Rating:  Summary: Julia Quinn, great again! Review: First off, I have read this whole series and I must say that I absolutely love her!! From the first time we were introduced to Penelope and Colin, I loved them. Colin was my favorite Bridgerton and Penelope was my favorite friend on the "side." So, deep down, I really wanted to see Penelope with a Bridgerton and Colin with a neat person. So, you can imagine how delighted I was to see these two in their own book!! Although, I admit, I was a little disappointed because I thought there should be more substance in this story. I thought Anthony and Daphne's stories were so much more fun. But this one was great, too. I highly recommend anyone to read this series if you love a funny, light hearted fun read!! Julia Quinn is wonderful!! My favorite, actually!! I find myself counting down to the date of her next book release. I just love her.
Rating:  Summary: The best of the Bridgertons...Good work, Julia Quinn Review: I'd waited a long time to read this, and thought it was Quinn's best yet. The sub plot of discovering the identity of Lady Whistledown allow Penelope "The Wallflower" Featherington and Colin "The Charmer" Bridgerton to discover themseves... and each other. Fast paced, witty dialogue had me laughing out loud, and some beautiful moments(especially the ball scene at the end) had me tearing up. This was different and better than some of the other things Quinn has written becuase of the careful, believable and just plain old excellent characterization. This book isn't as "fluffy" (sorry, Mz. Quinn) as some of her other work. I have to admit, though, I was a little sad that Lady Whistledown is no more. But that won't stop me from reading more-I eagerly await Eloise's story. I reccomend checking out the other Bridgerton books, especially "How to Marry a Marquis" and "How to Catch an Heiress".
Rating:  Summary: Romancing Mister Bridgerton Review: I LOVED THE WAY A SHY YUNG GIRL COULD FULL SO MANY PEOPLE FOR SO LONG AN STILL GET THE GUY THAT SHE HAS BEEN IN LOVE WITH FOR YEARS.
Rating:  Summary: Another success for Ms. Quinn Review: If you like the format of Ms. Quinn's other books you will most likely enjoy this one. The characters from past books are present, yet the focus is always on the current characters, Colin and Penelope. The interaction of characters is wonderful and the Bridgerton family is both amusing and complex. Events from the earlier books are revisited so the first time reader will not be lost by the "flashbacks" of the characters. The romance is sweet, a little hurried in my opinion, but the characters have known each for so long that I found it excusable. This is not great literature, nor is it intended to be. It is an enjoyable read that will remain on my bookshelf along with Ms. Quinn's other books.
Rating:  Summary: It gets more and more inane with each sequel Review: I really WANT to like Julia Quinn's work. She is one romance novelist who really makes you feel as if you're in the Regency era. However, lately she's been making it very difficult to like her work. I've read all of the Bridgerton series so far and the only one that has a plot that doesn't get tedious and a conflict that isn't contrived is AN OFFER FROM A GENTLEMAN (Benedict's story). In the remainder of the series, the so-called conflicts are silly. That is never more true than in this novel. The conflict of the novel isn't something that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Besides that, as many others here have mentioned, the romance itself (the raison d'etre for this novel) doesn't cut it. As so many other "gentle readers" have asked, why does Colin suddenly fall in love with Penelope after knowing her for 12 years and never noticing her? Quinn makes a cursory attempt to explain this by trying to show that Penelope has gained a little spunk and by having Colin wonder whether "he has changed." However, this reasoning is just not good enough to convince readers that the most eligible bachelor of the ton (who happens to be nice AND gorgeous AND rich, plus a host of other great qualities) would fall head over heels in love with a girl he's known forever and hasn't ever paid attention to until now. There's just no plausible explanation for it; he's too good to be true and she isn't. Also, I guess I do like the usual romance-novel conventions of the hero becoming jealous when he has a little competition for the heroine. That's noticeably absent from most of Quinn's work and certainly absent from this one, where readers are reminded on approximately every other page of Penelope's shortcomings in the marriage mart and Colin's eligibility. Creating a series is a good idea because I think readers want to feel as if they "know" the characters from one novel to the next. However, if the novels in the Bridgerton were separate novels (i.e., not a part of a series), I can honestly say that I wouldn't have liked them (except for Benedict's story). I gave this novel three stars because of Quinn's aforementioned talent for creating a feel for the era. However, although I usually recommend that Quinn fans read her novels anyway, particularly if they've already read some from the series, this is the first one in the series that I can truly say I DO NOT recommend anyone read, even diehard Quinn fans. You'll die of boredom.
Rating:  Summary: Dull and disappointing Review: Truly a snore. Good god, nothing exciting happens. Nothing really happens at all! The dialogue is flat and lame. A lot of fluffy polite conversations about nothing. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. However, the greatest disappointment is that we FINALLY discover who the notorious Lady Whistledown is (a big plot in this book) and THAT character is at best, anemic and bland. She's not remotely believable as the wickedly sharp, funny, insightful, intelligent, mischevious Lady Whistledown. It does not do that mysterious and saucy character justice. The story of Lady Whistledown had such tremendous potential, but it falls miserably flat. A horrible disappointment. Lazy story telling. What a waste. P.S. the hero of this story isn't particularly exciting either.
Rating:  Summary: Great Read Review: Julia Quinn's Fourth "Bridgerton" Novel is a grate read. If ypu have read the Duke & I, The Viscount who Loved Me and An Offer from a Gentleman, you are sure to enjoy this novel. Great laughs and fun, although not as good as "The Viscount who Loved Me".
Rating:  Summary: Not a great one! Review: As the other reviewers profess, I too, was quite disappointed with this novel and the character development. The identity of Lady Whistledown was highly unbelievable and while I was surprised, I didn't like who Julia chose to be Whistledown. It just didn't work. As for Colin, he's the worst brother in the family. The other brothers were fantastic and had great personalities; however, Colin's problems with his writing and being horrible to Penelope was bogus. That part of the book was awful and just dragged on. Penelope should have shot him. All in all, I would only recommend this book because it's a part of the series, but you certainly don't need to read it to continue with Eloise.
Rating:  Summary: Wonderful, funny romance - one of Julia's best Review: I loved this book. I love the way that Penelope and Colin went from being acquaintances, to friends, to lovers. Colin is endearing and hunky. Just the way I like my men. <G> Penelope is independent without being bitchy. Bravo Julia.
Rating:  Summary: disappointed Review: I am a great fan of Ms. Quinn, and I loved all of Bridgerton series so far. That is why I couldn't wait to read this book. But, what a disappointment!! There was no strong development in detail how and why Colin fall in love with Penelope. Colin's character (which seemed to be witty, care free in previous series), was not described and developed well (all it mentioned was how he was hungry for food all the time, also literally written he was 'witty' and had a great smile). Only pleasurable plot of the story was when Colin announced Penelope's secret to everyone. Oh, well.. I guess I'll have to wait for Elois's story.
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