Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Duke and I

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

602 reviews

totalgreyspace's review against another edition

I thought the book would be different, with Netflix taking artistic liberties. But the scene where Daphne makes Simon finish inside her in the Netflix series is so much worse in the book,

Spoiler

where Daphne purposefully undresses Simon in his drunken sleep. This isn’t a romantic, naive action by Daphne, it’s purposeful and direct rape.

. Anyone who romanticizes this and says this is okay is a very disgusting person who should check their opinions. This takes place in chapter 18, for anyone who chooses to read this book but wants to skip that.

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swell_gal's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted tense 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

4.0

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lindtash's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.0

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riverspages's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced

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

2.5

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st4rgirll's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I absolutely loved this book, only thing is that he sa’d her the she r@ped him. I admit i was not pleased with that at all and they hardly mentioned it after.

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drinksomewater's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.5

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arthur_pendrgn's review against another edition

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He was too drunk to consent and even in 2000 we knew that.

Once past the wedding night, Daphne goes off the rails.

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_gabi_starry_paperback_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

This series has been on my radar for quite a while and since the adaptation of these books is coming out on Netflix in December I've decided to try it out.

I really liked this book. The story follows Daphne - the oldest of the Bridgerton daughters whose dream is to get married and start a huge family, and Simon - a duke who's hell bend on never marrying and never having children. The two enter an argument to attract possible suitors for Daphne and repel young ladies from Simon. Obviously, they fall in love, and things get complicated.

I really adored the first 75-80% of the book. The writing is witty and charming. The characters are lovable and possess so much chemistry. I love how much the Bridgerton family was involved in the story. Julia Quinn builds up the characters of the Bridgerton siblings from book one and I love it. It really makes it feel like this is a long saga dedicated to the family.

I also adore Simon, he's funny, eloquent, and overall an amazing guy. He has daddy issues because his father was terrible to him and he has to struggle with the psychological reproduction of growing up with the knowledge that his parent hates him. It provides for an interesting inner conflict for Simon, causes some trouble in his relationship with Daphne, and makes Simon do some not-so-great things. However, Simon is so sweet and has such a big heart. It honestly broke my heart seeing how much he had to suffer as a child and in many ways still is suffering.

Daphne, well, I liked her for the majority of the book. I liked that she knows what she wants and is not afraid to pursue those things. She's headstrong and intelligent. She can also be incredibly funny. BUT, she does mess up big time. This book is infamous for its rape scene. I came into it knowing that it will happen and when it happened it was bad. I wondered whether people made it out to be worse than it actually is but no. It is pretty bad and I'm glad I knew about it beforehand. The book is also not so great about dealing with the aftermath of the event. Daphne isn't really sorry that she went against Simon's wishes and violated him. It's brushed off, and by the end, it is Simon who apologizes for rightfully being upset. I'm not mad that he forgave Daphne but I am mad that she never even apologized.

It is a difficult book to rate because of the last 20%, however, I loved the rest of the book. The ending was satisfying in a way because Simon does overcome his issues, and Daphne seems to realize that she messed up.

Long story short, Simon did not deserve any of it and all of the stars I'm giving this book are for him.

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aelysia_shaw's review against another edition

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1.0

Spoiler - She literally raped him then tries to justify it. I didn’t finish it but ik it’s bad

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madkatrob's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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? Yes

3.0

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