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britwalsh16's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed Francesca’s story. I wish we had gotten more of her & Johns relationship at the beginning. But I do love her & Michael & them being best friends, makes me really happy to read about. I liked watching their internal struggles dealing with their feelings for eachother in the wake of John’s death too, very realistic.
The only part I didn’t really like was the whole "seduction" plot Michael started when he got to Scotland. It seemed so out of character. He spent the first half of the book fighting his feelings for Francesca & how he couldn’t be with her cause it "disrespected" John. I agree with them getting married making sense & him proposing & trying to convince her, but when the convincing became seduction, it just felt wrong, & it just surprised me coming from Michael who deeply respected Francesca, but that didn’t feel like respect at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Cursing, Sexual content, and Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infertility, Violence, War, and Alcohol
etianamichele's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Sexual harassment
mikaylawood's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Minor: War
esv_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Alcohol, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual assault, Classism, Death of parent, Vomit, Rape, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Colonisation
arianatee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
I hadn't read a Bridgerton book in quite some time as I found the formula to be a bit repetitive and I just wasn't into the cheesy drama anymore. But, now I was in between part one and part two of the third season of the show and felt like I needed something to help tide me over till I got more from the cast. I actually liked Francesca's story a lot as it had some more serious topics at hand such as losing one's husband and infertility. So, aside from the romance, there were a great deal of other conversations tackling what it's like to live with these problems and how one might carry on in life in spite of these obstacles. I found Michael adorable and honestly, he did not have the typical outburst that became so typical in all the previous installments. Yes, there were heated arguments but it seemed measured and no completely unreasonable. A very solid addition to the series indeed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Grief
ginamiya's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Gaslighting, Grief, Miscarriage, Death, and Pregnancy
mariskyjy's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
As a newbie to romance novels, I started with the Bridgertons. This one is by far my favorite of the series. It gets a little cheesy towards the end but... It's a romance novel, y'know?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Infertility
jess_justmaybeperfect's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
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
4.75
The best Bridgerton by far!
I had to knock a 1/4 point off becauseI find both the just relax and enjoy life and POOF infertility is cured epilogue and also life is incomplete without a baby for women theme very exhausting
I had to knock a 1/4 point off because
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Death, and Miscarriage
Minor: Death of parent and Colonisation
prashiie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
“This thing between them, this bond–it wasn't just passion, and it wasn't wicked. It was love, and it was divine.”
An interesting story and different from the other Bridgerton books. I don’t think I will read this again, mainly because of the red flags. Acknowledging the fact that everyone is flawed coud enhance the reading experience.
The main characters are Francesca Bridgerton and Michael Stirling.
Francesca was married to John, Earl of Kilmartin, and after only two years of marriage she was left a widow. She has always loved John a lot and griefs him deeply. She would not even think of remarrying if she didn’t have an immense desire to have a baby. So marriage is now on the table and she is determined to find someone to marry even if she has to settle for a marriage without love. Because in her opinion, a woman would not simply find love like that twice in a lifetime.
On the other hand we have Michael, John’s cousin. He has loved Francesca since the moment he laid eyes on her. Incidentally, this was just a few days before she got married to John. Michael would never hurt or betray his cousin, so his love for Francesca remained hidden and instead a great friendship flourished between Francesca and Michael.
This story is woven with threads of grief and guilt. They both loved John very much and dealt with his loss in their own ways. For Michael inheriting the earldom and everything that came with it felt like he was taking over John’s life. He could not possibly also have Francesca. Michael put up such a great facade, that Francesca does not believe him to be a suitable husband. Once a rake, always a rake. Little does she know that he puts on this facade to momentarily escape from his feelings for her.
I had trouble understanding Michael’s change of heart. At first he is reluctant to even consider marrying Francesca as it felt like he was dishonouring his cousin. Then he was determined to get her no matter what, almost like he flipped a switch within himself. Too abrupt for my liking. Not to mention his approach… uhmmmm… excuse me!! I don’t want to spoil it but you can find it in the list below.
Now for the red flags:
An interesting story and different from the other Bridgerton books. I don’t think I will read this again, mainly because of the red flags. Acknowledging the fact that everyone is flawed coud enhance the reading experience.
The main characters are Francesca Bridgerton and Michael Stirling.
Francesca was married to John, Earl of Kilmartin, and after only two years of marriage she was left a widow. She has always loved John a lot and griefs him deeply. She would not even think of remarrying if she didn’t have an immense desire to have a baby. So marriage is now on the table and she is determined to find someone to marry even if she has to settle for a marriage without love. Because in her opinion, a woman would not simply find love like that twice in a lifetime.
On the other hand we have Michael, John’s cousin. He has loved Francesca since the moment he laid eyes on her. Incidentally, this was just a few days before she got married to John. Michael would never hurt or betray his cousin, so his love for Francesca remained hidden and instead a great friendship flourished between Francesca and Michael.
This story is woven with threads of grief and guilt. They both loved John very much and dealt with his loss in their own ways. For Michael inheriting the earldom and everything that came with it felt like he was taking over John’s life. He could not possibly also have Francesca. Michael put up such a great facade, that Francesca does not believe him to be a suitable husband. Once a rake, always a rake. Little does she know that he puts on this facade to momentarily escape from his feelings for her.
I had trouble understanding Michael’s change of heart. At first he is reluctant to even consider marrying Francesca as it felt like he was dishonouring his cousin. Then he was determined to get her no matter what, almost like he flipped a switch within himself. Too abrupt for my liking. Not to mention his approach… uhmmmm… excuse me!! I don’t want to spoil it but you can find it in the list below.
Now for the red flags:
-
When Francesca miscarries her baby with John and she tells Michael that the baby was to have been his in a way too. WHAT?! That’s such a weird thing to say. Granted, she does not know about his feelings for her and in the historical context of this book it makes sense since women were mostly dependent on men. But still… It felt very manipulative and off-putting when reading this in modern times. -
Michael’s approach to get Francesca to marry him. His intentions and love for Francesca are pure, but despair makes one do stupid things. If he can’t sway her into marriage using logic, then he would do so by using passion. He decides to compromise her and get her pregnant so that she has no other option than to marry him. In the end, the passion that they both share is what unites them and they realise that they’re perfect for each other. The final destination is great, but the journey itself had me rolling my eyes. -
Francesca is hurt and feels invisible and neglected when her siblings have gotten married or are getting married without her presence. Michael uses this to convince her to get married immediately.
The mothers in this story on the other hand were green flags! It’s no surprise that Violet is a good mother who gives Francesca great advice and support. But it’s a blessing to have a great mother-in-law! Janet understands Francesca and wishes her the very best.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Death, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
Minor: Death of parent
mgondwe's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This is a 3.5 stars. I always enjoy reading Julia Quinn books, and appreciate her writing style. This book started off really well for me, but the ending (while I’m happy that the characters received a good ending,) just wasn’t satisfying to me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy