A review by aoifemaybe
To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
I love Eloise and her relationships with her family, the kids, and Philip. The snippets of the Bridgerton Clan are amazing, particularly 4 protective idiots on a rescue mission. Very different from her Netflix persona but I think the characterisation works with the rest of the books.
The worst part about this book is how they discuss Marina’s mental illness. I know it’s set in 1820, but it was written recently and referring to her as a burden and generally showing a lack of empathy for her experience is appalling.
Philip was generally quite good for a man in this universe. He hated his anger and when it was pointed out to him, was able to acknowledge that the people in his life deserved more. I wish him dealing with his anger and parenting struggles was elaborated on, him being ‘fixed’ happened very suddenly. Using Marina’s depression as a reason that Eloise should “never” complain or be anything but happy was disgusting. The way he thought about sex (and historical lack there of) made me wish he’d just had an affair, honestly it’d be more tolerable. Also some weird possessive (having your hair loose would make me fight any man who saw you??) stuff going on, that I’m trying to ignore so that I can support this couple.
The worst part about this book is how they discuss Marina’s mental illness. I know it’s set in 1820, but it was written recently and referring to her as a burden and generally showing a lack of empathy for her experience is appalling.
Philip was generally quite good for a man in this universe. He hated his anger and when it was pointed out to him, was able to acknowledge that the people in his life deserved more. I wish him dealing with his anger and parenting struggles was elaborated on, him being ‘fixed’ happened very suddenly. Using Marina’s depression as a reason that Eloise should “never” complain or be anything but happy was disgusting. The way he thought about sex (and historical lack there of) made me wish he’d just had an affair, honestly it’d be more tolerable. Also some weird possessive (having your hair loose would make me fight any man who saw you??) stuff going on, that I’m trying to ignore so that I can support this couple.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Suicide