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kathis_wonderland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I've had this book on my to-read list for over three years. When a friend of mine said she had it at home, I was really excited to finally read it. However, I am a little disappointed. This book was not really my cup of tea. The characters are all rather cold and distant. None of them really appealed to me. I just didn't get warm with them. Sebastian was the coldest of them all. I did not really see his charm. He is abrupt and demanding, but he never did anything against Annabelle's wishes. All the aristocratic and misogynistic thinking made me mad. I was constantly annoyed and just did not really enjoy the writing style of this book. The sex scenes were steamy and okayish.
There was nothing extraordinary or exciting in this book. It was an okay read. Sadly, I don't want to read the other books in the series. I expected something different.
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Infidelity
annick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
Almost flawless. I loved so so much of this.
Two scenes disappointed me in the final 20% - for the miscommunication plot device and for the grand gesture in the HoL.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Death of parent
agw622's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Police brutality, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Infidelity
author2223's review
- 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: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Police brutality and Infidelity
wilybooklover's review against another edition
1.0
Annabelle was not insufferable like the duke was, but everything we are told about her is contradicted in how she acts. We're constantly told how much smarter she is than everyone else, but she repeatedly acts like an idiot, makes stupid decisions, and gets herself into situations where she needs to be rescued by someone else. We're never actually shown her being intelligent beyond a few witty remarks. We're just supposed to believe it because she reads books and goes to Oxford. We're told that she can manipulate men for her own ends but this goes out of the window by chapter two. She tells us that she has learnt from her past mistakes of falling for a man but then immediately loses her head and falls under the lustful spell of virtually the first man she meets. Her views and morals are inconsistent and seem to be dictated purely by whatever the plot needs her to be.
And it’s not that I think that all romance novels should be explicitly feminist or even feminist at all, but given the marketing (and claims from both the publisher and author) I was expecting that this particular one would be — the title on Amazon even lists it as ‘Bringing Down the Duke: swoony, feminist and romantic.’ ...WHERE?! The heroine doesn’t even seem to care overmuch for women's suffrage — she is actually horrified when the duke makes a speech in their favour at the end because she's more concerned for his reputation than the cause — and only seems to be in it for her scholarship and her friends, so why is the feminist (a word that is used in the book but was not actually coined until around 15 years later) angle a selling point for the book? The political activism seems to have just been used merely as a plot device to keep delivering the heroine back into the arms of the duke — which is fine in a romance, just don't sell it to me as a feminist book featuring the plight of suffragists. It all felt very lacklustre and surface-level. Another reviewer has mentioned the racial implications in better detail, but I do also think it's weird that the single Jewish character (Disraeli) is derided as 'an upstart' and 'weaselling his way in' while the duke is described using the pseudoscientific/scientific racism term 'Nordic' and glorified for said 'Nordic' looks. I'm not even going to get into how the cartoon cover suggests a lighthearted, fluffy read and this is anything but because that is a whole other rant.
Graphic: Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Minor: Miscarriage, Alcoholism, War, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Colonisation, and Death of parent
eleek0609's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Classism, and Sexism
cait's review
- 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? No
3.5
Minor: Gaslighting, Police brutality, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Violence
saurahsaurus's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The main characters and their love story were very compelling, to the point that I could actually see this occurring in the past. They’re a bit star-crossed, and that’s what made things so emotional: in real history, their socio-economic circumstances would have precluded their love from blossoming, much less their initial meeting. Thankfully, this is fiction so we’re allowed to dream :)
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Colonisation, Alcohol, Abandonment, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Infidelity
A note about what the “sexual assault” tag, with minor spoilers (that are not major plot spoilers).caseythereader'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? No
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Classism, Alcohol, Grief, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcoholism
caitlincrtr's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Classism and Misogyny
Moderate: Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Car accident, Miscarriage, and Injury/Injury detail