Here is a quick synopsis, because it informs my opinions of the book, obviously; Hyacinth is the youngest in her family and still not married going into her 4th London season. Mostly because she is smart and loud and opinionated and never lets anyone else win an argument. Gareth is a youngest son whose father hates him, because there's some murkiness about who his real father is. He spends most of his time being a rake, and then his older brother dies and he's going to inherit and his dad hates him more.
It's a perfectly good plot, and a very readable book. I had three problems: 1, that I am unbelievably similar to Hyacinth in some ways, and therefore it was uncomfortable to read about her undoing. 2, that Gareth is so determined to get Hyacinth to marry him before she finds out about his Dark Past that he sets out to make her have sex with him, so she can't possibly back out. There's a scene with some very mild consent issues, even though later she tells her mother she'd have married him anyway. It made me feel a little icky. 3, I wanted to know MORE about the whole thing. 359 pages about throbbing loins and burning passion are fine, but I wanted to know about the deus ex machina uncle, and Gareth's brother, and their grandmother, and how the rest of the Bridgertons are getting along, and what happened after the wedding. I was not content with just the two weeks where they fell in love and got married.
All that aside, anything I read all in one afternoon is pretty good.
Grade: B
Originally posted 2009
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