Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Francesca

Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Francesca by Julia Quinn

20 reviews

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-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

2.75

Oh this is probably tied for my least favourite of the series so far. I really liked the first half where Francesca and Michael are trying to grapple with their grief. It felt so raw and emotional, you end up caring a lot for the characters. How they grow, their desires to show up for each other, but how shame, fear and sorrow hold them back. But the last half was a brutal slog. I did not like the latter half of Michael’s characterization, which was brutish, mean and seemed pressuring in a way that made me uncomfortable. And it’s like Francesca lost all personality, other than becoming some sort of “oh my” kind of character. It also felt like it was just rehashing some of the same issues at the beginning of the book without adding anything new to the plot. I ended listening to the last third of the book on 1.8x speed just to get through it.

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shorthannah's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

I really thought I would like Michael more than I did, but he started off okay and just became awful as the book went on.
The "consent" in this book is questionable at times, and in several points would probably considered coercion nowadays and it made me feel so uncomfortable.

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walkingcha0s's review against another edition

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emotional 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

5.0

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naluminum's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Francesca’s and John’s love story was sweet and wholesome and unfortunately cut short when John dies young after only 2 years of marriage. The beauty in this love story is how Francesca and Michael separately process their grief for losing a beloved family member and eventually find each other. Michael is supportive of Francesca’s autonomy as the Countess and he is supportive later on of her struggles with infertility but I did not like his character because of his tendency to be aggressive, how he avoided taking on the responsibility of his new position for 3 years, and how he coerced Francesca into marrying him.

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kiala's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful lighthearted 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

2.75

Miscommunication is annoying. No clear consent. I didn't like Michael's anger and how he forced Franny. There is no commentary on the colonialism or racism in the book, it just supports it.

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gauriraut's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.0

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britwalsh16's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed Francesca’s story. I wish we had gotten more of her & Johns relationship at the beginning. But I do love her & Michael & them being best friends, makes me really happy to read about. I liked watching their internal struggles dealing with their feelings for eachother in the wake of John’s death too, very realistic.

The only part I didn’t really like was the whole "seduction" plot Michael started when he got to Scotland. It seemed so out of character. He spent the first half of the book fighting his feelings for Francesca & how he couldn’t be with her cause it "disrespected" John. I agree with them getting married making sense & him proposing & trying to convince her, but when the convincing became seduction, it just felt wrong, & it just surprised me coming from Michael who deeply respected Francesca, but that didn’t feel like respect at all.

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etianamichele's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-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

5.0

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esv_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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

3.75

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ameydireads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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

3.0

“This thing between them, this bond–it wasn't just passion, and it wasn't wicked. It was love, and it was divine.”

An interesting story and different from the other Bridgerton books. I don’t think I will read this again, mainly because of the red flags. Acknowledging the fact that everyone is flawed coud enhance the reading experience.

The main characters are Francesca Bridgerton and Michael Stirling.
Francesca was married to John, Earl of Kilmartin, and after only two years of marriage she was left a widow. She has always loved John a lot and griefs him deeply. She would not even think of remarrying if she didn’t have an immense desire to have a baby. So marriage is now on the table and she is determined to find someone to marry even if she has to settle for a marriage without love. Because in her opinion, a woman would not simply find love like that twice in a lifetime.
On the other hand we have Michael, John’s cousin. He has loved Francesca since the moment he laid eyes on her. Incidentally, this was just a few days before she got married to John. Michael would never hurt or betray his cousin, so his love for Francesca remained hidden and instead a great friendship flourished between Francesca and Michael.
This story is woven with threads of grief and guilt. They both loved John very much and dealt with his loss in their own ways. For Michael inheriting the earldom and everything that came with it felt like he was taking over John’s life. He could not possibly also have Francesca. Michael put up such a great facade, that Francesca does not believe him to be a suitable husband. Once a rake, always a rake. Little does she know that he puts on this facade to momentarily escape from his feelings for her.

I had trouble understanding Michael’s change of heart. At first he is reluctant to even consider marrying Francesca as it felt like he was dishonouring his cousin. Then he was determined to get her no matter what, almost like he flipped a switch within himself. Too abrupt for my liking. Not to mention his approach… uhmmmm… excuse me!! I don’t want to spoil it but you can find it in the list below.

Now for the red flags:

When Francesca miscarries her baby with John and she tells Michael that the baby was to have been his in a way too. WHAT?! That’s such a weird thing to say. Granted, she does not know about his feelings for her and in the historical context of this book it makes sense since women were mostly dependent on men. But still… It felt very manipulative and off-putting when reading this in modern times.
Michael’s approach to get Francesca to marry him. His intentions and love for Francesca are pure, but despair makes one do stupid things. If he can’t sway her into marriage using logic, then he would do so by using passion. He decides to compromise her and get her pregnant so that she has no other option than to marry him. In the end, the passion that they both share is what unites them and they realise that they’re perfect for each other. The final destination is great, but the journey itself had me rolling my eyes.
Francesca is hurt and feels invisible and neglected when her siblings have gotten married or are getting married without her presence. Michael uses this to convince her to get married immediately.

The mothers in this story on the other hand were green flags! It’s no surprise that Violet is a good mother who gives Francesca great advice and support. But it’s a blessing to have a great mother-in-law! Janet understands Francesca and wishes her the very best.

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