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A review by readyforit
First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
4.5⭐️1.5🌶️
This book was such a treat as what I’m calling my last bridgerton book. I don’t think I’ll continue with any other JQ series but never say never. This book was a true romcom, and I mean I was actually laughing out loud for a majority of the book, which is unheard of for me! Because Nicholas (the youngest rokesby) and Georgiana (the 2nd youngest bridgerton) are already 27 and 26, they’re mostly grown, fully formed characters. So they don’t change much throughout the story, other than in their relationship with each other. Neither has childhood trauma that severely affects their relationships today like characters in the previous books.
Nicholas is in his 2nd to last year of med school when he gets summoned home by his parents. Turns out Georgie was kidnapped by a destitute suitor, who tried to compromise her to get her to marry him for her dowry. And only Nicholas can save her reputation by marrying her. He eventually agrees because he’s just a good guy and cares for Georgie, even if she’s like a sister to him because they grew up together. He asks Georgie, who is of course offended that everyone has been plotting behind her back. She says no at first, but then realizes she doesn’t have a choice. Her only other choice is to marry the man who kidnapped her. Speak of the devil, he shows up, begging for her hand, climbing a tree to try to get in her window. She proceeds to throw books at him and one of her cats finishes the job. The descriptions of Georgie’s 3 cats in this book had me DYING. If you’ve ever had cats you’ll be able to picture everything perfectly💀. This asshat falls and gets mangled so she and her butler team up with Nicholas and his butler to fix him up and send him on his way before anyone finds out. This tag team of butlers were incredible, I only wish we got more of them in the previous books! Georgie tells Nicholas she changed her mind and that’s that. They get married and she follows him back to med school.
The rest of the book is mostly uneventful, but not in a bad way. If you’ve read her other books, I was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, but they have a pleasant falling-in-love story after that. There is no miscommunication trope with the fact that Nicholas’s father basically forced him to marry Georgie, he is open about that from the beginning. He discussed medicine with her and agrees that women should be able to study it🥹. He protects her when necessary and lets her run free when she needs it. There’s not a lot of misogyny in this book like there is in some of the others, even though it’s common in historical fiction. This was really refreshing.
I thought the storyline about her pushing him to find them a house in Edinburgh would be a huge fight but it really wasn’t. She took matters into her own hands and Nicholas wasn’t even mad about it, he was just in awe of his brilliant wife. I really loved Georgie’s character, she’s got a great sense of humor, a thirst for knowledge, and takes initiative. She has some nice scenes with violet and the 3 oldest boys. Nicholas is so different from all the rest of the MMC we’ve gotten from this author. He’s not experienced in love or sex and is such a caretaker and believes in Georgie even before they’re married. When you have a chronic illness, it can feel like you’re fighting that battle alone, and it was refreshing not to hear any medical gaslighting from him. He was always in her corner.
Once again, Rosalyn Landor was the most incredible narrator. I’m going to miss listening to her🥲. I really liked the book and may reread in the future, probably as a standalone.
This book was such a treat as what I’m calling my last bridgerton book. I don’t think I’ll continue with any other JQ series but never say never. This book was a true romcom, and I mean I was actually laughing out loud for a majority of the book, which is unheard of for me! Because Nicholas (the youngest rokesby) and Georgiana (the 2nd youngest bridgerton) are already 27 and 26, they’re mostly grown, fully formed characters. So they don’t change much throughout the story, other than in their relationship with each other. Neither has childhood trauma that severely affects their relationships today like characters in the previous books.
Nicholas is in his 2nd to last year of med school when he gets summoned home by his parents. Turns out Georgie was kidnapped by a destitute suitor, who tried to compromise her to get her to marry him for her dowry. And only Nicholas can save her reputation by marrying her. He eventually agrees because he’s just a good guy and cares for Georgie, even if she’s like a sister to him because they grew up together. He asks Georgie, who is of course offended that everyone has been plotting behind her back. She says no at first, but then realizes she doesn’t have a choice. Her only other choice is to marry the man who kidnapped her. Speak of the devil, he shows up, begging for her hand, climbing a tree to try to get in her window. She proceeds to throw books at him and one of her cats finishes the job. The descriptions of Georgie’s 3 cats in this book had me DYING. If you’ve ever had cats you’ll be able to picture everything perfectly💀. This asshat falls and gets mangled so she and her butler team up with Nicholas and his butler to fix him up and send him on his way before anyone finds out. This tag team of butlers were incredible, I only wish we got more of them in the previous books! Georgie tells Nicholas she changed her mind and that’s that. They get married and she follows him back to med school.
The rest of the book is mostly uneventful, but not in a bad way. If you’ve read her other books, I was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, but they have a pleasant falling-in-love story after that. There is no miscommunication trope with the fact that Nicholas’s father basically forced him to marry Georgie, he is open about that from the beginning. He discussed medicine with her and agrees that women should be able to study it🥹. He protects her when necessary and lets her run free when she needs it. There’s not a lot of misogyny in this book like there is in some of the others, even though it’s common in historical fiction. This was really refreshing.
I thought the storyline about her pushing him to find them a house in Edinburgh would be a huge fight but it really wasn’t. She took matters into her own hands and Nicholas wasn’t even mad about it, he was just in awe of his brilliant wife. I really loved Georgie’s character, she’s got a great sense of humor, a thirst for knowledge, and takes initiative. She has some nice scenes with violet and the 3 oldest boys. Nicholas is so different from all the rest of the MMC we’ve gotten from this author. He’s not experienced in love or sex and is such a caretaker and believes in Georgie even before they’re married. When you have a chronic illness, it can feel like you’re fighting that battle alone, and it was refreshing not to hear any medical gaslighting from him. He was always in her corner.
Once again, Rosalyn Landor was the most incredible narrator. I’m going to miss listening to her🥲. I really liked the book and may reread in the future, probably as a standalone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, and Vomit
Minor: Fire/Fire injury