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k_l_smith's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
mbate479's review against another edition
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
allison87's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I feel like if Netflix Eloise read this book she would promptly throw it into the fire and scream.
Phillip is a piece of work. Anger issues, SA of his late wife while she was suffering from post pardom depression, absent fathering, asking for a wife for the express purpose of getting a homemaker/nanny/warm body but withheld that fact for an entire year of courting.
Once they are together and married, consent is hazy. He's not interested in her as a person but as a body. To the point where he hardly lets her speak/avoids her all day prior to bed time. (When Eloise has a major concern about the children's care, instead of pause his pursuit of her body to listen to her, he throws a tantrum and leaves.) So, yeah, it's extremely romantic?
I get that these were issues that were/still are common. But that doesn't make it conducive to a love story. It's more horror than anything. Even if this were written in the 1800s it would still come off extremely bleak and hardly romantic.
Shondaland has a ton of work ahead to turn this story into anything good. Personally I would scrap most of it.
Phillip is a piece of work. Anger issues, SA of his late wife while she was suffering from post pardom depression, absent fathering, asking for a wife for the express purpose of getting a homemaker/nanny/warm body but withheld that fact for an entire year of courting.
Once they are together and married, consent is hazy. He's not interested in her as a person but as a body. To the point where he hardly lets her speak/avoids her all day prior to bed time. (When Eloise has a major concern about the children's care, instead of pause his pursuit of her body to listen to her, he throws a tantrum and leaves.) So, yeah, it's extremely romantic?
I get that these were issues that were/still are common. But that doesn't make it conducive to a love story. It's more horror than anything. Even if this were written in the 1800s it would still come off extremely bleak and hardly romantic.
Shondaland has a ton of work ahead to turn this story into anything good. Personally I would scrap most of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Ableism, Child abuse, Rape, Suicide, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
golden_girl_03's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Sexual content
tessamcevan's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Ugh. I so wanted to like it because I like Eloise in the Bridgerton Series.
Sir Philip is the last man whom Eloise would ever marry.
A man who constantly talks about needing someone to have sex with and to mother his children. Really?!
Sir Philip is the last man whom Eloise would ever marry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Misogyny
carlyjoann's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
I usually read a book before bed, but I am usually pretty particular about my selection for this time of day. It has to be cozy and lighthearted, otherwise the story will seep into my brain and disrupt my sleep. This book was the perfect choice for me then for my bed time read! It was engaging and I was so happy to finally read Eloise’s story, who’s a hoot! Whenever I look at Bridgerton books ranked lists, this one is always rated pretty low, but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Sexual content, Mental illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Bullying
annahamburger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Child abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Ableism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Blood
prashiie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
“Eloise blinked with surprise when she realized that she had reached the end of her page. She didn't recall a single sentence, and in fact wondered if perhaps her eyes had only slid along the words without actually reading the letters.”
Been there, done that…
Now we finally get to know why Eloise was acting so strange in the previous book. Society thought Eloise would end up a spinster, but then she meets Philip. Philip is an interesting character who does not know how to handle people but knows exactly how to be a good scientist and spends too much time with his plants. Eloise on the other hand is very sociable and knows how to deal with people. Philip has two children and he finds it impossible to control them. Whilst Philip mainly wants someone to run his house and take care of his children, Eloise came to Philip looking for love. This of course causes a lot of problems that they need to overcome. To someone who has not been happy for a very long time, Philips starts to realise what a pleasant addition Eloise is to his life. On top of all the hurdles, we also have Philip’s children who have to get used to Eloise. I really liked how Eloise’s relationship with the children grows over time!
Another thing I like is that this story is set far from London and that there are some important issues mentioned in this story. One of them is depression and perhaps even postnatal depression.
“She'd been so melancholy following their birth. Marina had always seemed fragile and overly pensive, but it was only after Oliver and Amanda had arrived that she'd sunk into her own world of sorrow and despair.”
We don’t see how Marina deals with this and the impact depression has on her but we do see it from her family’s perspective.
The other issue is child abuse. Clearly, it shows how important it is to not only hear what children have to say but to truly listen.
What I didn’t like is something that comes back in all of these Bridgerton books. Men are portrayed to have mainly two sides. They can be either angry or full of lust and that isn’t fair.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Child abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Classism, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Pregnancy
ehamlett's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Suicide, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Minor: Child abuse and Abandonment