Colin Bridgerton has been wandering the Regency world, so it is not surprising that the matchmaking mamas are interested in him when he returns in Julia Quinn’s novel Romancing Mister Bridgerton. He realises he needs to start looking for a wife, therefore it comes as a huge surprise to him when Penelope, the best friend of his sister, grabs his attention.
Despite having a long-standing crush for Colin, Penelope is a realist. At the age of 28, she is firmly off the market and doomed to watch her lover Colin have children with one of the beautiful young women who have just entered the dating scene. Will Colin’s hidden darkness scare Penelope away once she realises he isn’t the carefree man he appears to be to the world? Romancing Mister Bridgerton is the fourth book in the Bridgerton series.
I’d want to expose my readers to the best novel from one of my favourite Regency romance family series to keep with the romantic theme coming up to Valentine’s Day. Eight children were born to Edmund and Violet Bridgerton, and they are the most pleasant teenagers one could hope to read about.
Even only because of how their strong father was withdrawn from their life, each has complexity and depths of their own creation that make for a rich tapestry and distinctive damage (Edmund passes on prior to the beginning of the series). The Bridgertons are endearing, likeable, and fun-loving people who have a strong sense of family.
Of the group, Colin Bridgerton is by far the most intriguing. Since she matches him with Penelope Featherington, who I believe has the most intriguing backstory of any of the Bridgerton love partners, I assume he must be Quinn’s favourite as well. I’ve read a lot of Quinn’s writing, and it seems like she particularly enjoys creating socially awkward yet sharply educated people. The banter between Colin, who is witty and amusing, and Penelope, who is quiet but intelligent, reads like the best Gilmore Girls episode, which I believe is a description Quinn would definitely enjoy.
Penelope is accustomed to blending with her surroundings. She enjoys going undetected and being overlooked. She appears to be a favourite of the domineering and blunt Lady Danbury, who reminds the reader of the Dowager Countess from Downton Abbey who arrived much later. Since nobody really cares, she can live a secret life with ease. She has a planned, simple existence that, in Penelope’s opinion, is one to which she is best suited.
The gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who is making things difficult for the potential young couple, is a recurring theme throughout the book. The Lady is the one making sure nobody hides in the dark; she is biting but not unkind. Quinn’s crafting of the mystery lady and her writing is nothing short of hilarious fun.
The smart, quick-paced plot of Romancing Mister Bridgerton encompasses every aspect of Regency society. Even if the banter is what gives the novel its actual appeal, Quinn seems to have held back on developing the story’s purpose and tension because she felt it was particularly deserving of these people.
When everything is said and done, Romancing Mister Bridgerton is the tale of two extremely likeable young people overcoming adversity. Do they plan to meet up or not? While you could predict the outcome of most romance books with absolute certainty, this is not the case with Romancing Mister Bridgerton, and that sense of ambiguity is a delightfully enticing attraction.
About The Book
COLIN AND PENELOPE’S STORY
Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend’s brother for . . . well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret . . . and fears she doesn’t know him at all.
Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can’t seem to publish an edition without mentioning him. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad, he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same—especially Penelope Featherington!
The girl who was always simply there is suddenly the girl haunting his dreams. When he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide . . . is she his biggest threat— or his promise of a happy ending?
The Review
Romancing Mister Bridgerton
Exactly two days before her sixteenth birthday, Miss Penelope Featherington fell desperately, irrevocably in love with Colin Bridgerton. The shy, quiet, awkward, and plump Penelope fell and fell hard for the dashing, devil-may-care brother of her best friend Eloise -- a love that was destined to remain unrequited (and undiminished) for the next twelve years. Never considered a social success (the infamous Lady Whistledown once memorably described a younger Penelope as resembling an "overripe citrus fruit"), and now rapidly approaching her twenty-eight birthday, Penelope has resigned herself to being considered firmly "on the shelf." She's embraced her impending, perpetual spinsterhood with a great deal of equanimity -- or so she thinks, until Colin returns from his latest round of travels and the gossip begins to swirl once again around the Bridgerton family's most eligible -- and determined to remain so -- bachelor. When she stumbles upon Colin's dearest secret, she begins to wonder if she's ever really known the man she's loved for nearly half her life -- and if she can trust him with a secret of her own.
PROS
- Sweet Romance.
- Well Pleased.
- Simply Wonderful!
- Enchanting And Amysing.
CONS
- Too Americanised.
- Too Much Introspection.
- Disjointed And Unromantic.
- Abysmally Tedious.