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brittbee07's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
There is a lot to unpack on this one. I love Eloise. I love how she is part of everyone's story but also apart from everyone's story. Because of this, I was excited to read her story. And most of it was interesting and didn't make me cringe. But there was about 15 pages that should have been rewritten because it made me hate Philip and no amount of "I love yous" would change the damage he did.
Eloise is a strong and independent woman which I love. And, even though Philip does so much to extinguish her fire, he never does. I am glad she was never bowed to him. Even when she went to Benedict and Sophie's she left for her own sake, to help herself. That being said, she was not a great mother to start - fighting fire with fire is rarely if ever the answer. Revenge is a dish that escalates and is a terrible strategy for childcare.
I loved that Sophie was featured in this story. She was a treat in her own book and continues to be one now. She is sane in the midst of insanity and doesn't brook the bull. She's also a nice counterpoint to Eloise's brassiness.
The relationships felt more real in this story. Philip's rationalizing his treatment of his children because he knows it's wrong, Eloise being taken aback that the person wasn't the imagination, the slow build of their love for each other. Even the ways the Bridgerton brothers interacted with Philip felt more real.
I think I have written this in my reviews before, but Julia Quinn is not a great "spice" writer. She has one style for writing the "spicy" moments of her books and she always has to do something to make it weird. "He slid her finger into his mouth and suckled." Or, from this one, "What did one say to a man after he'd had his tongue in one's ear? Never mind that it had been a very nice tongue, indeed." "She screamed." No adjectives, no prepositional phrases, no figurative language. Just, "She screamed." in the midst of spice. That isn't spicy. Just odd little details. And then men always pry the woman's mouth apart with a flick of the tongue and a nibble on the corner of her mouth. Um...what?
But then she laid this at the feet of the reader:
What's up with Julia Quinn and emotional manipulation - Philip's life has been worse and therefore Eloise isn't allowed to complain? I think not. He literally tells her, "Until you've lived through all that don't you ever complain about what we have. Because to me...to me...This-us-is heaven. And I can't bear to hear you say otherwise." Dumping his unresolved trauma on Eloise is not okay, and she deserves much better. He's the worst of the husbands so far (either married into or not). She can't have feelings or opinions because Marina was not Philip's ideal wife. Ew. This was the same emotional manipulation Penelope laid at Colin's feet. Maybe Penelope and Philip should have ended up together.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death of parent
jograce88's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
kpham16's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Death of parent
boozyfruitcake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
sarahchampion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
tab55's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
maddygrace195's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Infidelity, and Rape
proficientzucchini's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Suicide
annelihghh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
gubler2003's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail