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eglizmas's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Death, Bullying, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Misogyny
Minor: Fatphobia, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Grief
ashleybeereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Confinement, Grief, Death of parent, Classism, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Fatphobia, Slavery, Violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Blood, Body shaming, and Sexual assault
pastelwriter's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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
2.0
Listen. I feel personally victimized by Julia Quinn. She really had me in the first half, but then she completely lost me.
When I tell you this book has a serious case of starting out really good but then going to shit, I mean it. I was absolutely enjoying this book at first. I was thoroughly enjoying the banter between Benedict and Sophie. Did I think Benedict was a bit much sometimes at the start of the book? Sure, but it was enough that I could overlook it. . . Eventually though. . . I wanted to fight both of these characters.
Sophie I wanted to fight because every single argument she had with Benedict would have been resolved if she'd told him that she was the illegitimate daughter of an Earl, and that she was the woman Benedict met at the masquerade. But no. She kept deliberately concealing parts of her story, and I got sick and tired of it. Benedict on the other hand also doesn't tell Stophie that he's hung up on this mystery woman from the masquerade, and blackmails Sophie into staying around him because he just loves her so much but couldn't possibly marry her. Not to mention he keeps insisting Sophie be his mistress no matter how many times she rejects him. And then he gets super pissy about the fact that Sophie concealed the fact that she was the woman from the masquerade. Seriously? Both of their bullshit could have been solved if they had an actual adult conversation in full fucking sentences.
The fact that their miscommunication revolved around the same two "problems" was exactly what made this a painful reading experience. I can be perfectly content with the miscommunication trope. Sometimes I absolutely love it. But not when time and time again the characters are arguing about the same nonsense.
Finally, there was only one smutty scene in this book, and it was incredibly vanilla (like painfully vanilla). Even though it was well written, it was not enough to compensate for how much I wanted to murder the characters. Let's not even mention the fade to black sex scene. No.
Thus, I do not see myself reading another book in the Birdgerton series. At first I thought I might actually go back and read the series starting with book one, but now? I will gladly put this bullshit behind me. We could have had it all, but Julia Quinn fucked it up.
When I tell you this book has a serious case of starting out really good but then going to shit, I mean it. I was absolutely enjoying this book at first. I was thoroughly enjoying the banter between Benedict and Sophie. Did I think Benedict was a bit much sometimes at the start of the book? Sure, but it was enough that I could overlook it. . . Eventually though. . . I wanted to fight both of these characters.
Sophie I wanted to fight because every single argument she had with Benedict would have been resolved if she'd told him that she was the illegitimate daughter of an Earl, and that she was the woman Benedict met at the masquerade. But no. She kept deliberately concealing parts of her story, and I got sick and tired of it. Benedict on the other hand also doesn't tell Stophie that he's hung up on this mystery woman from the masquerade, and blackmails Sophie into staying around him because he just loves her so much but couldn't possibly marry her. Not to mention he keeps insisting Sophie be his mistress no matter how many times she rejects him. And then he gets super pissy about the fact that Sophie concealed the fact that she was the woman from the masquerade. Seriously? Both of their bullshit could have been solved if they had an actual adult conversation in full fucking sentences.
The fact that their miscommunication revolved around the same two "problems" was exactly what made this a painful reading experience. I can be perfectly content with the miscommunication trope. Sometimes I absolutely love it. But not when time and time again the characters are arguing about the same nonsense.
Finally, there was only one smutty scene in this book, and it was incredibly vanilla (like painfully vanilla). Even though it was well written, it was not enough to compensate for how much I wanted to murder the characters. Let's not even mention the fade to black sex scene. No.
Thus, I do not see myself reading another book in the Birdgerton series. At first I thought I might actually go back and read the series starting with book one, but now? I will gladly put this bullshit behind me. We could have had it all, but Julia Quinn fucked it up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Blood
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