The Duke and I (Bridgertons #1) by Julia Quinn

 
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
My Rating: ★★★★

As Daphne Bridgerton enters her second year hoping someone of interest will begin courting her, all she gets is yet another marriage proposal from someone she’s already turned down before. At the same time, Simon Basset has finally returned to England and is hoping to avoid the marriage hunt all together. Unfortunately for him, society has other plans for him, and he finds himself cornered by every mother hoping to snag their daughter a good marriage. Together, Daphne and Simon agree to fake a courtship to better her marriage prospects and save him from being cornered by a bunch of moms again… until the courtship begins to feel all too real.

I started the Netflix show last year and have enjoyed it very much, so when one of my friends and I were talking about the books, we decided to give them a go together. I heard a lot of rumblings without spoilers about the first book, so I was expecting it not to be good. Imagine my surprise when I got started and really liked it! I loved the writing and found the characters much more likable in the book. I’m not saying the characters aren’t likeable in the show, but several of them are far more likable in the book.

I really enjoyed following the story during its ups and some of its downs, its funny moments, and was excited to learn more about the characters I’ve been following in the show. I was disappointed at the severe lack of Eloise, but I know she’ll have her time to shine and will hopefully make a bigger appearance before then. It was also fun to read the bits of Lady Whistledown’s publications while knowing who she is already.

For those of you who have not seen the show, I’m going to warn you that there is a rape in the book. For those of you who have seen the show, I want to let you know that it is even worse in the book. Daphne was a likable character up until she blatantly ignored the withdrawal of consent from Simon. As far as I’m concerned, Daphne can kick rocks barefoot for all eternity. Once it got to this point in the book, I felt sick to my stomach and I feel absolutely awful for Simon.

There are two epilogues at the end of the book, and the second one does contain some spoilers for one of the later books. If you still want to check out the series but want to avoid the spoilers, you should probably skip over the second epilogue. I plan on continuing the series, though I think I’m going to take a break after the second book so I don’t get ahead of where the show is.