Scan barcode
annelihghh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
ferdireads's review against another edition
fast-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
1.5
phillip is so goddamn insufferable. he's a shit husband, a shit father, and a shit person overall. i was surprised, truly, that julia quinn could come up with an even more horrid man for her series (although, i'm sure she'll surprise me once more as i keep reading this series). eloise is also too lenient for someone who's characterized as "headstrong". like she rlly tried hard to be "im not like other girls 🙄", but failed instantly. yes, you are absolutely like every other girl raised in your time period & society, just as lenient, just as gullible, and just as stuck-up.
i really wish this series would've had a lgbtq+ sibling or family member, and somehow i hoped that would be eloise. bc there's no fucking way that between 8 siblings, not a single one is queer (and dont talk to me abt "but it's not period accurate!" i assure you, 100%, queer people have always existed, so yes, we can have a period accurate queer romance, bc yes, it would make fucking sense, bc, like i said, we've always fucking been here).
this book was definitely better than the others story-wise, but the characters drove me up a fucking wall. especially, as you may have guessed, phillip. now i know, he's a product of his father's abuse and society's failures, but holy shit—he was so misogynistic, always going on and on abt women's shortcomings and how much better it is to be a man and how women are the inferior sex and all that dumb stupid bullshit, and, the cherry on top, admitted to having raped his late wife. like how insane is that. how are we, as readers (who, in the majority, are females, female aligned or afab), are supposed to feel abt a man who plainly admitted he fucking raped his late wife? idc if he puked his guts out later from the guilt, he still did it! and to quote directly from the book, he did it bc "even though she didn't say anything, she didn't say no". im pretty sure that's fucking verbatim. and no im not tagging this as a spoiler, bc i feel like ppl need to be warned abt that before heading into this book. genuinely, what the hell was quinn thinking when writing this. like, no. i dont want this man near me, not even 10 ft away from me. like he needs to be at least 50 ft from me, and i have to have a restraining order against him. (and against daphne, too. we all know why).
i wonder how much shittier the men (and possibly other characters) will turn out in the rest of the bridgerton series...at this point i say: surprise me, julia quinn. surprise me.
i really wish this series would've had a lgbtq+ sibling or family member, and somehow i hoped that would be eloise. bc there's no fucking way that between 8 siblings, not a single one is queer (and dont talk to me abt "but it's not period accurate!" i assure you, 100%, queer people have always existed, so yes, we can have a period accurate queer romance, bc yes, it would make fucking sense, bc, like i said, we've always fucking been here).
this book was definitely better than the others story-wise, but the characters drove me up a fucking wall. especially, as you may have guessed, phillip. now i know, he's a product of his father's abuse and society's failures, but holy shit—he was so misogynistic, always going on and on abt women's shortcomings and how much better it is to be a man and how women are the inferior sex and all that dumb stupid bullshit, and, the cherry on top, admitted to having raped his late wife. like how insane is that. how are we, as readers (who, in the majority, are females, female aligned or afab), are supposed to feel abt a man who plainly admitted he fucking raped his late wife? idc if he puked his guts out later from the guilt, he still did it! and to quote directly from the book, he did it bc "even though she didn't say anything, she didn't say no". im pretty sure that's fucking verbatim. and no im not tagging this as a spoiler, bc i feel like ppl need to be warned abt that before heading into this book. genuinely, what the hell was quinn thinking when writing this. like, no. i dont want this man near me, not even 10 ft away from me. like he needs to be at least 50 ft from me, and i have to have a restraining order against him. (and against daphne, too. we all know why).
i wonder how much shittier the men (and possibly other characters) will turn out in the rest of the bridgerton series...at this point i say: surprise me, julia quinn. surprise me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape
idk_indigo's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-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
1.0
This has been the worst Bridgerton book by a long shot. Phillip Crane is such a horrible love interest and character in general. His inner monologue terrifies me. Even setting that aside, him and Eloise have absolutely terrible chemistry. I feel like Julia Quinn got sick of her being unmarried and just, like, tossed Crane in there. I hated it. It took me almost a month to read. I'm really hoping the next few books are not this f*cking bad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual content
lunahbee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I enjoyed this book. I definitely was left wishing there was more in between everything we got. I so badly wanted more family dynamics with the kids. More pining (without realizing they were pining).
I understand everyone issue with feeling triggered by the main male character. He’s certainly flawed, but I also wouldn’t say that he’s not worthy either.
I understand everyone issue with feeling triggered by the main male character. He’s certainly flawed, but I also wouldn’t say that he’s not worthy either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Death of parent
The suicide is not about a main character of the book but is described in great detail due to its effects on the main character. The child abuse is primarily described in the past of a main character, but is also present in the idea of corporal punishment for children.maddisaysmeow's review against another edition
slow-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
1.5
I hate Sir Phillip
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
gubler2003's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I'm sorry, she definitely rushed his grief. Also he has serious issues and she believed she could fix him if she stayed???
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
wyrmwood's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Sir Philip deserves to be castrated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Gaslighting
brynn_books's review against another edition
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
2.0
This is one of my least favorite books so far. I love Eloise. She's genuinely one of my favorite characters but I hate Philip. He's just... not it. Eloise deserves better. I'm hoping they change parts of her story for the show.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death and Mental illness
baguettegay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide
adrianaslibrary's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt