Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Duke and I

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

773 reviews

yepstillgarbage's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.5

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sauvageloup's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

3.0

A solid, pretty gripping read

pros:
- it flows along really well, and the story progresses nicely. there was more chemistry than the show with her feelings being described, and I liked how the brothers were more involved with trying to protect her.
- violet also shines as a great character, except for when she wont tell daphne about sex.
- I did like that the couple had real issues, and it wasnt just that they needed to have one conversation, but did need real resolution

(which could have happened without the rape scene...)

cons:

- unfortunately, as in the show, Daphne rapes Simon, though it's not called that or even really acknowledged in the book. but since she starts touching him when he's asleep, and then deliberately prevents him from pulling away/stopping when he finishes when he tries to, in order to get the child she wants and he doesn't (to the point that he was willing to die earlier in the book), its abhorrent. he's more upset that he stammers afterwards than her actions, but I completely hated her after that, and she doesn't even feel regret.

- the book does also completely focus on the pairing, daphne doesnt have friends involved and there's no bigger cast really at all (such as eloise, Penelope, the queen, etc. in the show).
- also, the descriptions weren't especially vivid beyond the characters and I couldnt visualise much.
- also the blatant fatphobia against Penelope is gross, but I knew to expect that.

overall, pretty well written and compelling, just shame about the lack of morality/issues not being dealt with in the narrative.

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katrina_shinault's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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maithewriter's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.25

Read this because Netflix's Bridgerton is my guilty pleasure. It's an entertaining and quick read, and it did satisfy my cravings for some good old romance, though the writing itself is nothing to write home about.

Just like the show, my interest dwindled as the story progressed; it just went downhill for me

after the forced marriage,

both in the book and the show. Too bad because I totally enjoyed the

fake courtship

. It also didn't help that the problematic parts of the show are magnified in the book

(i.e., Daphne's sexual assault on Simon and her disturbing lack of remorse for it)

.

I also felt like the central issue was resolved too quickly and not so convincingly. I think Julia Quinn did a great job fleshing out Simon's traumatic backstory -- it really made me feel for the character and understand where he's coming from.

That's why I couldn't grasp the concept that Simon was able to just let go of the "incident" after a few weeks because of his ~love~ for Daphne. I get that this is a romance book set in the Regency era, but come on. At least make Daphne realize her mistake and grovel for Simon's forgiveness and have a long talk about it because such deep trauma cannot simply be magically resolved by ~love~.

Anyway, I'd still read the rest of the series. Like I said, it's my guilty pleasure, and I'm not expecting much from it other than feel-good romance and happy endings. But I do hope the rest of the books have better plots and less problematic pairs.

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ayoitme's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

2.0

I am reading the books after watching the show, so I already knew some of the plot points coming in. That being said, I did not enjoy the progression of Daphne and Simons relationship and found myself disliking Daphne for most of the book.

I found it annoying how in the beginning of the book, it is constantly said that Daphne has older brothers so she's not like other girls, that she is stronger and more accepting of their cruder remarks and actions. I knew the books were different than the show, but the 3 older boys were so brutish for no reason, and the same goes for Simon.

Now, let's just say it as it is. Daphne raped Simon, which I knew was coming from the show but HATED so much more in the book. I don't see how in any world her actions can be taken as just ignorant or even romantic. She knew that she was taking advantage of Simon while he was drunk and doing something with him sexually that he would have never agreed to sober. I think the author was trying to make a point on how sheltered and ignorant Daphne was when it came to sex, but nothing in that scene made me think she didn't realize what she was doing.

If the roles had been reversed and Daphne was the one who didn't want children and Simon took advantage of her while she was drunk, there would be no romantic scenes or interpretations. Anyone that tries to justifies her actions is a liar. The only reason my rating is not a one is because their repour at the beginning of the book was so fun and the fake dating trope is a weakness of mine. But Daphne completely ruined this for me.

The storyline of Simon having a trauma surrounding having children and Daphne craving a family could have still happened. Their disagreements and arguments we good at moving the story forward and keeping things interesting, there was no need for that to happen to Simon.

I only gave it a 2 because the fake dating and the humor at the beginning of their relationship was fun and nice. Overall, it was fine. I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it but I wanted to read the other books,

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toni13's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

Es ist ein sehr cozy Buch und deswegen macht es Spaß zu lesen. Teilweise hab ich aber absichtlich über problematische Szenen hinweg gelesen und mir die Figuren eher wie in der Serie vorgestellt, also als POC z.B.

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