A review by malpal132
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

2.5

dear god this one was painful. i just don't think julia quinn knew how to keep colin's characterization consistent in conflict. he's supposedly this soft, sweet, charming guy, and yet he spends most of his time being furious with penelope. to the point where he's grabbing her arm so hard he knows he's bruising her but thinks that's the price they'll both have to pay for him to keep a leash on his violence. and then the amount of time he spends being horrible to penelope because he's jealous of her success? no, thank you. it feels like a departure from who he was on the fringes of the other books and a direct contradiction to his reputation. and i know, "this was written a few decades ago," "he's only angry with penelope because he cares so much when it comes to her." to which i say: bullshit. there was hardly any tenderness between them until the very end, and even that was paltry. he ruptured her trust by reading her unpublished column and he was never sorry. meanwhile, penelope spends the whole book on her knees hoping for his forgiveness, for a crumb of kindness. girl. get up!