Great entertainment
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If you want strict historical accuracy, Julia Quinn isn't for you - not least because, to British ears at least, her whole tone sounds American. However, if you want an entertaining light read, the Bridgerton series is a good place to start and this lives up to expectations created by its predecessors.
Loosely based on the Cinderella story, there is plenty of pantomime action handled with Quinn's deft and witty touch, which at times bring the fairy story down to earth with a bump. Would it have been possible for a member of the ton to openly marry a lady's maid ? Of course not, so this little issue needs to be dealt with, giving us the opportunity to see the steel in Violet's velvet glove.
As always, some of the sideshows are very amusing. I loved the "maid wars", and it was great to see Lady Whistledown at the top of her form.
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The most enjoyable of the series!
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Having just spent half the night reading this book, I felt I absolutely had to leave a review. I've nejoyed all the books in the Bridgerton series but this is the one that really spoke to me.
Though the story is insipred by a cinderella theme, there is much more to it than that. Sophie is a tough cookie who's really had a rough life (a refreshing change for this genre). Though she behaves like a lady, she is not part of high society and has to work as a servant. She does not feel inferior, like one would expect for a cinderella story line, instead she fights her way through everything and never looses her spirit. And though we all know this story, there are still unexpected twists and I love the way Sophie's story is so relatable, and yet we are taken through a labyrinth of the time's taboos and her own demons (which for once are utterly founded in reality, not just a phobia).
Benedict has got to be my favourite Bridgerton simply because he has a very sensitive caring nature and he is not opposed to marriage. The way the author describes his thoughts and the way both he and Sophie are soul mates(though this is never said quite so plainly) makes it seem so real and not ridiculous at all. I really did enjoy seeing Benedict in love with Sophie from the very beginning, and there are a lot of steamy scenes in which he tries to seduce her.
Though it is somewhat different from standard regency romance it is done so well, that you will not be disapointed, simply pleasantly surprised by this beautiful romantic novel full of ups and downs.
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A time so very different
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I have now read one to four of the Bridgerton series books, This one, book three I found the most centred around the trials of life with a strong undercurrent of love. Its romantic and love conquers all as ever, but book three goes deeper than I think the others I've read have (1, 2 and 4). Sophie, is believable in every sense, you want to fight for her and are rooting for her to find her inner strength, you are yearning for justice to prevail over the many wrongs truly played out by other characters. I appauld the depth infusing the romance, well done...on to book 5!
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Julia Quinn does Cinderella - Bridgerton Style!
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Even though the third Bridgerton novel includes more of the siblings than previous novels (only Anthony and Gregory are absent) this tale is essentially about Sophie. Even Benedict is sidelined by the strength of her character, her struggles, her loneliness and her refusal to ever subject a child of hers to the hopeless future she predicts for herself.
She knows no gentleman would ever marry a servant, and she never expects him to. Sophie is one to reject Benedict because she's holding out for more. By the rules of society, she knows all she can ever be is his mistress, and while she might consider that for herself, she would never do that to her child. That strength and belief - not to mention her superb stock of one-liners - make this book. And it never hurts to have a gorgeous Bridgerton hanging around either.
Furthermore, for me personally, this is the book where Lady Whistledown comes into her own. In the previous novels her columns have remarked upon the main characters, or made pithy observations about society in general. This time around though, because Sophie and Benedict's relationship never takes place within the realms of the ton, Lady W keeps track of Araminta, Rosamund and Posy, including the maid wars and incidents in Gunthers. These chapter openers are brilliant, and always add that extra sparkle to these books. Not to mention the high amusement factor to be had.
But best of all about this book is the final showdown between Araminta and Lady Bridgerton. Huzzah for Violet! She's a fabulous character, and one of the many delights to be had in this series, so it's wonderful to see her flexing her social muscles to secure the future happiness of one of her children.
This book has a gorgeous feel to it - heart-warming and funny. After all who wouldn't want their shining knight to marry them regardless of what society will say. Sophie will never be accepted fully by the ton, but Benedict doesn't care. JQ doesn't pretend to make their future easy for them, she just makes shallow society inconsequential to their love and happiness. Now that's is a fairytale worth reading.
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The second Bridgerton son gets his woman
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I love the new artwork that Piatkus books have created for Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series books - they look like modern chick-lit at first glance, it's only when looking more closely at them that you realise the clothing is Regency style. It makes a wonderful change from most Regencies which have the most toe-curlingly awful artwork - either a bare-chested beefy man grappling with a partially-unclad woman or terribly loopy writing all over the front cover. So hurrah for Piatkus.
Within the attractive cover of "An Offer From A Gentleman" is a good story but not a great one. It's the third in the Bridgerton series (following "The Duke And I" and "The Viscount Who Loved Me" and the hero of this story is Benedict Bridgerton, the second son. Our heroine is Sophie Beckett, illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood. When the Earl dies his second wife treats Sophie like a slave although has to keep her on in her house because of the terms of her late husband's will. Sophie's life is that of drudgery with no love from her step-family although the servants all care for her. When the Earl's late wife and her two daughters attend the Bridgerton Family Masquerade, the servants arrange for Sophie to go - one night as a lady of the ton. As soon as she arrives she is discovered by Benedict Bridgerton and they spend time together talking and waltzing. She has to rush off in a Cindarella-esque manner but rather than leaving her slipper she leaves a glove. Benedict searches for her but is unable to find her.
Two years later Sophie finds herself rescued from a difficult situation by Benedict - but he doesn't recognise the house maid of a friend of his as the mysterious woman at the masquerade. However he isn't able to just ignore Sophie or treat her like a maid and thus his pursuit of her - to become his mistress - begins. But Sophie is more proud and is adamant that she will not have an illegitimate child. An impasse - one which is impossible to resolve?
Although fairly well written and well paced, this book didn't quite hit all the right notes for me. The required misunderstanding between the two was rather drawn out and at the end Sophie has to try to explain why she didn't tell Benedict she was the woman at the masquerade; did Julia Quinn see that she needed to try and explain away this flaw in the plot? It didn't work for me. Secondly I felt that their behaviour to each other didn't really account for the love that they found - yes there was initial lust between two attractive people but they didn't really seem to genuinely communicate with each other in a way that might have brought true harmony. Perhaps these are over-picky quibbles but this book didn't quite work for me. If you want a really accurate Regency this book isn't for you - Julia Quinn's characters speak with modern American sentence forms in many cases - but it's still a good read and a reasonable addition to the Bridgerton series, but not as good as "The Viscount Who Loved Me".
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