cnannery19's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad 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

3.75


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blewballoon's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

"The stakes have never been lower" is not something I usually have a problem with, because I like it when lower stakes leave room for more focus on the minutiae of the human experience and getting every detail of an emotionally charged interaction between characters. In this case I didn't feel like I really got any of the above. Billie and George never grew on me much. Billie is too much of a blatant "not like other girls" trope. That phrase is used literally in the text to describe her. George is your typical uptight heir who starts to think about his family friend Billie differently without much reason for why. The grounds for them being "enemies" is nonexistent and the animosity poofs away almost immediately. I don't think that was the right starting point for the relationship to grow from, because it didn't add any meaningful conflict or angst. Ultimately nothing really happens, and without an interesting emotional journey the book just kind of plods along slowly until a single mildly spicy scene at the end and a happily ever after.

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readyforit's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted 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

3.5

3.5⭐️0.75🌶️(one descriptive scene)
I gave this book a shot because I had finished the main 8 bridgerton books and this one was included in the last bridgerton vol 3. I’m glad they used Rosalyn Landor as the narrator for the audiobook as well, she is amazing for historical fiction!! Billie is a tomboy who lives at Aubrey hall in the country and grows up very close to her neighbors (the rokesbys). George is older than the rest of his siblings and the bridgerton siblings so he was never as close, but now that they’re adults he finds he and Billie understand each other better than they thought. I like that Billie is an intelligent and capable woman. She helps run the estate since her father is older and her brother Edmund, who will become viscount, is still in school. I will warn you that there’s a fair bit more misogyny in this book, as George is a very possessive man, but that doesn’t necessarily bother me in fiction books, and you expect some misogyny in historical fiction. They only have
one sex scene but it is more graphic than in the bridgerton books I think. But it’s not anything you would be shocked to see in a romance book.
I liked it but I definitely liked most of the bridgerton books better. I might continue with the prequels but I don’t feel like I HAVE to, even though it did end on a cliffhanger. I likely won’t be rereading.

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natfoster's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense 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? It's complicated

4.0


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julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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

3.0

If you manage to read past the first third where nothing much happens except that Billie Bridgerton keeps telling the reader that she's Not Like Other Girls, then it's an okay book. It's a slowburn and I wasn't particularly wowed by the love interest but I did enjoy the gender nonconformity of Billie's and also the fact that other women's characterisation didn't suffer too much from being Other Girls.
Another reviewer said that this book has strong consent so I feel compelled to point out
that the first kiss between the main characters happens after he ignores SEVERAL soft "no"s and kisses her very forcefully. She is not upset about it after that but that's not what I would call strong consent.

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madsmcw_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-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? No

4.5

Because of Miss Bridgerton is the first in Julia Quinn's Rokesbys series. It follows the Bridgertons a generation before the series we all know and love as well as the Rokesby family, neighbors and close friends of the Bridgertons.

This story is centered on Billie Bridgerton and George Rokesbys in a childhood friends/adversaries to lovers story. I absolutely LOVED the banter between the two of them, it was fun and fiery and frequently kept you on your toes. The romance is a slow burn as they begin to realize their love for one another but is SO worth the wait, and there's enough chemistry between them to carry you through the story. I also really enjoyed how Billie didn't care how she didn't fit into the mold of how a lady during the time should act and that she didn't feel shame because of it.

I listened to this on audio and the narrator is fantastic, so if you're going to read in highly suggest going that route!

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