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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
medium-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:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this better than the previous book, in that it kept my attention more and I found Sophie to be a more compelling and consistent character. I'd say that maybe 75% of the book is very good, but the rest of it is pretty terrible. To be fair, it isn't just Benedict's fault, though he does bear a lot of the blame. At the same time, the good stuff was really good. So here we are.
I'm not really sure what Quinn was trying to do with Benedict's character. She set him up to have an interesting and sympathetic problem to overcome: feeling like he's not an individual, that he doesn't even have a name of his own. She could have expanded more on his art and how he wanted to express himself that way, but maybe felt society or his own confidence held him back. There was even some potential with him struggling between a memory of the Lady in Silver and his growing feelings for Sophie. But what she decided to go with was an entitled jerk who threatened an already vulnerable young woman and yelling at her for daring to reject the idea of becoming a mistress--even after he knew her reasoning. Yes, he does eventually come around to seeing he was wrong, but why did it take him all the way to the last third of the book to realize this? He has four sisters and a very outspoken mother. He didn't think maybe his behavior was being disrespectful and entitled?
Though like I said, he wasn't the only one being questionable. Sophie violated his consent a few times. I feel confident in mentioning this since she knew it was wrong both times, but did it anyway. The first was when he was delirious with fever and kissed him, the second was when she was watching him while he was naked. On the whole I did find her the more interesting character, but I wish there was more to their romance than Benedict clearing the low bar of basic human kindness (and not even consistently).
I do have to point out how weird it is that EL James copied so many plot beats from this book in her work <i>The Mister</i>. It's not the book's fault, but I was getting uncomfortable when I started noticing the similarities. Sophie at least shows backbone and fights back against Benedict, which is honestly what endeared her to me so much. Plus, I really loved how much of a Whistledown fangirl she was. It was pretty cute.
If we just cut out Benedict wanting Sophie to be his mistress, the rest of the book was very good. I guess I'm a sucker for fairy tale re-tellings. Sophie's scenes with the other Bridgertons were good, and I found the family dynamic as funny and charming as ever. I also really liked Posy's character, and I'm glad she got her own happy ending in the second epilogue.
I will say the book did its job in creating a compelling enough narrative that I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen. So far, I still find Simon and Daphne's conflict the most interesting, but Benedict and Sophie did at least keep my attention all the way to the end.
I'm not really sure what Quinn was trying to do with Benedict's character. She set him up to have an interesting and sympathetic problem to overcome: feeling like he's not an individual, that he doesn't even have a name of his own. She could have expanded more on his art and how he wanted to express himself that way, but maybe felt society or his own confidence held him back. There was even some potential with him struggling between a memory of the Lady in Silver and his growing feelings for Sophie. But what she decided to go with was an entitled jerk who threatened an already vulnerable young woman and yelling at her for daring to reject the idea of becoming a mistress--even after he knew her reasoning. Yes, he does eventually come around to seeing he was wrong, but why did it take him all the way to the last third of the book to realize this? He has four sisters and a very outspoken mother. He didn't think maybe his behavior was being disrespectful and entitled?
Though like I said, he wasn't the only one being questionable. Sophie violated his consent a few times. I feel confident in mentioning this since she knew it was wrong both times, but did it anyway. The first was when he was delirious with fever and kissed him, the second was when she was watching him while he was naked. On the whole I did find her the more interesting character, but I wish there was more to their romance than Benedict clearing the low bar of basic human kindness (and not even consistently).
I do have to point out how weird it is that EL James copied so many plot beats from this book in her work <i>The Mister</i>. It's not the book's fault, but I was getting uncomfortable when I started noticing the similarities. Sophie at least shows backbone and fights back against Benedict, which is honestly what endeared her to me so much. Plus, I really loved how much of a Whistledown fangirl she was. It was pretty cute.
If we just cut out Benedict wanting Sophie to be his mistress, the rest of the book was very good. I guess I'm a sucker for fairy tale re-tellings. Sophie's scenes with the other Bridgertons were good, and I found the family dynamic as funny and charming as ever. I also really liked Posy's character, and I'm glad she got her own happy ending in the second epilogue.
I will say the book did its job in creating a compelling enough narrative that I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen. So far, I still find Simon and Daphne's conflict the most interesting, but Benedict and Sophie did at least keep my attention all the way to the end.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
hopeful
tense
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
Really enjoyed Bededicts and Sophie's story. Liked the cinderella kind of story. Liked Sophie as a character.
The 2 stars are for Sophie and Mrs. Bridgerton. Benedict fucking sucked
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Book 24 of 2021!
Love, love, loved this book! This one is my favourite so far in this serious and I just love Benedict!
Book 1 was spoiled by me watching the Netflix series first and then reading the book. Book 2 was a good read but I don't really like the character of Anthony Bridgerton so that affected my reading experience.
Book 3 with Benedict was just perfect, I did get Cinderella vibes from this but it was great. Sophie is a very likeable character and her story is one I could identify with as a person from a less privileged background. She's just so fun and her journey were wonderful to experience.
I was shocked by the time between the masquerade ball and the two of them meeting up again. But clearly, they loved each other and just couldn't forget their first meeting, even when one of them was in total disguise.
The pace was good, however, the end felt rushed and a little unbelievable. All in all, easy read and a joy too!
Love, love, loved this book! This one is my favourite so far in this serious and I just love Benedict!
Book 1 was spoiled by me watching the Netflix series first and then reading the book. Book 2 was a good read but I don't really like the character of Anthony Bridgerton so that affected my reading experience.
Book 3 with Benedict was just perfect, I did get Cinderella vibes from this but it was great. Sophie is a very likeable character and her story is one I could identify with as a person from a less privileged background. She's just so fun and her journey were wonderful to experience.
I was shocked by the time between the masquerade ball and the two of them meeting up again. But clearly, they loved each other and just couldn't forget their first meeting, even when one of them was in total disguise.
The pace was good, however, the end felt rushed and a little unbelievable. All in all, easy read and a joy too!