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stitchesandstationery 's review for:
Romancing Mister Bridgerton
by Julia Quinn
lighthearted
medium-paced
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
Tl;dr: Pen deserved better, until Colin got his ish together and became a man who deserved her. But Pen also deserved better from life.
We were verging on 3.5 for a while, with Colin being AN ASSHOLE but, and hear me out here, I think that was the point. Penelope (who I admit only became more wonderful throughout the book) had kept this man, as she even pointed out, on a pedestal for over a decade. She has loved the perfect, "charming" side of him he had always presented, to her and to everyone else. For me, at least, this showed more depth to him and also proved his comfort around her. He's exerting all this energy in public and around his family to seem like everything is fine, to be this charming, wonderful man, but that's exhausting. He's comfortable enough around Penelope to finally drop the mask. I'm not saying that what's under the mask is great, or that I even liked it, but it added some depth to their relationship (though I'm hoping the next books in the series do not involve the male protagonist being yet another asshole like all 3 Bridgerton men have ended up being so far).
What saved Colin for me was his growth at the end of the novel.Him finally coming to terms with Penelope as Lady Whistledown, and him professing his pride and love for her in front of everyone in the ton was, honestly, long overdue, and his finally pulled his head out of his ass and did the right thing.
Was this a bit painful to me as the girl who was never anyone's first pick? Yes. I felt for Pen every time someone didn't notice she was there, every time Colin's POV mentioned how much he hadn't noticed before, like not even figuring out what color her eyes were at some point in the last twelve years. So while I almost wish Pen had gotten a romance involving sparks flying the moment a sweet, rich man saw her from across the room at the ball, I think her heart had been closed to everyone but Colin since the day he fell from his horse, and I don't think that would have been realistic. Much like Benedict being unable to let himself fall for someone other than his silver woman, Pen couldn't let herself fall for someone other than her Prince Charming.
Also LADY DANBURY IS A GEM.
We were verging on 3.5 for a while, with Colin being AN ASSHOLE but, and hear me out here, I think that was the point. Penelope (who I admit only became more wonderful throughout the book) had kept this man, as she even pointed out, on a pedestal for over a decade. She has loved the perfect, "charming" side of him he had always presented, to her and to everyone else. For me, at least, this showed more depth to him and also proved his comfort around her. He's exerting all this energy in public and around his family to seem like everything is fine, to be this charming, wonderful man, but that's exhausting. He's comfortable enough around Penelope to finally drop the mask. I'm not saying that what's under the mask is great, or that I even liked it, but it added some depth to their relationship (though I'm hoping the next books in the series do not involve the male protagonist being yet another asshole like all 3 Bridgerton men have ended up being so far).
What saved Colin for me was his growth at the end of the novel.
Was this a bit painful to me as the girl who was never anyone's first pick? Yes. I felt for Pen every time someone didn't notice she was there, every time Colin's POV mentioned how much he hadn't noticed before, like not even figuring out what color her eyes were at some point in the last twelve years. So while I almost wish Pen had gotten a romance involving sparks flying the moment a sweet, rich man saw her from across the room at the ball, I think her heart had been closed to everyone but Colin since the day he fell from his horse, and I don't think that would have been realistic. Much like Benedict being unable to let himself fall for someone other than his silver woman, Pen couldn't let herself fall for someone other than her Prince Charming.
Also LADY DANBURY IS A GEM.