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A review by sarahsreadinglist
An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I enjoy a good Cinderella story, and this was a mostly fun and easy read, but I have a few gripes.
Benedict’s behavior in this book is more than a little concerning. He dismisses Sophie’s thoughts and concerns throughout the book, cannot accept no for an answer, and exhibits an incredible amount of entitlement over Sophie. In his anger, he is quite toxic. This all is only ameliorated by his introspection, self awareness, and apology towards the end of the book.
I also wish we saw more of Sophie’s interactions with other servants after being cast out by Araminta. Or, I wish we even saw a mere mention of those servants who held Sophie dear (like the housekeeper Mrs. Gibbons, or the caretakers of Benedict’s cottage). I’m not at all surprised by the minimization of servant characters, but I think the focus on Sophie being different/above the rest of the servant class took away some really meaningful elements of the class-difference romance as well as the kind of friendship that (could have) existed between Sophie and her fellow servants.
That said, I enjoyed other parts of the book; the Bridgerton family (and Violet especially) is delightful as always, and their interactions amongst themselves and with Sophie brought a smile to my face. Benedict could be quite charming when he wasn’t a total ass, and his tender treatment of Sophie (again, when he wasn’t being a total ass) was quite cute.
Benedict’s behavior in this book is more than a little concerning. He dismisses Sophie’s thoughts and concerns throughout the book, cannot accept no for an answer, and exhibits an incredible amount of entitlement over Sophie. In his anger, he is quite toxic. This all is only ameliorated by his introspection, self awareness, and apology towards the end of the book.
I also wish we saw more of Sophie’s interactions with other servants after being cast out by Araminta. Or, I wish we even saw a mere mention of those servants who held Sophie dear (like the housekeeper Mrs. Gibbons, or the caretakers of Benedict’s cottage). I’m not at all surprised by the minimization of servant characters, but I think the focus on Sophie being different/above the rest of the servant class took away some really meaningful elements of the class-difference romance as well as the kind of friendship that (could have) existed between Sophie and her fellow servants.
That said, I enjoyed other parts of the book; the Bridgerton family (and Violet especially) is delightful as always, and their interactions amongst themselves and with Sophie brought a smile to my face. Benedict could be quite charming when he wasn’t a total ass, and his tender treatment of Sophie (again, when he wasn’t being a total ass) was quite cute.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual assault