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A review by bisexualwentworth
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Well, now I’ve read a Bridgerton book, and honestly? Fuck you, Julia Quinn.
The thing is, I liked a lot of aspects of this book. Anthony and Kate’s banter was really fun. The scene in the library was so well executed. The angst mostly felt realistic considering who the characters were and where they were coming from. I even think their trauma was handled shockingly well. Like there’s the whole “love can save you from anything” thing, which, yick, but I actually felt like this book showed a pretty thorough understanding of the concept of triggers and how they work.
And then there’s everything else. Some of my issues with this book are very unimportant, but others are not.
I haven’t read the first book, but I have seen the show and am aware of the differences between them. This story definitely handles the issue of consent a lot better than that one does, and there’s no sexual assault, but there is a lot of dubious consent. Anthony and Kate have this whole conversation on their wedding night that’s partially about consent, and the way Anthony behaves in that scene and the things he says should have been sweet. Unfortunately, he’d already kissed her without her consent twice at this point. He’d also locked her in a room with him.And also HE SUCKED BEE VENOM OUT OF HER CHEST WITHOUT HER CONSENT I’M SORRY BUT WHAT THE FUCK.
There’s also this thing where Anthony is a rake but would NEVER DREAM of besmirching the honor of a young lady of noble breeding (even though he literally does that in this book). Truly all I can say to that is yikes. Like I know this book is mostly a fantasy and I shouldn’t be expecting an awareness of class issues from a romance about English nobility, but I still found that aspect of this book to be quite distasteful.
I should have been glad that Kate was on Penelope’s side when people were being fatphobic to her, but actually I was just disappointed (but in no way surprised) that Penelope in fact gets thin in between books and they’re just mocking what she used to look like. Great! Also, I know I shouldn’t expect too much historical accuracy from this sort of book, but why are we pretending that thinness has always been the beauty standard? It’s exhausting.
Speaking of historical inaccuracies, I almost tore my hair out when Mary mentioned Jane Austen. This book is set in April through June of 1814. Mansfield Park was published in 1814 but not till July. And Jane Austen didn’t attach her name to any of her work that was published during her lifetime. So how on EARTH was Edwina reading “the latest novel by that Austen women”?! This is extremely basic information that a Regency romance writer should be expected to know. Just mention by name a book that was actually published in the right time frame by an author whose identity was known at the time! Please!
Also it probably goes without saying, but this book is EXTREMELY white and cis heteronormative. Like more so than most things I’ve read that were actually written in the era when this is set (yes, including the works of Jane Austen). Do not expect diversity of any kind here, unless you consider a pair of sisters where one is blonde and the other is brunette to be “diverse.”
I will be watching season two of the show because it’s definitely going to be much better than season one, and I know this for three reasons:
1) There’s a corgi in this one
2) Simone Ashley is playing Kate and she’s going to be fantastic
3) This story is just so much better than that one. But that one had a horrible main character who raped her husband and was then excused by the narrative, so that’s really not saying much.
The thing is, I liked a lot of aspects of this book. Anthony and Kate’s banter was really fun. The scene in the library was so well executed. The angst mostly felt realistic considering who the characters were and where they were coming from. I even think their trauma was handled shockingly well. Like there’s the whole “love can save you from anything” thing, which, yick, but I actually felt like this book showed a pretty thorough understanding of the concept of triggers and how they work.
And then there’s everything else. Some of my issues with this book are very unimportant, but others are not.
I haven’t read the first book, but I have seen the show and am aware of the differences between them. This story definitely handles the issue of consent a lot better than that one does, and there’s no sexual assault, but there is a lot of dubious consent. Anthony and Kate have this whole conversation on their wedding night that’s partially about consent, and the way Anthony behaves in that scene and the things he says should have been sweet. Unfortunately, he’d already kissed her without her consent twice at this point. He’d also locked her in a room with him.
There’s also this thing where Anthony is a rake but would NEVER DREAM of besmirching the honor of a young lady of noble breeding (even though he literally does that in this book). Truly all I can say to that is yikes. Like I know this book is mostly a fantasy and I shouldn’t be expecting an awareness of class issues from a romance about English nobility, but I still found that aspect of this book to be quite distasteful.
I should have been glad that Kate was on Penelope’s side when people were being fatphobic to her, but actually I was just disappointed (but in no way surprised) that Penelope in fact gets thin in between books and they’re just mocking what she used to look like. Great! Also, I know I shouldn’t expect too much historical accuracy from this sort of book, but why are we pretending that thinness has always been the beauty standard? It’s exhausting.
Speaking of historical inaccuracies, I almost tore my hair out when Mary mentioned Jane Austen. This book is set in April through June of 1814. Mansfield Park was published in 1814 but not till July. And Jane Austen didn’t attach her name to any of her work that was published during her lifetime. So how on EARTH was Edwina reading “the latest novel by that Austen women”?! This is extremely basic information that a Regency romance writer should be expected to know. Just mention by name a book that was actually published in the right time frame by an author whose identity was known at the time! Please!
Also it probably goes without saying, but this book is EXTREMELY white and cis heteronormative. Like more so than most things I’ve read that were actually written in the era when this is set (yes, including the works of Jane Austen). Do not expect diversity of any kind here, unless you consider a pair of sisters where one is blonde and the other is brunette to be “diverse.”
I will be watching season two of the show because it’s definitely going to be much better than season one, and I know this for three reasons:
1) There’s a corgi in this one
2) Simone Ashley is playing Kate and she’s going to be fantastic
3) This story is just so much better than that one. But that one had a horrible main character who raped her husband and was then excused by the narrative, so that’s really not saying much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Fatphobia