Asia

3.5 ⭐

Sophie, an illegitimate daughter of an Earl, sneaks away to the masquerade ball where she meets Benedict Bridgerton. After a magical evening, she disappears just as the clock strikes midnight.

Benedict never forgot her, and he never wanted another woman. Until he meets a maid, Sophie, to whom he feels a connection.

This book was a rollercoaster to me. I loved it, then I hated it, and then I loved it again.

I loved the first half up until Benedict recovered from his cold again. I hated how much he pushed and pushed for Sophie to become his mistress, despite her telling him no and no again. And the fact that he blackmailed her into going to Violet's house with him and threatened that he would have her arrested if she didn't, and then when he'd show up in his mother's house to bother Sophie over and over again - I wanted to punch him. Repeatedly.

And I wanted to strangle him when he argued with her in the nursery. I really thought that I'd give this book 2 stars at most.

And then the scene in prison changed things.

Benedict was cruel, dismissive of Sophie's struggles and denials, and took advantage of Sophie in every encounter. I hated him. He partially redeemed himself during the jail scene, which made me root for them again. For a long time, I was baffled that he would get the girl, but he somewhat redeemed himself in my eyes. not fully - I wanted more grovel - but he apologized, which is more than I can say for more male characters.

I loved Sophie; she was amazing and didn't deserve what Araminta put her through. Posy was amazing, and I loved the 2nd epilogue giving her hea.

I finally got to the "I will never marry Penelope Featherington" scene! Colin, to jail with you. I loved how Penelope stood up for herself. "I've never asked you to" was incredible. And Anthony was so amazing when he offered to walk her home. Their bond is amazing, and it seems like he thinks of her as his younger sister.

I'm glad we got the ABC scene. I missed having the sibling bonding scenes. A and B making fun of C was funny. And I loved the sisters' scene as well! EFH were delightful, and I can't believe H is 14 already!

Highlights:

- Sophie's kindness and resolve. I loved her

- Benedict in the jail scene.

- Violet. She was incredible, the real MVP.

= Posy. She deserved better from her mother!

- Sibling bonding! Finally!

Lows:

- Benedict not taking no for an answer, harassing Sophie to become his mistress and threatening and blackmailing her. Ugh.

- Araminta and Rosalind. I hated them.

Tropes:

- Secret identity

- Class difference

- Cinderella retelling

- Insta love

- Forbidden romance

- Forced proximity

4.5/5

This book was delightful.

Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton, decided it was time to finally get married, and he set his sights on Edwina Sheffield, the Incomparable of the season. Her older sister, Kate, doesn't think that Anthony is worthy of Edwina, and she doesn't approve of the match.

Unfortunately for Anthony, Edwina has declared she will not marry without Kate's blessing. Sparks fly along with barbs, as Kate and Anthony bicker and grow closer.

I really enjoyed this book. I love season 2 of the show (for the most part) and Kathony is my favourite couple, so I was really excited for this book. I already knew about all the changes (I blame ao3, the fanfics took many books literally from the book without any change), so I was prepared for them.

The study scene was very interesting, though I wanted to punch Anthony when he tossed Kate the key. But I'm glad that he instantly felt bad for his behaviour.

There were few moments where Anthony was almost cruel to Kate, but he always felt bad in the next second. I particularly liked the wedding night when he might have made fun of her, but he realized her feelings and tried to explain and soothe her fears.

Highlights:

-Anthony. I just love him. Giving Cressida the direct cut and walking Penelope to dinner was amazing. And I love how much he loved Kate even when he was in denial. I loved how much he comforted Kate during thunderstorms and how much it pained him to see her that way.

-the way Anthony found Kate beautiful, even when she didn't believe him;

- Kate's insecurities really rang true, and I related deeply;

- Kate, in particular, was so different from the show, but I loved her;

- Colin remains a delight, and I love him;

- The Sheffield family. The show did them dirty. I love how strong and capable Mary is, and how delightful and kind and loving Edwina is. And their bond with each other and Kate was everything. They deserved much better from the show because what Shondaland did to them was a travesty;

- The Pall Mall was hilarious, I was cackling (I was cackling every time Kate and Anthony were together, they're so sassy);

- the lack of a love triangle the show forced upon us! Amazing!

Lows:

- I was hoping for more relationship between the siblings. We only got one Pall Mall scene with Daphne and the oldest brothers, and two White scenes with ABC brothers and one short scene with Eloise and Kate (and Anthony, I suppose), but nothing else. I wanted to see Anthony with all his siblings, especially the youngest two. I missed the bonding between Anthony and Gregory and Anthony and Hyacinth that we got in the show;

- A little bit more of Lady Danbury, I suppose. She had only one scene in this book

- Why did I think Anthony had a son called Edmund and why wasn't he in the epilogue

- Oh, also, the fact that Kate didn't get the mallet of death in the 2nd epilogue is a crime in itself, but I love that Colin got it so good for him, I guess

TW/CW: SA, non-con

Irritated with her lack of prospective husband, Daphne Bridgerton realizes she needs help.

Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, doesn't need every debutante and their mamas to follow him around London.

When they finally meet, they realize that they could help one another.

This as a very interesting book, although I've read better ones. I of course already watched the TV show, so it was interesting to see all the differences. I liked it, but I thought it would be more exciting and with a more character development, considering that this book series over others got adapted to the screen.

Highlights:

💎 Anthony and Simon's friendship. My god, they're so sarcastic, I wish we'd seen this relationship in the show;

💎 Anthony with any of his siblings, actually. Sarcastic, sassy, and savage. They're all super funny too, I love their scenes;

💎 Colin. That one was a surprise so CE show Colin does nothing for me. Book Colin though? Easily my second favourite character (Anthony will always have my heart);

💎 Simon and Daphne are much more interesting and witty;

Lows:

💎 the lack of Lady Danbury. I knew Charlotte wouldn't be here but I hoped for more Danbury. Same with Frederick! I hoped Simon would have a competition;

💎 the only good thing about Simon's father is that he's dead;

💎 the SA scene was both better and worse in the show. Better, because Daphne didn't plan it for the entire day and it wasn't premeditated. Worse, because Simon was drunk and couldn't consent;

💎 the lack of apology and/or grovel from Daphne;

Tropes:

💎 fake dating

💎 brother's best friend

💎 forbidden relationship

💎 marriage of convenience

4.5/5

Dani and Ezra are both lawyers who bicker, banter, and sleep together. When they both end up on opposing sides on a major divorce case, they need to learn whether they really know each other as well as they thought, and whether they can overcome their issues.

I loved this book. The sizzling chemistry, very clever banter and very, very hot spice scenes were everything I wanted and more.

Dani is still trying to come to terms with her parents' divorce; it's not so much that they're still friends, but the fact that they lied to her and sacrificed themselves for her for 17 years of her life, and she feels like it was her fault. She believed that her parents had this amazing love story that made her believe in love - only to find out it was all a lie. No wonder she has trust and commitment issues. It would have messed everyone up.

Ezra, on the other hand, has a very strained relationship with his father and is trying very hard to help his mother. We learn more about him and his family issues as the story progresses, and we get a glimpse into his mind. And we learn that not everything is as it seems.

I loved Ezra and Dani's relationship and how they grew and overcame their issues. I was partially annoyed with Ezra for allowing his father to have such a hold on his life, and I was relieved when he finally pushed back and became independent.

As much as I loved Dani, I was annoyed at her (over) reaction and inability to listen and believe Ezra's explanation. At least she not only apologized, but also helped Ezra in a major way to atone! And I'm glad we had almost 3 full chapters of fluff at the end.

I loved the romance, but also the side plot about their case. I was also invested in Dani's friends' story and I hope we'll get a book about them soon. It was my second ever Lana Ferguson book, but I will definitely read more of her books.

This book is perfect for people who love:

- enemies/ rivals to lovers

- workplace romance

- friends with benefits

- opposites attract

- spice

- he falls first

the ending game the ick. Public love confession (well, on a live stream but okay), same grey panties AND A TIME SKIP are all things that I hate lmao

4/5

Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press, for providing the arc for my honest opinion.

Lottie is a lady's companion who one day knocks Viscount Wennington off his horse. And after he yells at her, she threatens to whip him. Accidentally, of course.

When her employer takes her to her nephew's house for a surprise birthday party, she's shocked to see that said nephew is the same man she knocked in the park.

Viscount Wennington despises being in a spotlight, so when his mother damnd a birthday party for him,. Guy agrees on a small soiree. He has no idea that his mother and aunt, with the help of the vexing woman he met at the park, invited a gaggle of debutantes, all vying for his attention. And he's less than impressed that the only person he wants to spend time with is Lottie herself.

I enjoyed this book. The characters and plot were well written, and I loved all the bickering between Lottie and Guy. I was giggling and kicking my feet at the obvious way the matrons were meddling to bring them together, while the main characters didn't realize that.

The writing was good, but confusing at times. There were too many internal thoughts between the dialogue (which often had nothing to do with the scenes they were in), which slowed down the plot a lot. And as the narration tried to use the stylized language to make it more realistic as a historical romance, the way the characters used modern gen-z slang that clashed with the flowery descriptions on the same page.

I enjoyed the book very much and I loved how it all turn up. While public confessions are not my cup of tea, I liked how it was written in this book. And the plot was engaging and fun and really enjoyed Lottie and Guy's story.

The book is perfect for people who love:

🐎 forced proximity

🐎 enemies to lovers

🐎 meddling mamas

🐎 grumpy & sunshine

🐎 age gap