Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Duke and I

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

44 reviews

tjdewald's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

2.25

Paints reproductive coercion in a positive light and highlights it as the moral high ground in the scenario in the book. Felt icky to read. Made me had the main character.

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drewdelidou's review against another edition

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lighthearted 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

3.75

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phillyhufflepunk's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted reflective fast-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

2.75

My problems with the book are the lack of stakes within Daphne's search for a husband which makes their whole plan kind of pointless, the Duke's entire personality in Chapter 17, the lack of any real fallout from the event in Chapter 18, and the lack of a presence of other characters in their lives.

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its_thekla's review against another edition

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1.0

I'll preface this with knowing next to nothing about the series going in. Needed a light, fluffy book to come out of the trend I've been in recently and, being a human in possession of a Netflix account, was aware of this series and seemed to fit the bill. Picked it up from my local library and went to work.

The first bit was super formulaic, but fun and light and cheesey and everything I was looking for. The whole Bridgerton clan was super fun and I enjoyed them quite a bit. We get to MMC's hang ups, and cool, ok, whatever man, makes sense. It's a regency romance, not a Pulitzer Prize winner. The whole pacing of this book was like it was sthe byproduct of rote memorization. No real substance, but fun.

THEN

Well, I'm sure most people know by this point but what the heck???? How are people ok with that??

Say it with me: rape is rape is rape IS RAPE. what was the author thinking?? And then to treat it with such caviler attitude like it's part of their love story? No ma'am. </Spoiler> Sure, yes, suspension of belief, you can't modern scope historical ideologies/events/whatever but come on. COME ON. It was wrong then, it's wrong now. To add insult to injury and actively romanticize it? I have several choice profanities for that.

So yeah. That kind of settled it for me. Kept reading because, well, there has to be SOMETHING right? Nope. Nothing. Nada.

Won't read any of the others.

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kaseyvickers's review against another edition

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The SA scene it was already sexist then he threatened to SA her then she SA’d him I’m appalled

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ronyareadsbooks's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

2.5

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hearth_hobbit's review against another edition

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relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Rating: 3 Stars - It was okay

Summary: A bachelor duke named Simon and Daphne, a woman who struggles to be viewed as anything more than a friend to most men, hatch a plan to fake-court so that Simon can avoid marriage-minded mothers and Daphne can be seen as more desirable.

What I Liked: I had watched Netflix’s Bridgerton and really enjoyed it, so I picked up this book. The tension between the two love interests was fun but short lived. Honestly, I think I just liked the show so much and it's what got me through this book.

What I Didn’t Like: In romance and erotic fiction, the fictional part is the romance the way that magic is fictional in fantasy. What I would enjoy in a romance isn’t necessarily one-to-one with what I’d like to see or find acceptable in real life. That being said, there were some situations that didn’t align with what I thought was acceptable even keeping in mind the genre.

There’s a scene, and this is in the show as well, where Daphne has Simon in a position while having sex that she has him finish in her, knowing that Simon does not want children for personal reasons. Ultimately, this is resolved but it still felt like that was skipped over and not really dealt with how gross it was for Daphne to do something like that.

I also didn’t like Daphne as a character in general. In the show, I thought she was fine as a heroine. I felt like she had more personality in the show where in the book Daphne is very bland. Daphne is on the “older” side for the time period for not being married. To explain to the reader why she’s desirable but not matched with anyone, the reason is that she’s always seen as a friend instead of a love interest. I don’t understand that. I got a lot of “not like other girls” and “I can fix him” vibes from Daphne, and to be fair when this was written is far before the discourse on that type of character, but still I didn’t enjoy that about the character.

I also didn’t like Simon as a character. He was described as handsome and rich but other than that I just didn’t see what made him so desirable. As a romance novel hero, he just was not exciting to read about. He wasn’t a good friend, he didn’t seem very nice, and he sounded pretty average in bed for someone who is supposed to be a rake. Also he just wasn’t Regè-Jean Page.

Daphne’s family is a big part of the show and each sibling in the Bridgerton series has their own book, but I was sad to see that aside from the three oldest brothers, you don’t see the siblings much at all. I especially wanted to read about Eloise because her character in the show is fun to follow but in this first book she’s mentioned as being around but I don’t even think we get a description on what she looks like.

The Queen in the show was also not in the book. Her declaring a diamond for the season wasn’t a part of the book. Shonda Rhimes has really enhanced the overall story and made it better than the original. Usually I’m a the-book-was-better person, but this time the adaptation is far better than the source material.

I may read the next book, because I liked season two of Bridgerton.

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Bridgerton: The Duke & I by Julia Quinn

Writing: 3.5⭐️/5

The writing is manageable and succinct, but nothing outstanding.

Characters: 3⭐️/5

I think the characters fell short for me. I wanted much more from each of the characters. Several characters felt flat during the course of the book when I feel like small moments could have been used to draw out various characters’ personalities. This might be a result of comparing to the show too much, but I felt like a lot of the characters didn’t have any personality that was deep and meaningful.

Plot: 3.5⭐️/5

While the plot was fun to read, parts of it were a bit less fleshed out than I would have hoped. It reads nicely and smoothly, but certain scenes could have been more detailed and thought out. In particular, I would have loved for the plot to explore Daphne and Simon’s connections.

Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5

Fun read. Easy read. Cute.

Who Should Read This?

Readers looking for a fun, fluffy read
People who love romance novels
Those looking for a fake-dating, period novel

CW: Misogyny, emotional abuse, violence, domestic abuse, pregnancy, sexual assault, rape

Final Rating: 3.25⭐️/5

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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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

3.75

Title: The Duke and I
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: Bridgertons #1
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: December 1, 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Charming • Playful • Entertaining

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Daphne Bridgeton, the fourth of eight siblings, has formed friendships with many of London's finest, yet finds herself unwilling to play their romantic games. Everyone likes her for her kindness yet no one truly desires her.

Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, has recently returned to England and is dead set against marriage. After a difficult childhood, in thanks to his very own father, he has no intentions of fulfilling his royal duties.

After an encounter with Daphne (his best friend's sister), Simon thinks there may be another option, one that could deter the elite from parading their daughters before him. His plan: a fake courtship with Daphne that will in turn help boost her prospects.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Historical romance is a genre I tend to stay away from, yet I decided to see what all the fuss was about with this series. And of course, I was pleasantly surprised with this first installment and was not expecting the witty humour

I have to say it was surprisingly well-written and the Bridgerton family captured my heart from the very first page, their family dynamic felt so genuine and relatable, and the regency setting was enticing. I'm a sucker for books with a real sense of community, and The Duke and I certainly delivers on that front.

During the first half of the book, I appreciated Daphne's character development, but unfortunately for me things kind of fell apart in the second half with some of her questionable choices. When it comes to the romance, I enjoyed the playful banter, which helped make their romance feel genuine.

Overall, I picked this up looking for an escape, and it delivered. I'll definitely be looking forward to the next installment and getting to know each of the Bridgerton siblings' stories.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Downtown Abbey
• historical romances enthusiasts

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Heartache, Daphne eventually learned, never really went away; it just dulled. The sharp, stabbing pain that one felt with each breath eventually gave way to a blunter, lower ache—the kind that one could almost—but never quite—ignore."

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booksbyantheia's review against another edition

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challenging funny 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? It's complicated

1.75

Leer estos libros en traducción se me hace más fácil que en su versión original. Todavía no sé por qué. Quizás porque la prosa de Julia Quinn se vuelve bastante insufrible a veces.

No voy a ahondar en detalles, prácticamente. Todos sabemos de los tonos racistas de este libro en particular, del machismo del cual se hace gala en casi todos los varones (razón por la cual resaltan los personajes femeninos; aún no logro entender si esto es una virtud o realmente Quinn es tonta). Un trope interesante, dos personajes construidos perfectamente. Una sensible y otro reacio a las emociones.

Tenía el tono perfecto. Por un 80% del libro, los tonos racistas y machistas quedaban como datos hechos por y para resaltar a otros.

Y después, la violación.

Es irónico. Páginas antes, Daphne le plantea un no. Se niega a compartir su lecho con Simon. El duque se vuelve violento, un machito más. Pero se va. SE VA.

UNA ESCENA PODEROSA DEL CONSENTIMIENTO.

PARA LUEGO HACER ESO.

Lo que más molesta del caso es cómo Daphne (y Julia, y el tarado del showrunner después) intentan justificarse. Que él la animó, que él no cumplió, que él la engaño. Ver cómo Simon se vuelve tan vulnerable prácticamente quema.

Odio a Julia Quinn. Realmente no puedo entender cómo esta serie siguió. Incluso con las leves mejoras (es decir, CONSENTIMIENTO), ¿nadie puso un alto?

La última parte del libro se te pasa en un suspiro porque no querés leerla. Ni siquiera el cierre casi cíclico de la historia te hace sonreír, de la bronca.

En fin. Ya estoy acostumbrada a las novelas históricas, pero realmente esto me saca de quicio. Quinn se vende a sí misma y a sus libros como "histórica y feminista" cuando no es más que una blanca con un grave complejo sexista.

Igual que Daphne.

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