The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn

​​The Bridgerton series follows the 8 Bridgerton siblings as they find love. Each sibling gets their own stand-alone novel as they navigate the world of Regency romance. This series had its ups and downs.

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The Duke & I - ⭐⭐⭐
We start with the 4th Bridgerton, Daphne. She’s been out for a few seasons but can quite seem to be able to find a husband. That is until a family friend, the Duke of Hastings, returns to the ton after traveling abroad. The Duke is the most eligible bachelor of the season, and he couldn’t be more upset about it. In an attempt to throw desire off of his trail and make her seem a little more desirable, the Duke and Daphne strike a deal to pretend to be courting. However, like we’ve seen time and time again, pretending can have dangerous side affects.
The Viscount Who Loved Me - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
We then dive into the 1st Bridgerton’s story, Anthony. Anthony has the weight of the whole family on his shoulder, being the first born, so he hasn’t ever given romance any real consideration. Deciding he must finally settle down and do his duty as heir, he dives into the season with a very methodical list of requirements his future bride must have. Things don’t go according to plan though, and his hear has other thoughts.
An Offer From a Gentleman - ⭐⭐⭐
Then we get to know Benedict, the 2nd born Bridgerton. His story follows a Cinderella event line. He meets a masked woman of his dreams at a party, only for her to sneak away and never been seen again. When Benedict meets a lowly made, a familiar pull on his heart has him considering giving up on his dream woman.
Romancing Mister Bridgerton - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Colin is our 3rd born Bridgerton, and while Benedict’s story is straight out of a fairy tale, Colin’s is a tale as old as time. For years he has grown up next to Penelope, a close family friend. But she isn’t exactly the ideal choice and is in the range of spinsterhood. Colin is the total package though, charming, witty, handsome, and well-traveled… everything Penelope is not. But sometimes, the heart wants what the heart wants.
To Sir Phillip, With Love - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eloise Bridgerton is the 5th child in the family. She always has her face in a book and has kind of written off marriage, resigning herself to spinsterhood. When a cousin passes away though, she finds herself in correspondence with a young widower, who quickly startles her by asking for her hand. Being ever pragmatic, Eloise feels she must first visit the man who thinks so much like her. While she isn’t expecting love, she thinks they might be companionable to each other. Upon her arrival, Eloise discovers that this widower, and his two children, need more than a wife and mother, they need someone to bring them back together as a family.
When He Was Wicked - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Francesa is our 6th Bridgerton child and is already happily married when we are introduced to her. However, fate has another thing in mind for her, and her beloved husband dies unexpectedly. Torn in two, Francesca is beside herself and pulls out of society to mourn her loss. When her husband’s best friend, and new heir, tries to help her mend, the two find themselves tiptoeing around a potential romance that feels off-limits.
It's In His Kiss - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hyacinth is the 8th Bridgerton child and potentially the most stubborn, which is saying something. While not near spinsterhood, Hyacinth is in no rush to settle down. She enjoys spending her days with an older family friend but doesn’t expect to be thrown into close proximity to the older friend’s grandson. When the mystery of his parentage is brought into question, Hyacinth swears to help him solve the mystery, no matter how it may look if they are caught.
On the Way to the Wedding - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gregory is the 7th Bridgerton child and the final novel in the primary series. Gregory has watched all of his siblings fall head-over-heels in love and is convinced that when he meets his true love, he’ll know immediately. As chance would have it, he meets a woman who stirs up what he is convinced is love. When the woman makes it known in so many words that she isn’t available, he turns to her best friend for some help. Alas, Gregory’s hard work is for naught, at least for him. While he convinces the woman there are better options for her in the world, she chooses another man. However, Gregory finds that friendship is oftentimes, the best starting point for love.

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I stumbled across this series via Netflix’s adaptation. While I enjoyed most of this series, there were some major pros and some major cons. Here are a few of those pros and cons.
Anthony Bridgerton was a pro for me. He was by far one of my favorite Bridgertons, and definitely my favorite male Bridgerton. I do have to say, I partially blame the Netflix series for this because the actor (Jonathan Bailey) is gorgeous. That aside, I enjoyed his story a lot. I think my favorite element of his story was his struggle with his mortality. While I love a strong male lead in my entertainment, I felt like the author made him a well-balanced mix of strong and vulnerable. While it took me a little bit to understand WHY he felt he was going to die early because his father and other male relations had, upon further reading (prompted by the author) I was made aware of the fact that that is actually a common stigma for men. Which made me want to wrap him in a hug all the more. I also appreciated that while he was struggling with his own mortality, he was also trying to run his household and estates as well as marry off his siblings. He’s just my favorite.
Another pro, may not be a pro to many besides myself, but these books were very simple reads. I generally read a chapter or two before bed or on my lunch break. I didn’t have to psychoanalyze any of the characters, moments, or events in the books. While that doesn’t seem like a wonderful thing to some of you, my work and homework load has been excessive, so the lack of cognitive detectivery was refreshing! None of these books were super complex or unpredictable, which made them good single-time reads. Will I ever read them again… who knows? There are a couple I wouldn’t mind reviewing in a few years, but I probably won’t reread them all in one go again.
Now on to the cons… the big one is honestly a huge elephant in the room. THE SEX!! HOLY COW!! While it was significantly less than the show (THANK THE LORD) it was A LOT!! Not necessarily a lot in the way of it happened a ton in the book. A lot as in… DETAILED!! I’m okay with “behind closed doors” scenes when it comes to romance. I did a lot of jump reading during those scenes because as my family knows… I AM INCAPABLE OF NOT SHOWING MY DISCOMFORT!! With that con out of the way though, my ABSOLUTELY LEAST FAVORITE sex scene was in Daphne’s. SPOILERS When Daphne discovers why Simon doesn’t want children, she essentially rapes him. I use that term very lightly, but she definitely takes advantage of him and his… drive. It is made all the worse when they never REALLY resolve that issue… they just move on from it.
While I really enjoyed the audiobook narrator, yes I did listen a great deal to these audiobooks, I couldn’t in mixed company. I was petrified that one of those spicy scenes was going to pop up, so I simply missed a lot of utilizable “reading” time because I was afraid my company would hear something that would traumatize them.
I will pick on my least favorite Bridgerton really quickly because I was aghast at how many women loved this character on Goodreads. That Bridgerton would be Benedict. While I really wanted to enjoy his book because who doesn’t love a good Cinderella retelling, I couldn’t. While he was in love with “the woman” (aka Sophie) when she was a noblewoman, the second he gets feelings for her as a maid, he is more than willing to be with her… AS HIS MISTRESS!!! Even though his mom at the beginning of the bloody book tells him that he may choose whomever he loves, he is embarrassed by Sophie, the maid. Women on Goodreads are like “Awe Benedict is the best! He loves her even though she’s ‘just a maid’.” Um… did we read the same book?!? He can’t bring himself to say he loves her, but that he wants her and he’ll provide for her as his mistress. He’ll still have a wife of “proper” birth and he’ll have children, but he’ll take care of Sophie and make her comfortable. HOW CHARITABLE SIR!!! Sorry, maybe my standards are too high… but I don’t find that offer enticing or romantic in the least. Rant over.
Sex aside… like WAY aside. I enjoyed these books. They were simple, quick reads that were very diverting from my mundane life. I’d recommend them if you don’t mind some spice… if you do mind spice… maybe forego them.