Reviews

Of all the Bridgerton’s thus far… it was my least favorite. The story felt rushed and I didn’t love that aspect. Although Quinn wraps it up with a nice little bow at the end, as per usual, I think I’m tiring of the formula she’s stuck with for the first 5 books in this series.

Very unique compared to the rest. I liked fmc's narrative more than mmc's. Favorite part was the little family reunion towards the end.

Ame mucho a Eloise pero es que sir Phillip me pareció tan insoportable que simplemente sus escenas me impidieron ponerle 4 o 5 estrellas al libro

to be honest i was watching videos of claudia jessie and i was very endeared so naturally i fell back into bridgerton content and i wanted to reread this book bc i like eloise a lot

I think that what Julia Quinn lacked in the the other books, in terms of writing about THE family Bridgerton, their bond, their way of acting towards one another, she made up in this one book.
Not only the family Bridgeton, but Phillip's father as an abusive figure, and how it transformed him in his adult life, then his own family dynamic (Marina and the twins) and then, finaly, how he was changed again – and Eloise as well – by his new relationship.
It was so beautiful and fulfilling, even when their relationship started to take on a path I didn't think was the healthiest, I think in this book the conflicts were the better solved and written about. It's definitely one of my favorites until now, along with Anthony's.

These books are just so silly
I don't know if I will continue with it past the next book (Francesca's story), but the books admittedly make me laugh out loud with the absurdity quite a lot.

Second favorite so far, Eloise is RELATABLE.

I struggled to finish this because both Phillip and Eloise were insufferable. I couldn’t care less about Phillip’s life and trauma and Eloise felt like I was reading a book about a dumb teenager. It’s the only book in the series I haven’t really liked so far. Phillip is a disgusting piece of shit with no character development and Eloise is just jealous because Penelope, her “ugly” friend, got married before she did. Not to mention the way they treat mental illness in the book. So gross.

dnf @ 53% yeah fuck u sir phillip

This one was hard for me to read. The storyline was one I didn’t expect for Eloise. Her and Phillip just didn’t make sense for me. And had I not of watched the show I would not have any clue who Phillip even was. But the whole wanting to replace my children’s mother storyline was one I just didn’t really enjoy because Eloise is just so much more. The end was better than the start of the book and honestly the real highlight of the book was the Bridgerton brothers and that certain scene that I wouldn’t mind seeing😂

Después de leerlo le puse 4 Estrellas pero realmente,,,, yo diría que es un 2,5


this was good and i'm mad what do you mean i'm not a theo/eloise endgame truther anymore

I love Eloise since the first book. You go girl highly recommended from me. Completed this book just for Eloise🫶🥰❤️🔥❤️

what the fuck was that

I had very high hopes for this book. I love bridgerton and I love Eloise. But, I don’t like how this book talks about mental health and I didn’t like Phillip.

Eloise Bridgerton deserved better.

I thought this one would not be my cup of tea completely and I was slightly wrong. I liked it more than I expected to, but still was very... meh. I am sad Eloise got such an awful pairing, Phillip is a fuckboy.

so all of her personality just DISAPPEARED???? suddenly she needs to marry, be the nice little perfect wife and mother for a dude who's an alcoholic, completely detached from reality, and embodies the ultra patriarchal ideal of masculinity. He lures her to his house just so that he doesn't have to form a bond with his children or care for anything other than plants??? oh but he's delighted because HIS BED IS WARM?? and then he's mad at her for saying that she's not perfectly happy just being fucked and caring for HIS children?? the character development is SHIT, he doesn't change and she has no personality. the romance plot is SOO basic and the change from LUST to I LOVE YOU just not believable cuz so sudden.

Not as intriguing of a story.

Are you effing kidding me? This was so bad. Zero stars. What the f*ck. First of all, the way Phillip dismisses his first wife's depression and always treats her like a burden for being depressed… I understand that it's not easy to deal with somebody who's dealing with depression, but IMAGINE ACTUALLY DEALING WITH DEPRESSION? There are no words to express how bad this is. Just. Icing on the cake is that he (view spoiler)[forces himself on her after the birth of their twins, and he is explicitly rough, because he wanted to "rouse her" and she lay still under him. I don't have to say it, but you know what this is, right? It doesn't matter that he flees and feels disgusted by himself afterwards. I don't give a fuck about your self-loathing. (hide spoiler)] His whole goal since the beginning is finding himself a wife to bring laughter to his home and in his life, and to be a good mother to his children. This is because, although the children beg him to spend time together, he wants to shut himself in his greenhouse all day, every day, and not care for them. This is because, in his view, he's a bad parent, so there's no use trying. GUESS WHAT, PHILLIP. GUESS WHY YOU'RE A BAD FATHER. So what you're thinking is, well, that's just the starting point. He'll grow and change his ways and attitude towards his life and children. Well, I thought so too. And guess what: (view spoiler)[After they're married, pretty far into the book, he… leaves Eloise alone all day at home to be at his job and never care for her, or his children. HIS children!!!!! He just shows up after dinner in their bedroom to fuck her. God, I wish I were kidding. AND HE THINKS THIS IS THE PERFECT MARRIAGE. Yeah, perfect for whom? (hide spoiler)] Icing on the cake here? (view spoiler)[He proposed marriage to Eloise by letter and never once, in ONE YEAR OF CORRESPONDENCE, mentioned he has two eight-year-old children. NOT ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!! (hide spoiler)] Which brings us to the worst thing about him—yeah, it wasn't any of the horrible things listed above, if you can believe it. (view spoiler)[She complains about these problems in their marriage (no communication, he isn't present, he leaves childcare in the nurse's hands and to her without a second thought, he is never willing to deal with things and when she brings up problems, he dismisses her as talking too much and being insane and a typical crazy woman) and what does he do? He RAGES at her that since their marriage doesn't have the problems of his first (his wife was depressed and suicidal), she has no right to complain, because this is heaven. Are… you… kidding… me? And the worst thing is, he succeeds in his emotional manipulation, because she cries and they make love and whatnot. This isn't healthy. (hide spoiler)] Eloise flattens herself at every turn to accomodate him, and I HATE IT. I HATE IT. So, to sum up, VERY unbalanced and unhealthy relationship, bad man, the only thing that works in their relationship is sex. And even there, I have some thoughts™, but this is too long already.

Eloise, who is my favorite Bridgerton both in the show and in the books, is a remarkable character. I love reading about her and truly, I somewhat feel a connection with her sprited mind. It is for that reason that this book was a bit of a let down. Yes, there is a happy ending and yes I loved seeing Eloise finding the love she truly wanted. But to me, sir Phillip is quite a bore and truly I did not start to like him until the last 100 pages. Like is still a big word in all matters, but it is what counts for something. The only reason this book has three stars rather than two, has got to do with the finest entrance in all of the Bridgerton books; the four brothers arriving to beat the living hell out of Phillip. I love the Bridgerton brothers, I loved their books, so to see them all unite to defend Eloise's honor... It was truly the best of all. I could not, for the life of me, choose a favorite brother, even if Benedict his book was my favorite.

3.5. This was more charming than I had expected? Like, Sound of Music mashed with the Bridgertons. Naturally, I adored it.

En verdad sí me gustó y lo disfruté mucho. Hubo partes en que sí deseaba enterrarle un puño a Phillip en la cara por los comentarios y pensamientos que tenía, pero si se los dejé pasar a Colin (qué fueron miles más y con acciones), se los dejó pasar a Phillip. Pero dejando claro que a pesar de entender que es una novela de época en donde obviamente hay comentarios nefastos, no quita el hecho que ODIE leerlos. Me gustaron los hijos de Phillip; Amanda y Oliver. Me parecieron súper tierno y en serio quería abrazarlos todo el tiempo. Le agregaron mucho humor al libro y sentimiento. Phillip, en serio pobre hombre, pasó de una desgracia a otra, y aunque eso no justifica sus errores, si me hace entenderlo. Eloise, me encantó que nunca perdió su encanto y forma de ser, siempre fuerte y haciendo respetar sus opinión. Juntos son una pareja que me fascina, en verdad, lo grumpy y sunshine de este libro me encantó. El crecimiento sobre todo de Phillip a lo largo de las páginas es increíble de ver. Otra cosa que amé fue la interrupción de todos los hermanos Bridgerton, y al fin AL FIN tuvimos a Gregory hablando. Una joyita de escena en donde están todos tratando de amenazar a Phillip y cuando están jugando con las armas. Los últimos dos capítulos fueron los que más disfruté, sobre todo el último, PORQUE TENEMOS ESA HERMOSA ESCENA DOMÉSTICA. En donde Phillip, Eloise, Amanda y Oliver van a comprar ropa, y al final del día los niños confiesan que ha sido el mejor día de su vida y posteriormente Phillip dice que de él también. En conclusión, amo a esta pareja.
Highlights

Era affamato, bramoso e la baciava come se rischiasse di morire senza di lei, come se fosse il suo cibo, la sua aria, la sua stessa anima. Era il genere di bacio che una donna non poteva dimenticare, quel tipo di bacio che Eloise non credeva nemmeno esistesse.

Lentamente, la mano di lui coprì la sua. Aveva la pelle tiepida e ruvida. Quindi se la premette contro la guancia, quasi stesse cercando di imprimersi quel tocco nella memoria. Infine le baciò il palmo intensamente, quasi con riverenza, prima di farselo scivolare sul petto. Sul cuore palpitante.

"[...]I’ve watched you grow up, had to be your father at times when I wanted only to be your brother." ~ Anthony Bridgerton to Eloise
Anthony, my love... I can't say much

He had been a father to her. It was a role neither of them had wanted for him, but he had done it for years, without complaint. And this time she squeezed his hand, not because she loved him, but because it was only now that she realized how very much she did. ~ Eloise in relation to Anthony
The warmth this filled me with; the hurt I felt for Anthony: Words cannot dignify the effects these paragraphs had on me.