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A review by kingrosereads
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It’s Bridgerton. We know what it is by now. Regency romance. Let’s goooooo!
Our journey into the world of Bridgerton starts with Daphne Bridgerton, who is the fourth child of eight and the eldest daughter. It’s 1813 London, Daphne’s second season, and she simply must get married. Then she meets the devastatingly handsome rake, Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. He also happens to be best friends with her brother and eldest child, the Viscount, Anthony Bridgeton. Simon’s come back from a 6-year long trip around the world when his father dies to tie up loose ends. He’s determined to never wed, but that doesn’t stop eager mothers and unmarried ladies from swarming him. Together, Simon and Daphne devise a plan to both get what they want. They will feign a courtship in order to drum up interest in Daphne so she may find her love match, and to keep some of the mothers and daughters away from Simon. Though they start off as friends, the pair grow increasing more attracted and attached to one another. But there are things in Simon’s past and vows that he’s made that keep him from marrying Daphne. And of course, Anthony would rather rip Simon’s arms off and beat him with them than allow Simon to marry Daphne. Things get dicey when Simon and Daphne are caught in a compromising position. It’s all very exciting.
Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room: the concept of consent. Look, Daphne took advantage of a drunk Simon, but didn’t set out for him to finish inside her. It’s still assault on account of him being drunk and unable to fully consent. But then Simon lying about his ability to have children is akin to stories where the love interest beds the main character while pretending to be someone else. It’s all super shady and I don’t think it’s okay. Also, I hated how many references there were to Daphne being his property and him owning her. Like we get that that’s what marriage was before, but pump the brakes on the misogyny in my fictional romance novels. And I don’t wanna hear some bull crap about “oh it takes place in a time when…” or “the book was written in 1999 so…” bleh bleh bleh. It’s not okay. It’s historical FICTION which means you don’t have to accurate AT ALL. And don’t just assume shit was like that in the past.
Now that’s out of the way. This book was all kinds of funny. I watched the show before I read this, in fact, I was adamant on not reading this series because I heard terrible things about some of the books and I didn’t want to spoil my enjoyment of the show. But this was a fun read. I definitely imagined the actors as the characters, and re-wrote “blue eyes” or “pale skin” with “brown eyes” and “dark skin”. I refuse to have some pasty man be my Simon. I would not allow some mediocre white man talk to me the way Simon talks to Daphne when they’re married. But if that man looked exactly like Regé-Jean Page then maybeeeee (*slides feminist card away*). Kidding!
But yeah it was funny. It’s not as hot as everyone was saying it was but the humor and banter and wit were on point. I haven’t decided if I’ll continue with the series yet.
Our journey into the world of Bridgerton starts with Daphne Bridgerton, who is the fourth child of eight and the eldest daughter. It’s 1813 London, Daphne’s second season, and she simply must get married. Then she meets the devastatingly handsome rake, Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. He also happens to be best friends with her brother and eldest child, the Viscount, Anthony Bridgeton. Simon’s come back from a 6-year long trip around the world when his father dies to tie up loose ends. He’s determined to never wed, but that doesn’t stop eager mothers and unmarried ladies from swarming him. Together, Simon and Daphne devise a plan to both get what they want. They will feign a courtship in order to drum up interest in Daphne so she may find her love match, and to keep some of the mothers and daughters away from Simon. Though they start off as friends, the pair grow increasing more attracted and attached to one another. But there are things in Simon’s past and vows that he’s made that keep him from marrying Daphne. And of course, Anthony would rather rip Simon’s arms off and beat him with them than allow Simon to marry Daphne. Things get dicey when Simon and Daphne are caught in a compromising position. It’s all very exciting.
Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room: the concept of consent. Look, Daphne took advantage of a drunk Simon, but didn’t set out for him to finish inside her. It’s still assault on account of him being drunk and unable to fully consent. But then Simon lying about his ability to have children is akin to stories where the love interest beds the main character while pretending to be someone else. It’s all super shady and I don’t think it’s okay. Also, I hated how many references there were to Daphne being his property and him owning her. Like we get that that’s what marriage was before, but pump the brakes on the misogyny in my fictional romance novels. And I don’t wanna hear some bull crap about “oh it takes place in a time when…” or “the book was written in 1999 so…” bleh bleh bleh. It’s not okay. It’s historical FICTION which means you don’t have to accurate AT ALL. And don’t just assume shit was like that in the past.
Now that’s out of the way. This book was all kinds of funny. I watched the show before I read this, in fact, I was adamant on not reading this series because I heard terrible things about some of the books and I didn’t want to spoil my enjoyment of the show. But this was a fun read. I definitely imagined the actors as the characters, and re-wrote “blue eyes” or “pale skin” with “brown eyes” and “dark skin”. I refuse to have some pasty man be my Simon. I would not allow some mediocre white man talk to me the way Simon talks to Daphne when they’re married. But if that man looked exactly like Regé-Jean Page then maybeeeee (*slides feminist card away*). Kidding!
But yeah it was funny. It’s not as hot as everyone was saying it was but the humor and banter and wit were on point. I haven’t decided if I’ll continue with the series yet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual assault and Miscarriage