Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Queen Charlotte: Before Bridgerton Came an Epic Love Story

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

This is basically the tv show/limited series but you get to read the inner thoughts/context behind certain moments, such as George’s experience running into the gardens naked late at night and Charlotte claiming she was Venus. We get the third-person, past-tense POVs of Brimsley, Agatha, Charlotte, and George.

It was a tender and bittersweet read, and I teared up while reading because I could vividly remember the scenes from Netflix lol. I definitely winced each time characters were discussing George’s mental health because he is called “broken” and “a mad man” multiple times. He never receives a specific diagnosis and everyone talks around it, but it was frustrating to hear mental health discussed as such a horrible, disdainful, shameful thing. I recognize that is representative “of the times” but it still felt uncomfortable reading the ableism and prejudice they all possessed.

Overall, this was a quick and easy historical romance to read, mostly because I was envisioning the tv series the entire time. I highly recommend the audiobook as the narration was excellent!

see content warnings below 🤎

Content Warnings

_alyssar_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

leweylibrary's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.25

I do still like the show more, mostly because it also interwove scenes from the Brigerton era we know from the original show, but this was a lot of fun! I love George and Charlotte just as much in print, and I think they did a great job of translating their character into book characters. The chapters were short, and the pace was fast, so I feel like I flew through it. I don't really have any complaints about the book really, it just wasn't like mind blowingly amazing, but still good 🤷‍♀️

Content Warnings

chrysanthxmum's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

r4v3ncl4w_93's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

onefineelephant's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

7/10. I'm glad I read this book because I appreciated some of the parts that we didn't get to see in the show and I liked getting to know the intimate thoughts of the characters (especially Brimsley). However, there were certain (small) parts of the book that differed from the show which really irked me. Also, the book completely erases the whole Lord Ledger plot line which I think completely changes Lady Danbury's character. I was really looking forward to getting to know Lady Danbury's thoughts and feelings about her illicit affair and then there was not even a hint of it in the book which was incredibly disappointing. Overall, I'm glad I read it but I doubt I will read it again and I much prefer the show to the book.

Content Warnings

inkdrinkers's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

"The choice is entirely up to her."

The upcoming nuptials of King George have sent the palace ablaze. Princess Charlotte of Germany is... darker than any of the palace expected, leading to The Great Experiment and whether or not the ton can be united as one, regardless of skin color. But despite the social shifting occuring, the new King and Queen are at odds with one another as George struggles to hide his own secrets from his new bride.

Oof. Total honesty - I read up to 50% and skimmed the rest. This just wasn't it for me. The magic of Julia Quinn's other novels just wasn't in this one. I found it really hard to connect to Charlotte as a character because she genuinely felt like she didn't have much of a personality other than being brash and blunt. I would have adored to see the backstory of her leading up to her arrival in London, being told she had to have a marriage of convenience and setting up her and George. The other aspects of the novel just seemed to happen to her, instead of her having an active part in her own story. George was also the kind of love interest I just... didn't like. Coupled with the fact there is so much torture and horrific depictions of mental healthcare via him, it just became too much to read about.

On a technical level this novel is really poorly done. I wish I had understood it's a straight to page adaption from the show (which I've not watched yet - maybe the actors can sell this plot) but Quinn's magic of the Ton and the way London society works is all gone. It's dreadfully bland, with paragraphs and paragraphs of just pure dialogue moving the book forward. It almost reads like a script, which is maybe some of Shonda Rhimes' input, but it felt off. It was all just so bizzare? The sex scenes (that I got to) were also really awkwardly written and I couldn't help but be painfully aware that Charlotte is seventeen in this (unlike Quinn's other heroines who are at least legal). It just missed the mark entirely for me and I feel icky and don't want to waste anymore time on it.

Content warnings: Mental illness (George's mental illness is very present), Physical abuse/Torture (via medical doctor, it's so uncomfortable and graphic), rape/sexual content (via marriage bonds), racism (via skin color descriptions/society)

Content Warnings

booksalacarte's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

5⭐️ 3🌶️

Multi POV. I loved hearing Charlotte, George, Agatha, and Brimley’s POV.

Agatha’s circumstances broke my heart. Bringing forward the historic practice of arranged marriage contracts between with children. It was a horrific common practice.

The bee Easter eggs were perfect.

The ages are accurate, but didn’t set well with the idea of Charlotte (and Agatha) being an actual child bride.

This was such an interesting look into the marriage of someone who had manic episodes and mental health issues. It was heartbreaking and eye opening.

I’m a sobbing mess at the end. Oh my! Check your trigger warnings.

🏳️‍🌈 rep

Miscommunication trope

Secrets

Mental health rep

Naive bride

Physical and mental abuse

Abandonment

Adult/minor relationship

Classism

Confinement

Death

Forced institutionalism

Gaslighting

Racism

Medical trauma

Mental illness

Panic attacks/disorder

Pregnancy

Child birth

Rape

Schizophrenia/psychosis

Sexual content

Sexual assault

Torture

If I don’t get more of Agatha’s son, I’ll be furious. He was such a little cute addition to the story.

Content Warnings

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