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A review by thekissballad
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
I've decided not to numerically rate this nor any Bridgerton books since I'll always be influenced by the show. Instead I'll share what I liked/disliked in comparison.
To start off, I was never a big fan of season one and finally reading the book makes me understand why. The source material just wasn't all that great, in my opinion.
I expected the misogyny since it's a part of historical fiction/history in general, but the levels of it in the book were much higher than the show, and both left me with an icky feeling.
Anthony is the biggest hypocrite ever, but I did like him a little better in this book than in season one.
I liked that Colin played more of an overprotective older brother role in the book since, y'know, he is older than Daphne. He feels younger and more immature in the show.
The scene of Simon giving Lady Bridgerton was heartbreaking.
Hyacinth shooting her shot with Simon was one of the best parts.
My thoughts on the SA:
I hated, both in the book and the show, that Daphne rapes Simon and it's never truly dealt with, there are no consequences of actions. I know that how SA would have been handled then is different than how it would be handled now, but it still feels gross that nothing was handled.
And the brothers hating Simon during the "separation" of sorts because they didn't know what was happening made it worse. Like why does Daphne get all this support for something she did wrong? Again, I know it's because the brothers don't know the details so they can only assume the worst of Simon, much like the rest of the ton, but there was nothing fixing this after things were resolved.
To start off, I was never a big fan of season one and finally reading the book makes me understand why. The source material just wasn't all that great, in my opinion.
I expected the misogyny since it's a part of historical fiction/history in general, but the levels of it in the book were much higher than the show, and both left me with an icky feeling.
Anthony is the biggest hypocrite ever, but I did like him a little better in this book than in season one.
I liked that Colin played more of an overprotective older brother role in the book since, y'know, he is older than Daphne. He feels younger and more immature in the show.
The scene of Simon giving Lady Bridgerton was heartbreaking.
Hyacinth shooting her shot with Simon was one of the best parts.
My thoughts on the SA:
And the brothers hating Simon during the "separation" of sorts because they didn't know what was happening made it worse. Like why does Daphne get all this support for something she did wrong? Again, I know it's because the brothers don't know the details so they can only assume the worst of Simon, much like the rest of the ton, but there was nothing fixing this after things were resolved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content