A review by natalieunread
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

1.0

Spoilers below, but you should know what you're getting yourself into. I should have done a cursory glance at Goodreads reviews before starting this book, but I didn't, and I can't tell you how much I regret it. I picked this one up when the Bridgertons Netflix series was announced, and I thought this could be my first foray into historical romance. I was initially pretty into this, but I gave up in anger when I realized there is a huge non-consent rape scene written as a big plot point. It's gross, totally uncalled for, and honestly completely out of character for the heroine from the first 49% of this book. I hate dumbing down characters in general, and I would say this might be the very worst example of this. Daphne starts this book as a smart, intuitive, thoughtful woman and turns into a dumb idiot at the 50% mark on the night before her wedding. And then, you know, she rapes her husband who's made it clear he doesn't want a baby, terms she agreed to before they were married. DNFed somewhere in the back half of this book. I cannot believe so many people I've seen consider this to be their favorite book. How? Am I missing something? I feel like my favorite thing would never involve rape but OKAY.