Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Viscount Who Loved Me

Once again, I enjoyed the season of the show more than the book.

HOWEVER

The second book was WAY better than the first in my opinion. Even though Anthony occasionally gave me the ick ("You won't deny me my rights", like ok dude, chill), as an enemies/rivals to lovers sucker, this book did it for me. The tension (for the most part) was beautiful, even if he did try to choke her, but not in a hot way.

One thing that the book did do better though was Edwina. The show did her DIRTY and made her completely oblivious to the sexual tension that everyone in the ton could see, not to mention the public humiliation she received on her wedding day. In this book, Edwina not only backed off, when Kate and Anthony got engaged, but she encouraged it. Not to mention that she fell in love right after to a man that she actually could tolerate spending a life with, who didn't constantly think about "Yeah she's hot, but I won't fall in love with her."

SPEAKING OF THE ENGAGEMENT

This is something where the show surpasses the book TENFOLD. Despite the awkwardness of the wedding, Kate and Anthony are definitely endgame. Anthony loves her, but the moment he sheds this "bad boy" persona for real is when Kate falls off the horse and hits her head. This leads to Edwina's forgiveness and in the end, Kate realizes she loves Anthony and the two dance the night away at the ball and realize that they can't fight their feelings any longer.

NOW THE BOOK

I could write a twelve page paper on the impact the bee scene had on me, diving deep into all of the positive and negative feelings that this left me with, so I'm going to move past and focus on what immediately follows. As Kate is (rightfully) horrified by this exchanged, she notices that watching them is not only the biggest gossip in the ton, but their mothers. All parties wish that they were anywhere else in that moment and I wish that I didn't have to read that either.

Anyway, because they were caught indecently, they're forced to be engaged and get married. WHICH IS LITERALLY COPY AND PASTE FROM THE FIRST BOOK. I understand if it's supposed to be dunking on Anthony, because he did the exact same thing to Simon and Daphne in the first book and then it came back to bite him in the ass in this one. But I think that moving in a different direction in the show was definitely to their advantage. It just reads as a deja vu moment and kinda like "yeah I get this is the time, but like, ok".

But the CARRIAGE SCENE.... UGHHHHH

This left me with the same feels that the horse scene in the show gave. Honestly I think maybe more. The chapter ends with Anthony saying that he was witnessing his wife die and even though I knew she was very much alive, I couldn't help but GASP. It was one of Anthony's first real moments of vulnerability. In a very public way. He thinks that he's cursed and now that he loves a woman, she's destined to die. It really captured the franticness that the show was able to convey and I really enjoyed that scene.

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nebbular's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

kate sharma i am free on thrusday night if you are free

best couple in the series i am afraid

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neverlandingonabook's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.5

Anthony and Kate have my entire heart, I enjoyed this book much more than book 1 (The Duke and I). The iconic Pall Mall scene was amazing and I really enjoyed the 2nd epilogue where they play the game again.

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isthenamebookwormtoobasic's review against another edition

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emotional 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

2.0

season 2 of the show has my whole heart, they are my comfort watch and i've been in love with the couple ever since that first look netflix shared, so i can't really hate the book and i do genuinely believe the author has some potential... but this book has the same problems the rest of the series has - pages and more pages of loud and proud misogyny without holding itself or the characters accountable for it (which is one of the main points in s2), an uncomfortable understanding of consent and absolutely no diversity or originality whatsoever. it's basically a copy & paste of the duke and i, pacing, plot, sex etc., just slightly more intriguing and slightly less offensive. it disgusted me how

anthony takes kate's choice not to sleep with him away from her, even just verbally, but since she ends up agreeing to it bc she WANTS to - EVENTHOUGH THAT DOESN'T MAKE HIS WORDS OR VIEWS IN ANY WAY ACCEPTABLE AND ANY LESS MANIPULATIVE!!! -, what passed between them can't be considered rape, unlike in the duke and i... i still hated every bit of that conversation tho, especially bc kate, who is sold to us as a strong-willed and emancipated woman, ends up feeling bad FOR HIM and there is no indication that we as readers aren't supposed to as well. it makes all their intimacy a moment later seem invasive and like he forced it upon her, even when that clearly wasn't the author's intention. i actually think that fact makes it all the creepier.

aside from those big issues, i often had a hard time taking the book seriously. where they were pining and struggling in the show, they were just kind of... unhinged in the book? the banter was fun at times, but always either too much or too little. most of what made the show so good was missing, including that slowburn chemistry. but to finally give credit where it is due, their characters and their trauma were just as perfectly written for each other and that does pay off in some chapters, especially towards the end. and they're not just well-suited, they're individually well-thought-out as well. i think julia quinn could make better use of what is clearly some sort of strong suit here for more characters... and focus on her descriptions and declarations of love instead of toxic masculinity bc those hold quite some power, which is why they are the only parts of the book's plot that work so well on-screen. i would be lying if i said i didn't enjoy the book at all, but as would i if i didn't acknowledge its many faults. it could be so, so much better and the show proves it - so i'd rather recommend that.

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avie_j's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.25

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kkylezzz's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.25

Alright, this one was much harder to enjoy than the last two in this universe I've read. But, I think the banter was still pretty good between the characters - both between Anthony and Kate, and between Anthony and his brothers/family. There was still pretty good imagery - even still around more abstract/complex scenes like with Pall Mall. I liked that Kate was an outsider, you know? Not just in a sense that she was/there was a lot of POV from a (formerly) non-Bridgerton, but also that she had a poor background, an adverse family history, etc. I think the drama was still strong, and bringing in elements like

Kate's mother dying (largely unconnected to the marriage/plot all together) and Violet and Mary's connection was a good reprieve from the disaster of marriage life between Anthony and Kate. I also liked that Kate didn't fall helplessly at Anthony's feet, even after they were married. There was reservation on her part, but also a more realistic transition into love (on Kate's part, not so much Anthony's).

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linashnewer's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

2.5

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kasialipa's review

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emotional 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

5.0

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