Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Romancing Mister Bridgerton

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

17 reviews

jchisam's review against another edition

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0.25

This book is awful. Glorifies treating women poorly and literal physical violence and intimidation.

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amyteurhour's review against another edition

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3.75

Content warning: fatphobia, bullying, toxic relationship

I'll be honest. I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed reading this. I've only seen the first few episodes of the first season of the show (though I've watched a few deep-dives on YT), and this is the first book by Julia Quinn that I've read (I think, there are so many historical romance authors named Julia, but I'm pretty sure I haven't read Quinn before). I thought the writing was compelling, and got me out of a reading slump that I've been in. I did get frustrated with Colin at times and how he acted, but overall I had a good time.

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pythonesque's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

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spootilious's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Read: May 22, 2024
Title: Romancing Mister Bridgerton
Author: Julia Quinn

Series: Bridgerton #4

Genre: Period Romance

Rating: 2/5
Review:

I will be completely forth coming in admitting that I have not read the first three books in this series and that I read this book after the first half of season 3 came out on Netflix. That being said, I read a few reviews prior to me reading this book and went into it with the mindset that these are not the characters I am familiar with and the storyline will be completely different and that I should treat this as a completely stand alone book unrelated, in its entirely, to the Netflix series.

For any reader planning to get into the book I recommend doing the same. The only thing these characters have in common with the characters in the show is name.

All that being said here are my thoughts:

I cannot tell you how much I hated this book. I have no words. Over the last five years I have only read a single book that I hated more than this one for entirely different reasons.

So why the two stars? Well, despite my feeling about this novel I have to admit that Quinn is very talented with the pen. The way she writes and captures the beauty of a scene is stunning in and of itself. I would gladly pick up another book in her style and cadence if it were on another subject or plot.

Which brings me to what’s wrong with the novel. Let’s start with the elephant in the room… Colin Bridgerton… The reviews I read prior to the novel were that this book changed Colin and that his temper was outrageous and childish. I tend to take these perspectives with a grain of salt. A character will always change (or rather should change) when an author shifts from an outside perspective to an inside one. I chalked it up to the readers having been stuck on his personality in previous books and did not expect to have the same problem… I was completely wrong.

Colin and Pen’s relationship is toxic through and through, from bruises to emotional manipulation and general (and societal abuse and gaslighting). It honestly makes me a bit sick. In fact, there was a point, at a specific party (which I will not name but I am sure everyone is aware of), that it was completely out of hand. I believe the worst part of it all is that portrayal of Pen suffered because of it. Not in the sense that I thought less of her but simply that she was built up as a strong independent and clever woman in the first half of the novel just to turn into the ‘he’s going to kill me but it’s okay cuz it means that he loves me,’ type of woman by the end. And I understand that this could be because of some of her own trauma but if that was the case it, if it were depicted as such then perhaps I wouldn’t hate it as much, instead she’s just as empty headed as everyone else (there is not ‘cleverness’ about her). Perhaps this is harsh, but I feel it needs to be said.

So, despite Quinn’s poetic talent, her characters are inconsistent and one dimensional. The plot leaves something to be desired and the spicy scenes (at least in this particular novel) are more toxic that alluring.

Still, I will admit I loved every scene with Lady D. Her and Pen’s friendship was a saving grace in this novel. And Daphne’s explanation (and Colin’s realization) of love was refreshingly relatable, especially as a woman’ who has been married to the love of her life for twelve years (not to show my age).

“And that was when he realized that Daphne had been right. His love hadn't been a thunderbolt from the sky. It had started with a smile, a word, a teasing glance. Every second he had spent in her presence it had grown, until he'd reached this moment, and he suddenly knew. He loved her.”

That is perhaps the most realistic portrayal of falling in love that I have ever read (though there is a particular episode of Doctor Who in which Amelia Pond talks about how people’s faces become their personality, and how beautiful they are… which is neither here nor there but is just as true and what I was reminded of when reading this section).

All of these things considered, I couldn’t give the novel more than two stars and the two that I gave it was more for talent and 2 specific characters than anything else in this novel.

QUOTES:

“And that was when he realized that Daphne had been right. His love hadn't been a thunderbolt from the sky. It had started with a smile, a word, a teasing glance. Every second he had spent in her presence it had grown, until he'd reached this moment, and he suddenly knew. He loved her.”

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sourcherryyy's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.5

okay this was my first julia quinn book so i wasnt expecting much, i do hate the way she sets it up where

they get married halfway through and then there's a big conflict they have to overcome

and i dont like how colin's main characteristic was that he had a bad temper... im very excited for the new season and i hope the season is better than the book

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readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

britwalsh16's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was super excited for this book! & with the new season coming out of the show following them I wanted to read it beforehand & give me something to tide me over until then. There was a lot I loved, & a lot of scenes I can’t wait to play out in the show.

But I’m not going to lie & say Colin’s temper didn’t really bug me. I understand him getting angry, especially when he finds out about the Lady Whistledown secret or when she’s caught reading his journal. But what I don’t like is the physical abuse that goes along with it, & yes I know it’s nothing giant, he doesn’t hit her or anything that horrible, but the little things can be bad too. Like the scene at their engagement ball with him holding on to her to hurt her instead of letting his temper blow up to the whole room, that is not an okay reaction & I have loved Colin so much throughout the show & the books too, but reactions like that piss me off & Penelope doesn’t know that it’s not okay. What’s going to happen when they have kids & the kids make him angry, will the violence get worse through the years? It’s such a little thing, but it really gets me, & I hope they rewrote that for the show, I’d hate to lose my love for Polin in the show too!

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sandsing7's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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ameydireads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

“Can one appreciate perfection when it is a constant in one’s life?”

A 3.5 out of 5 stars mainly because of Penelope!

Penelope has always been a wallflower and this was her moment to shine, to show the world what she was really like. A clever and funny girl. I loved that for her! Too bad that even her own mother couldn’t see how amazing Penelope actually is.

We already knew from an epilogue that Colin and Penelope would end up together. She has been in love with him (well okay, a perfect version of him) for many years now. Their story started off cute where they slowly go from being good friends to being romantically interested in each other. But there were so many red flags along the way. Colin was generally perceived as the perfect gentleman and of course it turns out that he isn’t perfect at all. That’s alright, everyone has some kind of flaw and red flags are not surprising in the Bridgerton series. But I found it difficult to accept that he had anger issues. It gets out of hand when he hurts Penelope, even if it was just by squeezing her arms very hard or yanking her arm. There are better ways to blow off steam so I don’t think that you should accept that from your partner. But that is what Penelope did.

“And if having to endure his anger and disdain at a time like this was to be part of marriage as well, then that would be worth it, too.”

It did get better of course. He does become a better and supportive partner and finds his purpose in life. But I hoped for a simpler story, one where I could still like Colin.

There are also some secrets revealed in this story, but unfortunately it was no surprise to me as I’ve already seen the TV show. IYKYK.

As usual, Eloise has some great remarks which are generally not accepted in that time period and therefore she is one of my favourite characters in this series.

“I hope he asks Felicity as well,” Eloise said. “I’ve often thought it foolish that a man asks a woman’s father for her hand before he asks her. The father doesn’t have to live with him.”

Well said, Eloise! She was acting very suspicious in this story and I suppose we shall find out why in the next book!

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saturnpersonified's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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