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A review by stungbythewood
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This definitely wasn’t my favorite out of all the Bridgerton books I’ve read so far (IV,V & VI), which disappointed me because Penelope is such a beloved character of mine from the Netflix show.
The stakes for this book in particular feel like they have the most consequence to them out of the three books I’ve read, besides maybe Eloise’s, yet, the consequences for Penelopebeing Lady Whistledown is very…inconsequential.
You’re telling me that no one in the ton was upset with Penelope gossiping about them for the last twelve or so years? I know that the Bridgertons were in support of Penelope due to Colin’s influence, but it seems highly unrealistic to me that everyone would clap and smile at that revelation.
This brings me onto my next point, it feels like the climax falls so flat because of this immediate acceptance. Cressida extorting Penelope in exchange for “keeping her secret” could’ve been soooo interesting especially with Colin having to come up with a supposed “plan”.
For the outcome of Penelope being Lady Whistledown to amount to nothing leads me to believe that the whole reveal itself should’ve been reworked or the scene with Cressida and Penelope shouldn’t have been included in the first place because then at least I wouldn’t have been met with such disappointment.
Onto Colin, I was honestly surprised at the contrast between Colin in the show and Colin in the book. In the show he’s a lot more noble and chivalrous in regards to how he treats women
spoilers for the Bridgerton show below
(i.e. saying he would’ve been willing to marry Marina despite being pregnant with another man’s child if she just would’ve told him about her circumstances in the first place and him letting Penelope know that Lord Featherington’s rubies were counterfeit)
and his temper was nowhere near present like it is in the books.
Book Colin is kind of a dick. He frequently gets snippy with Penelope with no natural progression or reason to his anger. It’s just zero to one hundred in an instant. It’s understandable for him to get frustrated with her going out on her own given the time period they’re in but a lot of the time I felt that his reactions were inappropriate. A part of me felt bad that this was the man Penelope fell so desperately in love with.
Colin’s saving grace is that thankfully, he develops the skills to reign in his temper, and that he defends his wife vehemently from others (even if he chides her as well). My favorite scene in the book is probably when Colin defends Penelope from her mother when he goes to ask for Penelope’s hand in marriage. The character development being toward the end of the book though leaves much to be desired in the beginning and middle where I have to read him self-flagellate. I don’t know if I would’ve been as patient as Penelope in waiting for him to get his head out of his ass.
I really enjoyed Lady Danbury in this though.
All in all the book was just okay. Not a terrible read or a slog to get through, but definitely not one worth picking up again
The stakes for this book in particular feel like they have the most consequence to them out of the three books I’ve read, besides maybe Eloise’s, yet, the consequences for Penelope
You’re telling me that no one in the ton was upset with Penelope gossiping about them for the last twelve or so years? I know that the Bridgertons were in support of Penelope due to Colin’s influence, but it seems highly unrealistic to me that everyone would clap and smile at that revelation.
This brings me onto my next point, it feels like the climax falls so flat because of this immediate acceptance. Cressida extorting Penelope in exchange for “keeping her secret” could’ve been soooo interesting especially with Colin having to come up with a supposed “plan”.
For the outcome of Penelope being Lady Whistledown to amount to nothing leads me to believe that the whole reveal itself should’ve been reworked or the scene with Cressida and Penelope shouldn’t have been included in the first place because then at least I wouldn’t have been met with such disappointment.
Onto Colin, I was honestly surprised at the contrast between Colin in the show and Colin in the book. In the show he’s a lot more noble and chivalrous in regards to how he treats women
spoilers for the Bridgerton show below
(i.e. saying he would’ve been willing to marry Marina despite being pregnant with another man’s child if she just would’ve told him about her circumstances in the first place and him letting Penelope know that Lord Featherington’s rubies were counterfeit)
and his temper was nowhere near present like it is in the books.
Book Colin is kind of a dick. He frequently gets snippy with Penelope with no natural progression or reason to his anger. It’s just zero to one hundred in an instant. It’s understandable for him to get frustrated with her going out on her own given the time period they’re in but a lot of the time I felt that his reactions were inappropriate. A part of me felt bad that this was the man Penelope fell so desperately in love with.
Colin’s saving grace is that thankfully, he develops the skills to reign in his temper, and that he defends his wife vehemently from others (even if he chides her as well). My favorite scene in the book is probably when Colin defends Penelope from her mother when he goes to ask for Penelope’s hand in marriage. The character development being toward the end of the book though leaves much to be desired in the beginning and middle where I have to read him self-flagellate. I don’t know if I would’ve been as patient as Penelope in waiting for him to get his head out of his ass.
I really enjoyed Lady Danbury in this though.
All in all the book was just okay. Not a terrible read or a slog to get through, but definitely not one worth picking up again
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content