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mariskyjy's review against another edition
Tw: noncon, child abuse, mention of post partum depression below
• said he hadn't had sex in a long time and went to visit wife marina. "She didn't say no," (I think the implication was PPD) but seemed disinterested. He felt awful afterwards, which is a *great* excuse (sarcasm)
• the kids are terrified of him. "His" son asks, upon getting in trouble, "are you going to hit us?" And Philip is a menacing presence to them, and doesn't know how to parent them. Like even if you have never hit your kid(s) (which Eloise is convinced that she's *such* a good judge of character, despite only meeting this guy within the last week, that Phillip could *never* abuse his kids), they shouldn't be terrified that you're going to. End of sentence. No, wait: fuck this guy. Now end of sentence.
• spoiler, the "reasoning" for this is eventually that his father was horribly abusive towards him, and Phillip is trying not to be like him. Cool reason, bro. I get that therapy was not a huge thing back then (assuming) but my god. Work on yourself to not be like your father.
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual content, Death, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse
Minor: War
pauline79's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Physical abuse and Death of parent
stenaphierose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
abby2503's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Death of parent, Suicide, Death, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse
elisabeth888's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Overall, this was the first Bridgerton book I have read and I found Julia Quinn's style to be humorous and nicely lighthearted. I like how Eloise is described and how she grows as a character. I just can't help but feel like Sir Philip doesn't deserve her. Obviously Sir Philip's backstory explains his ways, but in no way does this excuse them. I hope Eloise finds a love interest who is better matched for her in the Netflix series.
Graphic: Sexism, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness
Minor: Cursing and Alcohol
esv_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Torture, Rape, Grief, Body horror, Misogyny, and Violence
tlanereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I was genuinely intrigued by the premise of the story – the two falling in love through their letter, writing, but that is such a minuscule part of the story. When the letters were alluded to in Penelope‘s story, I am immediately was excited to read Eloise’s, so the fact that it was mostly a preface was disappointing.
Lastly, they speak of Marina and her mental illness was offputting to say the least. She is treated as a failure and a disappointment for having postpartum depression. Tragic
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
fromthefoxhole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I rated it a 4, thought about it, and am lowering to a 3!
Loud opinionated Eloise landing a man who likes to silently take care of his plants is the best choice Julia Quinn could make, honestly. Other than making her gay (which could def be the show getting to me).
Phillip and Eloise have a very interesting push and pull dynamic, they have incredible banter and physical chemistry. I also loved every interaction with Eloise and the twins - being able to immediately compare them when her own brothers came to look for her was hysterical to me.
On a more serious note, I think Quinn did a great job of describing Phillip’s own trauma informing his actions with his children. She handled it with grace and kindness, and when Eloise connects the dots, she does much the same.
That said, Phillip has a brain full of rocks! Literally he is such a moron, and god it's infuriating. Eloise is so clever and half of this book is her trying to talk to him about serious things and him being like "but what if...we have sex instead". Like focus up, bud! Your kids are being abused?? My god.
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
ambrosiablue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Death
ginamiya's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Grief