Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Bridgerton. Eu si ducele

The rape scene was worse than I thought it would be. I've legit seen people defend Daphne in the book making it seem like Simon was the one who initiated the sex, so I thought Simon would be drunk and awake but NO he was asleep with morning wood. It's literally written that she felt a rush of power in the situation, of how happy she was to be in control, and how she felt nothing but pleasure when he tried to get her off of him the moment he realized she was forcing him to cum inside her.

I waited for this book on Libby for a month, probably longer, and told myself to finish the book for that reason but one chapter after the rape scene I realized that finishing the book means I'll have to read Daphne get her happily ever after and that Simon would have to push aside his feelings in order to make HER happy. That is beyond fucked up.

And it wasn't just the rape scene that made me give this book a 1 star.

It's bland and boring. With a fake dating trope, it NEEDS drama. It needs more than just one scene where one becomes jealous at the romantic attention the other is getting, and that scene in Daphne's calling room was not it due to how soon into the fake dating it happened.

Daphne tells Simon that the fake dating wouldn't work on the Mamas as they'll continue pushing their single daughters at him but we don't get a scene like that! Even if it was just Daphne's self consciousness letting her say that, we still don't get to experience Daphne getting jealous of the attention he's getting.

They fall in love too quickly, which goes against the fake dating trope. They're supposed to have that realization that makes them go into denial over their feelings, only to realize that they can't escape how they feel, and then there's supposed to be a moment where they wonder how on earth are they going to turn this from fake dating into real dating, wondering if the other person even feels the same way about them.

The fake dating trope is supposed to come with drama and angst, but everything goes perfectly without any bumps in the road. I wouldn't even call the duel a bump because it was so dumb.

I knew she was going to rape him before I started reading but I liked her siblings and Lady Whistledown from the show a lot, so I read it for them and figured I'll push past this book to get to the other ones. Wasn't worth it, plus I've since learned that her brothers are trash to women.

My curiosity to see how bad the men in these books are makes me want to try reading the other books. I don't see myself finishing them either.

Overall, Daphne is a POS. I hate this book. And to the defenders who say "this is what happened in the 1800s.", this book wasn't written in the 1800s, and y'all aren't reading it in the 1800s. I would not be surprised if fans of these book also love Haunting Adeline. I am legit mad that the book fans talked about this dark romance series as if everything was sweet and wholesome, y'all really have people thinking these books are normal romances.

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pau0704's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-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

4.25

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gwenswoons's review against another edition

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dark slow-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

2.5

I was thoroughly unimpressed by this. I am that person who is actually offended by great books being adapted for screen. This book is not great by any stretch of the imagination, and the TV adaptation is so wildly more layered and nuanced in the storytelling (not to mention…the writing is simply better: less hackneyed, less repetitive, less trite and gender-stereotyped and overall gross).

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emclougher's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.0

Started off strong but got really icky really fast. Not sure Julia Quinn knows what consent is.

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maziemouse's review against another edition

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1.0

baby fever does not mean anything goes…

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mels_reading_rook's review against another edition

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I am flabbergasted.

I was having a wonderful time, enjoying the story and the characters. And then, a little over halfway, it all started to go downhill. Daphne and Simon were caught in a compromising position, and so Simon agreed to a duel to the death with her brother, Anthony. Daphne proceeds to manipulate the situation and guilts Simon into marrying her, where he informs her he can't have children. Yes, his choice of wording was misleading - as it is a won't not can't situation - and when Daphne discovered that discrepency, she had no respect for his boundaries. Yes, she's entitled to be upset by that misdirection, but she should still respect that children was out of the question.

Instead, Daphne does the worst possible thing. She rapes him, and violates all his boundaries.

I am done with this book. I am done with this series.

This review can also be found on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6531894162

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readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

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lunxchloe's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

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

1.75

Mind boggling how this became a TV show because the characters are annoying, the conflicts are avoidable and the writing made me cringe multiple times. I didn't find it entertaining either. The only reason why I'm not rating it 1* is that I love what the TV show made with the source material and I frankly have read novels even worse than this. Maybe it's also just not my genre.

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