Getting into Penelope's story, I have to admit that I might display some bias as she is one of my favourite characters of the serious (Hyacinth being all the way up there as well) But overall I rather enjoyed the third oldest Bridgerton sibling's story.
Bridgerton: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (by Julia Quinn)
Published in 2002
Let's start with my reading records before getting into the book:
I started the book on the 25th June 2022 and finished it on the 29th June 2022.
Out of those 5 days I had 5 active reading days.
My edition had 370 pages
23 Chapters + Prologue & Epilogue
(I am mentioning the epilogue because Julia Quinn also published another book, Bridgerton: Happily Ever After where all of the epilogues and second epilogues of all 8 siblings are included)
I liked the book. Gave it a score of 3.5/5 *
Tags:
Romance; Historical; 17th Century; Drama; Fiction; Spicy Scenes; Friends to Lovers
Trigger warnings:
Blackmail; Bullying; Body shaming; Abuse: Emotional & Physical
Straight away, the power imbalance Colin holds over Penelope really bothers me as he refuses to recognise that he is in the wrong. This is reminiscent of Benedict's book, but at least he made an effort to realise that what he is/ was doing was wrong. Simply put, Colin's behaviour throughout most of the novel was infuriating, and him being the only one to recognise Penelope's worth is quite upsetting because she deserves the world.
Majority of the novel was pretty alright, the constant repletion in the first half of the novel did dampen the overall experience however. It did redeem itself in its last chapter though. Hot damn I SAVOURED that chapter as it was the most satisfying passage I have yet encountered in the Bridgerton-verse. Plus I have to give Julia Quinn props for bursting Penelope's bubble of the perfect prince charming right after a literal Cinderella retelling. Expectations do not equal reality. The irony.
Side note: if you are not reading the Bridgerton: Happily Ever After (the 2nd epilogues) after the 1st epilogues that is understandable due to potential spoilers such to end couples but I definitely recommend reading the 2nd epilogue to Romancing Mr. Bridgerton before getting into To Sir Phillip with Love as it directly relates to the next book (Eloise's story).
To finish off this review, I must quote Quinn from this very novel: "Did it matter what a man wrote if no one ever read it? Did words have meaning if they were never heard?" p.306
In fact, words do matter regardless of if they are heard by others or just intended for one self. But by allowing one's writing to open to the eyes of others, one can no longer hide the vulnerability that lays beyond the surface. Sometimes it is worth to dare and see if your wings take flight.
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