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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
My 2nd favourite
Although I wanted her to be more badass in the book but she was still Eloise.
Although I wanted her to be more badass in the book but she was still Eloise.
this book is more a 2.5, but the scene with the conversation between with Anthony Bridgerton and Eloise made it raise a half star because i am an Anthony h*e still.
anyways, i think there are several things i did not like about this book that made it take approx a month to read this damn book - which is again that the male protagonist is always just sooooo gross and unlikeable in several aspects. not to mention, i know again it's a period piece, but the handling of a character's depression was not it. i like Eloise but in the end i just can't reconcile her ending up with someone like book!phillip so lets hope show Phillip is better....
anyways, i think there are several things i did not like about this book that made it take approx a month to read this damn book - which is again that the male protagonist is always just sooooo gross and unlikeable in several aspects. not to mention, i know again it's a period piece, but the handling of a character's depression was not it. i like Eloise but in the end i just can't reconcile her ending up with someone like book!phillip so lets hope show Phillip is better....
The unexpected love story of Eloise with her correspondent Phillip, and how she changes his story.
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is by far the worst book of the series. It deals with very heavy content in such a blasé manner it made me dislike all involved. I appreciate the story is from a different time but the lack of analysis was hard to stomach
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent
3 keer bijna wenen over Eloise Bridgerton en haar grumpy husband in een random trein stond niet op mijn 2025 bingo kaart maar oké dan. (HAAR EERSTE KIND HEET PENELOPE
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely awful actually. Eloise felt empty but MY GOD. Phillip is the worst love interest I've ever had the misfortune of stumbling upon.
SPOILERS BELOW
With a tragic backstory, sure, one can expect an icy facade or faulty reasoning. But Phillip is infuriating. You might initially excuse his surface level sexism of (amongst other things) telling Eloise to "use her mouth for something other than talking" (not a direct quote, but along those lines) for this being a historic novel, but his insistence on wanting a mother for his twins and someone to manage the household and warm his bed when he came back at night is CRAZY. This is essentially how he treats her the entire book; she is an object that he views as nothing other than a means to an end. He's not been with a woman for eight years, and seems to feel entitled to sex and that he's tortured by lacking it for eight sorrowful years (as if that is the issue and not the fact that his first wife essentially killed herself). Not only has he neglected his children their entire lives, but he also wants to shift the responsibility of them onto his new wife because they're such little monsters.
Not once in this book does he take any form of accountability for how he views Eloise, instead he chastises her by telling her that she could never understand what it's like to be him and then declares his love for her. In his mind, what they have is perfect (she deals with the household and kids, then they have sex) despite what she wants, which is to be loved. And here she apologises to him? Essentially meaning, he can be as rancid as he wants and Eloise should just put up with it because Phillip has gone through traumatic things.
Reaching the final few pages of this book and realising it was going to fall entirely flat due to Phillip not having any sort of character development was enraging, as I realised what a true waste of time this was.
Eloise on the other hand, she is a dull character with about as much personality as your local run down pub's doormat. In that regard, the series has done her great favours. That Eloise would trounce Phillip for his first unacceptable comment and be promptly on her way back to London. Here she is wishy-washy, barely reacting to his impertinence.
The only reason this book is 1.25 stars instead of 1 is simple; Anthony, Benedict, Colin and Gregory (although the last only briefly) show up and nearly strangle Phillip (something I'd like to do myself). I thank them diligently for that, and for contributing with much needed relief from the rest of the book. Oh, and also Sophie!
Other than that, the plot feels like it's barely there. It's dull, and Eloise and Phillip feel like they don't fit well together. All that really happens is that she rightfully complains about the flaws in their marriage and he is enraged. Nothing is even done from his side to make her happy, he just says he wants her to be happy and she says she is despite her clearly not being so before.
There's no charming banter between them, mostly Eloise saying something and Phillip going "do you ever shut up?" or "women, am I right?"
This isn't even mentioning how Phillip's dead wife was treated, and how he treated her. Either way, it's always about how her depression made him feel, and never about the fact that, I don't know, she was so depressed she wanted to kill herself?
Never EVER rereading this. I want it burned.
SPOILERS BELOW
With a tragic backstory, sure, one can expect an icy facade or faulty reasoning. But Phillip is infuriating. You might initially excuse his surface level sexism of (amongst other things) telling Eloise to "use her mouth for something other than talking" (not a direct quote, but along those lines) for this being a historic novel, but his insistence on wanting a mother for his twins and someone to manage the household and warm his bed when he came back at night is CRAZY. This is essentially how he treats her the entire book; she is an object that he views as nothing other than a means to an end. He's not been with a woman for eight years, and seems to feel entitled to sex and that he's tortured by lacking it for eight sorrowful years (as if that is the issue and not the fact that his first wife essentially killed herself). Not only has he neglected his children their entire lives, but he also wants to shift the responsibility of them onto his new wife because they're such little monsters.
Not once in this book does he take any form of accountability for how he views Eloise, instead he chastises her by telling her that she could never understand what it's like to be him and then declares his love for her. In his mind, what they have is perfect (she deals with the household and kids, then they have sex) despite what she wants, which is to be loved. And here she apologises to him? Essentially meaning, he can be as rancid as he wants and Eloise should just put up with it because Phillip has gone through traumatic things.
Reaching the final few pages of this book and realising it was going to fall entirely flat due to Phillip not having any sort of character development was enraging, as I realised what a true waste of time this was.
Eloise on the other hand, she is a dull character with about as much personality as your local run down pub's doormat. In that regard, the series has done her great favours. That Eloise would trounce Phillip for his first unacceptable comment and be promptly on her way back to London. Here she is wishy-washy, barely reacting to his impertinence.
The only reason this book is 1.25 stars instead of 1 is simple; Anthony, Benedict, Colin and Gregory (although the last only briefly) show up and nearly strangle Phillip (something I'd like to do myself). I thank them diligently for that, and for contributing with much needed relief from the rest of the book. Oh, and also Sophie!
Other than that, the plot feels like it's barely there. It's dull, and Eloise and Phillip feel like they don't fit well together. All that really happens is that she rightfully complains about the flaws in their marriage and he is enraged. Nothing is even done from his side to make her happy, he just says he wants her to be happy and she says she is despite her clearly not being so before.
There's no charming banter between them, mostly Eloise saying something and Phillip going "do you ever shut up?" or "women, am I right?"
This isn't even mentioning how Phillip's dead wife was treated, and how he treated her. Either way, it's always about how her depression made him feel, and never about the fact that, I don't know, she was so depressed she wanted to kill herself?
Never EVER rereading this. I want it burned.
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced