author2223's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Police brutality and Infidelity
angelfireeast24's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
wilybooklover's review against another edition
1.0
Annabelle was not insufferable like the duke was, but everything we are told about her is contradicted in how she acts. We're constantly told how much smarter she is than everyone else, but she repeatedly acts like an idiot, makes stupid decisions, and gets herself into situations where she needs to be rescued by someone else. We're never actually shown her being intelligent beyond a few witty remarks. We're just supposed to believe it because she reads books and goes to Oxford. We're told that she can manipulate men for her own ends but this goes out of the window by chapter two. She tells us that she has learnt from her past mistakes of falling for a man but then immediately loses her head and falls under the lustful spell of virtually the first man she meets. Her views and morals are inconsistent and seem to be dictated purely by whatever the plot needs her to be.
And it’s not that I think that all romance novels should be explicitly feminist or even feminist at all, but given the marketing (and claims from both the publisher and author) I was expecting that this particular one would be — the title on Amazon even lists it as ‘Bringing Down the Duke: swoony, feminist and romantic.’ ...WHERE?! The heroine doesn’t even seem to care overmuch for women's suffrage — she is actually horrified when the duke makes a speech in their favour at the end because she's more concerned for his reputation than the cause — and only seems to be in it for her scholarship and her friends, so why is the feminist (a word that is used in the book but was not actually coined until around 15 years later) angle a selling point for the book? The political activism seems to have just been used merely as a plot device to keep delivering the heroine back into the arms of the duke — which is fine in a romance, just don't sell it to me as a feminist book featuring the plight of suffragists. It all felt very lacklustre and surface-level. Another reviewer has mentioned the racial implications in better detail, but I do also think it's weird that the single Jewish character (Disraeli) is derided as 'an upstart' and 'weaselling his way in' while the duke is described using the pseudoscientific/scientific racism term 'Nordic' and glorified for said 'Nordic' looks. I'm not even going to get into how the cartoon cover suggests a lighthearted, fluffy read and this is anything but because that is a whole other rant.
Graphic: Sexual content, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying
Minor: Antisemitism, Infidelity, War, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Death of parent
allisonmspiers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Graphic: Police brutality, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Addiction, and Bullying
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Medical content
cait's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Minor: Gaslighting, Police brutality, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Violence
bayleereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Sexism, Police brutality, and Misogyny
pattyblom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
Enemies to lovers which causes some cringy moments, because he tries to keep it in his pants and be respectable. There is some spice with consent later though.Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Rape
bookaholic_in_wonderland's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, and Police brutality
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The main characters and their love story were very compelling, to the point that I could actually see this occurring in the past. They’re a bit star-crossed, and that’s what made things so emotional: in real history, their socio-economic circumstances would have precluded their love from blossoming, much less their initial meeting. Thankfully, this is fiction so we’re allowed to dream :)
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Colonisation, Alcohol, Abandonment, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Infidelity
A note about what the “sexual assault” tag, with minor spoilers (that are not major plot spoilers).Spoiler
The assault referenced is brief, and is groping by an authority figure. I tagged it as “assault” because it goes beyond verbal harassment. Although it is brief, it is described as it happens (rather than an event in the past that is mentioned in passing), so I listed it under “moderate”.caitlincrtr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Classism and Misogyny
Moderate: Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Car accident, Miscarriage, and Injury/Injury detail