Reviews

I wanted to read this book because of the Netflix series that hit on Christmas Day a few years ago and now Netflix have announced we are getting Polin’s story and I'm hoping we get the full eight seasons for each sibling. I wanted to get ahead and know what is going to happen, so of course I bought all nine books. Overall, I have enjoyed this series and wanted to see what Happily Ever After was about and how the extra epilogue would help or hurt my heart.

This book is based on the Bridgertons, eight brothers and sisters, assorted in-laws, sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, an overweight corgi and an irrepressible matriarch who’s a match for any of them. These are the Bridgertons, through the last eight novels, the readers laughed, cried and fell in love, but we’ve wanted more. So what happened next? Does Simon ever read his father’s letters? Do Francesca and Michael become parents? Who would win a Pall Mall grudge match? Does ‘The End’ really have to be the end. This is a collection of Julia Quinn’s funny, heart-warming ‘second epilogues’, which are included at the ends of each novel. This collection also includes a brand new novella about none other than Violet Bridgerton herself.

My favourite things about this book were Julia Quinn’s writing style. It didn’t feel like I was back in time. I mean, obviously they weren’t going on about Snapchat, but it just felt like a modern-day story with a bit of mystery. The only thing that kept me from remembering that it was set in the 1800s was the references of letters and carriages and that they couldn’t text each other to say what was going on without people finding out what is happening. The best one out of the nine short stories were the second epilogue from Anthony and Kate’s book with them pranking themselves with Pall Mall and how the Bridgerton gang are just used to it by now. Also, Violet in Bloom where all the children and grandchildren are together and even though Violet missing Edmund every day, she is very content with everyone around.

Some of these stories, I didn’t want. For example, Benedict and Sophie’s story was to do with Posy, which I appreciate but would have liked it to be about Benedict and Sophie. I would have loved for Hyacinth's daughter to confess that she found the diamonds instead of putting them back for Hyacinth's to find.

I love the Bridgerton, I would love a series in ten to fifteen years with the Bridgerton grandchildren being on the marriage mart and having their own love stories.

Content Warnings

lindieface's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

keen23's review against another edition

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4.0

This is not a stand-alone book. Don't bother to read it unless you've read the Bridgerton novels. But, if you read and loved the Bridgertons, this book is wonderful. Not a re-boot of the series, instead, it's what happens after the final epilogs. These second epilogs have been released over the years, but this is all of them collected together in a single volume.

hsecen's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a sweet wrap up to the whole series. I really appreciate a writer who is so generous with their readers by trying to answer the most pressing questions they had after the end of each book.
They were all cute little epilogues, some I certainly thought funnier than others, some that were a bit too long, and lost my attention, and some that were rather emotional. But it was nice to revisit all the characters one last time!
Also the Violet in Bloom novella at the end really just hit me in all my feels. It covers several important moments throughout her lifetime and it definitely got me choked up at the end. She didn’t get the kind of happily ever after that her children got, but it’s still a happy ending for her and I truly loved that.

gamle_oslo's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

4.25

marlijne94's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

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