride.

Of course I automatically go to compare the book to the first season of the Netflix series, and I knew going into this that the two of them were very different in many ways, but I am a little bit surprised at how different they are, in even just the minor details. Daphne is described as not being very attractive and she's in her third season rather than her first, making her less desirable, which makes sense for the storyline of using Simon to make her more desirable. There was a lack of some of the major characters, like Queen Charlotte and Eloise Bridgerton who I missed. The storyline of the Featherington's cousin was also absent from the book that the producers added to the TV series. The book purely and only focused on Daphne & Simon.

Overall the storyline of Simon & Daphne was the same, but the way some things took place were different, like the setting of where Daphne punched Niall Berbrook (and the fact that is it implied that one of the Featherington daughters marry him), where Daphne conceals so Simon that she is not pregnant, and even the fact of conception was so different, almost on the verge of rape I would argue. They have three daughters before they ever have a son, which is different from the TV series, and Penelope Featherington is described as being extremely ugly and lame.

The storyline of figuring out Lady Whistledown's identity is also not evident in this book and we still don't know who Whistledown is by the end of this book. I really missed Eloise in this book and her plot of trying to discover who Whistledown is.

The second epilogue is also bizarre with Daphne getting pregnant again at 41 and Colin & Penelope's child not speaking. (Spoilers for a later book).

I definitely preferred the TV series over the book but it's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, I actually liked it a lot more than I was expecting I would.