arcticfox613'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
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
maddie_99'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
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Cursing, Sexual content, and Infertility
chaotically_katie'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
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical content, Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Vomit, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Sexism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Excrement, Infertility, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Blood
mhairi_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Spice: 🌶️
Tropes: Fake dating
POV: Third person
Daphne Bridgerton is the oldest daughter of the Bridgerton bunch and all she wants is to find a husband who she can settle down with and have her own children. But it’s not that easy. Everybody in society loves her but in a friendly way with the only gentleman caller being someone she most definitely does not want to enter into marriage with.
Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings and well known rake, has retuned to England. He, unlike Daphne wants nothing to do with English society. Mothers forcing their daughters on him and so on. He has vowed to never marry nor does he want children and nothing is going to change his mind.
Or is it?
Daphne and Simon cross paths and devise a plan that suits them both. If they are seen to be a couple Daphne will become more sought after and receive more gentleman callers and Simon will be seen to be off limits to the ladies and their desperate mothers. It’s a win-win. They agree to show an interest in each other and everything starts to fall into place.
But what happens when the interest is no longer just a ploy?
I genuinely enjoyed this book, however I watched the Netflix series first and adored it so I’m not sure if that has swayed my interest in these characters. I loved the wittiness of Daphne and Simon. The banter between the two of them had me genuinely smiling on numerous occasions.
⚠️ Content Warnings: Miscarriage, stillbirth, abandonment, child neglect, death of parent, death during childbirth, dubious consent, misogyny
Graphic: Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Alcohol
livbugg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Infertility, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Child abuse, Cursing, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Miscarriage
justno's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
And then things started going downhill, and it was extremely hard to get back up. I forgave the book many times acknowledging that many of the things they said and how they acted (Refering to having daughters as a disgrace, the painful conversation between Violet and Daphne before she got married) are just a reflection of the time the book is set in, but some others are even painful to read (or hear, in my case)
I might give the other books a chance, definitely only in audiobook format, the narrator was at leats 50% of the fun I had with the book
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abandonment, Fatphobia, Infertility, and Cursing
Minor: Body shaming
deeofbkb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Miscarriage, Cursing, Death, Rape, Vomit, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol
jpbacik's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Rape and Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Cursing, and Sexism
arys_library's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
I really enjoyed the beginning half of the book but there was a scene that turned me off of the book quite a bit. Not enough to completely stop reading the book, but enough to definitely lower the rating
*spoilers*
.
.
The scene in which I referred to was when daphne impregnated herself by having sex with Simon, while he was drunk, and practically forced him to impregnate her. It was pretty disturbing how after Simon left and came back, he said how he wasn’t even mad at her because of that and it was another reason why he left. It excused her actions, the sexual assault that honestly mighty count as rape.
Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cursing and Emotional abuse
cdoubet'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Ableism, Violence, Sexism, Death of parent, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing