Ori

So I watched the Off Campus series after being pressured by my younger sister and a friend, and I openly admit that I really enjoyed it. Naturally, I went and read the book in three days. Lately, I have been trying to replace my scrolling habit with reading something easy on my iPhone, and this book was perfect for that.

Even though I watched the series first, I did not have many expectations for the book, because we all know that having expectations rarely plays in our favor. The book has some sentences and scenes that are politically and generally problematic, and that is true. As an adaptation, the series is amazing. Still, I will say that I enjoyed reading it, although there were some parts where I was like, “This is way too many extra words that we do not need.”

It is a spicy college romance novel, so yeah, you can imagine that this is not Normal People-level profound. However, as a sexual abuse survivor myself, I will say that both the series and the book made me feel seen. It is important to highlight that everyone’s journey is different, so I am not saying that Hannah’s thoughts and experiences around the subject reflect a universal one. I am also conscious that rape and sexual abuse are not the same thing. Still, I truly enjoyed it, and I was glad to read about a protagonist who is a survivor but is also living a funny, lighthearted love story, where her experience is not the main focus but is acknowledged as part of how she interacts with the world, without being treated in an entirely tragic way.

In summary: great adaptation, good book. Just keep in mind that the book reflects the perspective of college kids and is not nearly as socioemotionally intelligent or empowering as the series.

So okay, maybe to understand the score I gave this book, you should know: I think I’m really into the “he fell in love first and harder, and it consumes him completely, and he’s obsessed with her while she doesn’t realize it” trope.

This is a Bridgerton book, and as you can imagine, it is exactly like what you’d expect from one. However, I should make a full disclosure: I’ve only read two other books from the series before this one, and I don’t think I’ll read more. But among the ones I’ve read — the one about Daphne (the first in the series) and Anthony’s, Francesca’s book (this one) is the one I liked the most (though I’ve read Anthony’s book twice, I’m not sure why, and I’m pretty sure I cried while doing it).

This is a second-chance-at-love story. Francesca loses her husband, and the male lead is her husband’s cousin and best friend. So both of them are tortured by the idea of falling in love with each other. It’s a book about grief and moving on — though not in a particularly deep or profound way.

You don’t need to read the other Bridgerton books to understand this one, so if you want a light read and you’re really into romance, go for it. You’ll probably enjoy how Michael (the cousin) reflects on his love for Francesca. Although major improvements could be made to create a deeper story, it has good potential. Still, there are a few things that aren’t properly developed, which would’ve made the book stronger if they were. Also, this book doesn’t have a lot of dialogue — it’s more a description of the protagonists’ feelings and thoughts. Do with that information whatever you like.

In conclusion, this is not, by any means, a romance on the level of Pride and Prejudice (though, can we even count Pride and Prejudice as romance?). But it’s also not a trashy romance either, it’s somewhere in between “I enjoy it but will not read it twice, but probably if I am in a major depressive moment I will do it”. Again, do with this information whatever you like.