Scan barcode
fred_nom_nom's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
gvstyris's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
the homoerotic tension between you, an emotionally constipated duke with daddy issues, and your wife’s brother, an equally emotionally constipated 28-year-old man with small dick energy 🤩
that was 12 hours of my life I’ll never get back </3 I’ll miss Simon’s ICY blue eyes very deeply
that was 12 hours of my life I’ll never get back </3 I’ll miss Simon’s ICY blue eyes very deeply
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, and Death of parent
Minor: Violence
chelbelle122's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
magnan1mouse's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Abandonment
crowdedcar's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexual assault
cepbreed's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I can’t believe I finally got around to this. Daphne and Simon do still have my heart. I had no clue the show changed so much from the books, even starting in the first season. Some of those changes I adored and others I now mourn after reading this. Julia Quinn put so much care into crafting the family dynamics of the Bridgertons and I just feel like the show didn’t even scratch the surface of their love for each other. Everyone in the show is a kind of toned down version of their book counterpart. Quinn’s writing style also changed dramatically by the end of this series. Reading It’s In His Kiss and The Duke and I back to back really emphasized how much she used dialogue early on. I actually really enjoyed this feature. Well done dialogue always delivers more on the characters than any description ever could. I also feel like book Daphne was so much more clever and witty than in the show. The shows constant choice to add subplots rather than focus on the main couple really took away from how intelligent this woman really was. Same with Violet tbh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Abandonment
starcrossreverie's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I DNF'ed this book at 77%.
The rape scene was worse than I thought it would be. I've legit seen people defend Daphne in the book making it seem like Simon was the one who initiated the sex, so I thought Simon would be drunk and awake but NO he was asleep with morning wood. It's literally written that she felt a rush of power in the situation, of how happy she was to be in control, and how she felt nothing but pleasure when he tried to get her off of him the moment he realized she was forcing him to cum inside her.
I waited for this book on Libby for a month, probably longer, and told myself to finish the book for that reason but one chapter after the rape scene I realized that finishing the book means I'll have to read Daphne get her happily ever after and that Simon would have to push aside his feelings in order to make HER happy. That is beyond fucked up.
And it wasn't just the rape scene that made me give this book a 1 star.
It's bland and boring. With a fake dating trope, it NEEDS drama. It needs more than just one scene where one becomes jealous at the romantic attention the other is getting, and that scene in Daphne's calling room was not it due to how soon into the fake dating it happened.
Daphne tells Simon that the fake dating wouldn't work on the Mamas as they'll continue pushing their single daughters at him but we don't get a scene like that! Even if it was just Daphne's self consciousness letting her say that, we still don't get to experience Daphne getting jealous of the attention he's getting.
They fall in love too quickly, which goes against the fake dating trope. They're supposed to have that realization that makes them go into denial over their feelings, only to realize that they can't escape how they feel, and then there's supposed to be a moment where they wonder how on earth are they going to turn this from fake dating into real dating, wondering if the other person even feels the same way about them.
The fake dating trope is supposed to come with drama and angst, but everything goes perfectly without any bumps in the road. I wouldn't even call the duel a bump because it was so dumb.
I knew she was going to rape him before I started reading but I liked her siblings and Lady Whistledown from the show a lot, so I read it for them and figured I'll push past this book to get to the other ones. Wasn't worth it, plus I've since learned that her brothers are trash to women.
My curiosity to see how bad the men in these books are makes me want to try reading the other books. I don't see myself finishing them either.
Overall, Daphne is a POS. I hate this book. And to the defenders who say "this is what happened in the 1800s.", this book wasn't written in the 1800s, and y'all aren't reading it in the 1800s. I would not be surprised if fans of these book also love Haunting Adeline. I am legit mad that the book fans talked about this dark romance series as if everything was sweet and wholesome, y'all really have people thinking these books are normal romances.
I waited for this book on Libby for a month, probably longer, and told myself to finish the book for that reason but one chapter after the rape scene I realized that finishing the book means I'll have to read Daphne get her happily ever after and that Simon would have to push aside his feelings in order to make HER happy. That is beyond fucked up.
And it wasn't just the rape scene that made me give this book a 1 star.
It's bland and boring. With a fake dating trope, it NEEDS drama. It needs more than just one scene where one becomes jealous at the romantic attention the other is getting, and that scene in Daphne's calling room was not it due to how soon into the fake dating it happened.
Daphne tells Simon that the fake dating wouldn't work on the Mamas as they'll continue pushing their single daughters at him but we don't get a scene like that! Even if it was just Daphne's self consciousness letting her say that, we still don't get to experience Daphne getting jealous of the attention he's getting.
They fall in love too quickly, which goes against the fake dating trope. They're supposed to have that realization that makes them go into denial over their feelings, only to realize that they can't escape how they feel, and then there's supposed to be a moment where they wonder how on earth are they going to turn this from fake dating into real dating, wondering if the other person even feels the same way about them.
The fake dating trope is supposed to come with drama and angst, but everything goes perfectly without any bumps in the road. I wouldn't even call the duel a bump because it was so dumb.
I knew she was going to rape him before I started reading but I liked her siblings and Lady Whistledown from the show a lot, so I read it for them and figured I'll push past this book to get to the other ones. Wasn't worth it, plus I've since learned that her brothers are trash to women.
My curiosity to see how bad the men in these books are makes me want to try reading the other books. I don't see myself finishing them either.
Overall, Daphne is a POS. I hate this book. And to the defenders who say "this is what happened in the 1800s.", this book wasn't written in the 1800s, and y'all aren't reading it in the 1800s. I would not be surprised if fans of these book also love Haunting Adeline. I am legit mad that the book fans talked about this dark romance series as if everything was sweet and wholesome, y'all really have people thinking these books are normal romances.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Violence, and Death of parent
kbio's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol
tisliz's review against another edition
fast-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? It's complicated
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Ableism