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deeofbkb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Miscarriage, Cursing, Death, Rape, Vomit, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol
kimib79's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
In addition to her attempt to force him to impregnate her, I also hated how many times the characters talked about killing each other. So repetitive. The writing leans heavily upon sex scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, and Infertility
Moderate: Child abuse, Ableism, and Bullying
saliwali's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Death, and Death of parent
khymihr's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse
sudatot's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment, Rape, Sexual assault, and Ableism
Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Infertility, Sexism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Gun violence
kelly_e's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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
3.75
Title: The Duke and I
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: Bridgertons #1
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: December 1, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Charming • Playful • Entertaining
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Daphne Bridgeton, the fourth of eight siblings, has formed friendships with many of London's finest, yet finds herself unwilling to play their romantic games. Everyone likes her for her kindness yet no one truly desires her.
Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, has recently returned to England and is dead set against marriage. After a difficult childhood, in thanks to his very own father, he has no intentions of fulfilling his royal duties.
After an encounter with Daphne (his best friend's sister), Simon thinks there may be another option, one that could deter the elite from parading their daughters before him. His plan: a fake courtship with Daphne that will in turn help boost her prospects.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Historical romance is a genre I tend to stay away from, yet I decided to see what all the fuss was about with this series. And of course, I was pleasantly surprised with this first installment and was not expecting the witty humour
I have to say it was surprisingly well-written and the Bridgerton family captured my heart from the very first page, their family dynamic felt so genuine and relatable, and the regency setting was enticing. I'm a sucker for books with a real sense of community, and The Duke and I certainly delivers on that front.
During the first half of the book, I appreciated Daphne's character development, but unfortunately for me things kind of fell apart in the second half with some of her questionable choices. When it comes to the romance, I enjoyed the playful banter, which helped make their romance feel genuine.
Overall, I picked this up looking for an escape, and it delivered. I'll definitely be looking forward to the next installment and getting to know each of the Bridgerton siblings' stories.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Downtown Abbey
• historical romances enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Heartache, Daphne eventually learned, never really went away; it just dulled. The sharp, stabbing pain that one felt with each breath eventually gave way to a blunter, lower ache—the kind that one could almost—but never quite—ignore."
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: Bridgertons #1
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: December 1, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Charming • Playful • Entertaining
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Daphne Bridgeton, the fourth of eight siblings, has formed friendships with many of London's finest, yet finds herself unwilling to play their romantic games. Everyone likes her for her kindness yet no one truly desires her.
Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, has recently returned to England and is dead set against marriage. After a difficult childhood, in thanks to his very own father, he has no intentions of fulfilling his royal duties.
After an encounter with Daphne (his best friend's sister), Simon thinks there may be another option, one that could deter the elite from parading their daughters before him. His plan: a fake courtship with Daphne that will in turn help boost her prospects.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Historical romance is a genre I tend to stay away from, yet I decided to see what all the fuss was about with this series. And of course, I was pleasantly surprised with this first installment and was not expecting the witty humour
I have to say it was surprisingly well-written and the Bridgerton family captured my heart from the very first page, their family dynamic felt so genuine and relatable, and the regency setting was enticing. I'm a sucker for books with a real sense of community, and The Duke and I certainly delivers on that front.
During the first half of the book, I appreciated Daphne's character development, but unfortunately for me things kind of fell apart in the second half with some of her questionable choices. When it comes to the romance, I enjoyed the playful banter, which helped make their romance feel genuine.
Overall, I picked this up looking for an escape, and it delivered. I'll definitely be looking forward to the next installment and getting to know each of the Bridgerton siblings' stories.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Downtown Abbey
• historical romances enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Heartache, Daphne eventually learned, never really went away; it just dulled. The sharp, stabbing pain that one felt with each breath eventually gave way to a blunter, lower ache—the kind that one could almost—but never quite—ignore."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape
Moderate: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Death, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
lin3han's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
3.75
I liked this book explored Simon’s stutter much more. I thought it was more emotional that way
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
kingrosereads'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
3.25
It’s Bridgerton. We know what it is by now. Regency romance. Let’s goooooo!
Our journey into the world of Bridgerton starts with Daphne Bridgerton, who is the fourth child of eight and the eldest daughter. It’s 1813 London, Daphne’s second season, and she simply must get married. Then she meets the devastatingly handsome rake, Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. He also happens to be best friends with her brother and eldest child, the Viscount, Anthony Bridgeton. Simon’s come back from a 6-year long trip around the world when his father dies to tie up loose ends. He’s determined to never wed, but that doesn’t stop eager mothers and unmarried ladies from swarming him. Together, Simon and Daphne devise a plan to both get what they want. They will feign a courtship in order to drum up interest in Daphne so she may find her love match, and to keep some of the mothers and daughters away from Simon. Though they start off as friends, the pair grow increasing more attracted and attached to one another. But there are things in Simon’s past and vows that he’s made that keep him from marrying Daphne. And of course, Anthony would rather rip Simon’s arms off and beat him with them than allow Simon to marry Daphne. Things get dicey when Simon and Daphne are caught in a compromising position. It’s all very exciting.
Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room: the concept of consent. Look, Daphne took advantage of a drunk Simon, but didn’t set out for him to finish inside her. It’s still assault on account of him being drunk and unable to fully consent. But then Simon lying about his ability to have children is akin to stories where the love interest beds the main character while pretending to be someone else. It’s all super shady and I don’t think it’s okay. Also, I hated how many references there were to Daphne being his property and him owning her. Like we get that that’s what marriage was before, but pump the brakes on the misogyny in my fictional romance novels. And I don’t wanna hear some bull crap about “oh it takes place in a time when…” or “the book was written in 1999 so…” bleh bleh bleh. It’s not okay. It’s historical FICTION which means you don’t have to accurate AT ALL. And don’t just assume shit was like that in the past.
Now that’s out of the way. This book was all kinds of funny. I watched the show before I read this, in fact, I was adamant on not reading this series because I heard terrible things about some of the books and I didn’t want to spoil my enjoyment of the show. But this was a fun read. I definitely imagined the actors as the characters, and re-wrote “blue eyes” or “pale skin” with “brown eyes” and “dark skin”. I refuse to have some pasty man be my Simon. I would not allow some mediocre white man talk to me the way Simon talks to Daphne when they’re married. But if that man looked exactly like Regé-Jean Page then maybeeeee (*slides feminist card away*). Kidding!
But yeah it was funny. It’s not as hot as everyone was saying it was but the humor and banter and wit were on point. I haven’t decided if I’ll continue with the series yet.
Our journey into the world of Bridgerton starts with Daphne Bridgerton, who is the fourth child of eight and the eldest daughter. It’s 1813 London, Daphne’s second season, and she simply must get married. Then she meets the devastatingly handsome rake, Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. He also happens to be best friends with her brother and eldest child, the Viscount, Anthony Bridgeton. Simon’s come back from a 6-year long trip around the world when his father dies to tie up loose ends. He’s determined to never wed, but that doesn’t stop eager mothers and unmarried ladies from swarming him. Together, Simon and Daphne devise a plan to both get what they want. They will feign a courtship in order to drum up interest in Daphne so she may find her love match, and to keep some of the mothers and daughters away from Simon. Though they start off as friends, the pair grow increasing more attracted and attached to one another. But there are things in Simon’s past and vows that he’s made that keep him from marrying Daphne. And of course, Anthony would rather rip Simon’s arms off and beat him with them than allow Simon to marry Daphne. Things get dicey when Simon and Daphne are caught in a compromising position. It’s all very exciting.
Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room: the concept of consent. Look, Daphne took advantage of a drunk Simon, but didn’t set out for him to finish inside her. It’s still assault on account of him being drunk and unable to fully consent. But then Simon lying about his ability to have children is akin to stories where the love interest beds the main character while pretending to be someone else. It’s all super shady and I don’t think it’s okay. Also, I hated how many references there were to Daphne being his property and him owning her. Like we get that that’s what marriage was before, but pump the brakes on the misogyny in my fictional romance novels. And I don’t wanna hear some bull crap about “oh it takes place in a time when…” or “the book was written in 1999 so…” bleh bleh bleh. It’s not okay. It’s historical FICTION which means you don’t have to accurate AT ALL. And don’t just assume shit was like that in the past.
Now that’s out of the way. This book was all kinds of funny. I watched the show before I read this, in fact, I was adamant on not reading this series because I heard terrible things about some of the books and I didn’t want to spoil my enjoyment of the show. But this was a fun read. I definitely imagined the actors as the characters, and re-wrote “blue eyes” or “pale skin” with “brown eyes” and “dark skin”. I refuse to have some pasty man be my Simon. I would not allow some mediocre white man talk to me the way Simon talks to Daphne when they’re married. But if that man looked exactly like Regé-Jean Page then maybeeeee (*slides feminist card away*). Kidding!
But yeah it was funny. It’s not as hot as everyone was saying it was but the humor and banter and wit were on point. I haven’t decided if I’ll continue with the series yet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual assault and Miscarriage
katyfortner's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Loved the humor and light hearted nature of this book. I was happy that I watch the tv series beforehand because it made me love it even more! However I really didn’t like how Simon talked about Daphne like she was his property… I know that’s how it was like back in the day but I still didn’t like it very much. Same thing goes for when Daphne forced herself on Simon and forced his consent for an action he didn’t want to do. I know it’s later explained that that wasn’t her intention but still that didn’t sit right for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Abandonment
nervouspink's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage