Reviews tagging 'War'

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

6 reviews

lauryn_with_a_y's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

2.75

overall: i think i liked it? i love francesca as a character and parts of the romance worked (namely the Yearning on michael's end) but christ alive the casual misogyny and not-so-veiled rape threats got to me. most of the romance didn't work for me for precisely that reason;

michael wants to marry francesca, and instead of telling her he's been in love with her for six years and that her late husband would want her to be happy, he decides to seduce her in an attempt to manipulate her into marriage. he threatens to continue having sex with her (implied to be with or without her consent, at one point even threatening to tie her up so she can't get away) until she gets pregnant and is FORCED to marry him. romance!

after all that, i almost didn't finish the book. but then ms quinn hit me with a truly poignant and moving portrayal of grief, trauma, and moving on and allowing yourself to be happy again after the unthinkable has happened. that, combined with the really fun and heartfelt relationship of the bridgerton family, almost made it worth it for me. almost.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Grief, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Medical content, Misogyny, and Death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Rape

Minor: Classism, Colonisation, and War

haleysversion's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Infertility, and War

erikalv97's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were likable, although, like the rest of Julia Quinn’s books I’ve read so far, the male character specially has some red flags, I feel like Michael is one of the men with fewer unhealthy behaviors towards women. 

Also, I really really really like Francesca, of course she has flaws, but I appreciate her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abortion, and Death

Moderate: Blood

Minor: War

hmlongstreet's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-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

4.25

This one. This book, oh wow. This has to be one of the best Bridgerton books in the series that I have read so far. If you are reading the books in order like me you'll know that Francesca is not mentioned very often in the other books leading up to this one, giving her a sense of mystery. I understood Frannie, and could see where she was coming from which made me feel connected to her and the story. All I can say is this book had me feeling so many things at once (the intimate scenes especially if I can say that >///<). While the second epilogue made me swoon, with how endearing it was. 

My negatives are the reoccurring themes, scenarios and character traits from previous Bridgerton books. It seems to be a common issue with this series but I can't really blame Julia Quinn, it's hard to be original sometimes! However I can say this one stood out to me as being much different than the previous five, especially when it comes to Francesca as an overall character. Michael was literally a mix of Anthony and Colin with the ability to realize that they are in love.

In conclusion I like this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, War, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

lunep's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Violence, Cursing, Sexual content, and Blood

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Pregnancy and War

haley49's review against another edition

emotional slow-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

4.25

This was such a good edition to the series. It took awhile to get going, but it was so good getting to know and love Francesca. Her grief and her story of independence and realizing she can fall in love again was really sweet. Micheal was an attentive love interest and all the Bridgerton family cameos were great. This book was much steamier than the others in the series, so keep that in mind if you are uncomfortable with that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Sexual content

Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical content, and Infertility

Minor: Alcoholism, War, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Classism

Spousal death, unexpected death, and illness (malaria)