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cinderrunner's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-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
3.5
This is, so far, my least favorite Bridgerton book out of the series and it is largely Phillip Crane's fault. This book does have great moments with the cast of characters we've grown to love, its got a lot of heart, good humor, and a surprising amount of intensity. But I found Phillip insufferable. He is rather misogynistic but it is slightly disgused under his trauma. Trauma, however, is not an excuse to be hurtful and dismissive toward your wife and children. He comes across as a total jack ass at several moments. The cliche excuse of "oh men and women come from two different worlds so i cant be expected to understand my wife and her womanly feelings" is used far too much with his character. We dont get nearly enought time with him toward the end for proper character development to outweigh the BS he does for most of the novel. Hes also lowkey emotionally abusive and has borderline consent issues. To give the book some props, it has one of the most complex and emotionally gripping plots out of the first 5 books in the series. Its dealing with death, generational trauma, and depression is actually rather intense for this type of book/this series. It makes the book feel much more developed and fleshed out. I likely would have gone with a full 4-4.5 stars if Phillip wasnt such a jerk.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
cherryhayburn's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
summerslittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing
onegirlandtheworld's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
This one felt like a nice change from the pattern the previous books seemed to be falling into. I like Eloise and it was nice to have her story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse and Physical abuse
embla_v's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
4.0
Ännu en fantastisk Brigerton bok av Julia Quinn. Jag älskar Brigerton böckerna och rekommenderar dem starkt.
Denna handlar om Eloise, det femte syskonet, och Philip som förlorat sin hustru och behöver en förändring i sitt liv. Eloise och Philip har skickat brev till varandra under en tid när Philip ger Eloise ett förslag. När andra event påverkar Eloise liv, så tar hon ett oväntat beslut som varken Philip eller hennes familj vet om.
En historisk romans att älska även om den på vissa ställen varit sorglig. Rekommenderar verkligen att läsa denna bok men läs Brigerton böckerna i ordning.
Denna handlar om Eloise, det femte syskonet, och Philip som förlorat sin hustru och behöver en förändring i sitt liv. Eloise och Philip har skickat brev till varandra under en tid när Philip ger Eloise ett förslag. När andra event påverkar Eloise liv, så tar hon ett oväntat beslut som varken Philip eller hennes familj vet om.
En historisk romans att älska även om den på vissa ställen varit sorglig. Rekommenderar verkligen att läsa denna bok men läs Brigerton böckerna i ordning.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
ariannam's review against another edition
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Are you effing kidding me? This was so bad. Zero stars. What the f*ck.
First of all, the way Phillip dismisses his first wife's depression and always treats her like a burden for being depressed… I understand that it's not easy to deal with somebody who's dealing with depression, but IMAGINE ACTUALLY DEALING WITH DEPRESSION? There are no words to express how bad this is. Just. Icing on the cake is that heforces himself on her after the birth of their twins, and he is explicitly rough, because he wanted to "rouse her" and she lay still under him. I don't have to say it, but you know what this is, right? It doesn't matter that he flees and feels disgusted by himself afterwards. I don't give a fuck about your self-loathing.
His whole goal since the beginning is finding himself a wife to bring laughter to his home and in his life, and to be a good mother to his children. This is because, although the children beg him to spend time together, he wants to shut himself in his greenhouse all day, every day, and not care for them. This is because, in his view, he's a bad parent, so there's no use trying. GUESS WHAT, PHILLIP. GUESS WHY YOU'RE A BAD FATHER. So what you're thinking is, well, that's just the starting point. He'll grow and change his ways and attitude towards his life and children. Well, I thought so too. And guess what:After they're married, pretty far into the book, he… leaves Eloise alone all day at home to be at his job and never care for her, or his children. HIS children!!!!! He just shows up after dinner in their bedroom to fuck her. God, I wish I were kidding. AND HE THINKS THIS IS THE PERFECT MARRIAGE. Yeah, perfect for whom? Icing on the cake here? He proposed marriage to Eloise by letter and never once, in ONE YEAR OF CORRESPONDENCE, mentioned he has two eight-year-old children. NOT ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Which brings us to the worst thing about him—yeah, it wasn't any of the horrible things listed above, if you can believe it.She complains about these problems in their marriage (no communication, he isn't present, he leaves childcare in the nurse's hands and to her without a second thought, he is never willing to deal with things and when she brings up problems, he dismisses her as talking too much and being insane and a typical crazy woman) and what does he do? He RAGES at her that since their marriage doesn't have the problems of his first (his wife was depressed and suicidal), she has no right to complain, because this is heaven. Are… you… kidding… me? And the worst thing is, he succeeds in his emotional manipulation, because she cries and they make love and whatnot. This isn't healthy.
Eloise flattens herself at every turn to accomodate him, and I HATE IT. I HATE IT.
So, to sum up, VERY unbalanced and unhealthy relationship, bad man, the only thing that works in their relationship is sex. And even there, I have some thoughts™, but this is too long already.
First of all, the way Phillip dismisses his first wife's depression and always treats her like a burden for being depressed… I understand that it's not easy to deal with somebody who's dealing with depression, but IMAGINE ACTUALLY DEALING WITH DEPRESSION? There are no words to express how bad this is. Just. Icing on the cake is that he
His whole goal since the beginning is finding himself a wife to bring laughter to his home and in his life, and to be a good mother to his children. This is because, although the children beg him to spend time together, he wants to shut himself in his greenhouse all day, every day, and not care for them. This is because, in his view, he's a bad parent, so there's no use trying. GUESS WHAT, PHILLIP. GUESS WHY YOU'RE A BAD FATHER. So what you're thinking is, well, that's just the starting point. He'll grow and change his ways and attitude towards his life and children. Well, I thought so too. And guess what:
Which brings us to the worst thing about him—yeah, it wasn't any of the horrible things listed above, if you can believe it.
Eloise flattens herself at every turn to accomodate him, and I HATE IT. I HATE IT.
So, to sum up, VERY unbalanced and unhealthy relationship, bad man, the only thing that works in their relationship is sex. And even there, I have some thoughts™, but this is too long already.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Supposed "hero" is very dismissive of his first wife's mental illness and treats her as a burden. I would imagine those going through similar problems would feel very badly, reading how he thinks of her.urreadtome's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide