BLURB:

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?

MY THOUGHTS:

First of all, I couldn’t NOT read this without hearing the narrators’ voice from the Netflix show. It’s like it’s permanently stuck in my head. So, I didn’t dive into the Bridgerton books, but I binged the series on Netflix. Gotta say, Queen Charlotte was hands down my favorite. I laughed, wiggled my feet under the covers, and shed a tear or two while watching the show. Then I thought, let’s give Romancing Mister Bridgerton a go. And you know what? I’m actually glad I did! As I read, I couldn’t help but feel the anticipation for the new series. It was like an exclusive sneak peek into the TV adaptation coming to life. But let me tell you, there was a TON of dialogue in this book. At times, I just wanted Julia Quinn to let us savor a moment before another character butted in with something to say. I admit, there were moments when I leaned in thinking, “Oh my gosh, would you please be quiet?” It was a slow burn, almost made me want to DNF because it was dragging, but then things got juicy for a bit and I thought, “Okay, I’ve got to keep going!” But the spice didn’t last long. I was left feeling disappointed. The spice came and went, sadly. That’s all there was to it. I did enjoy seeing Colin’s siblings popping in and out of the story. A Bridgerton was either making an appearance or getting mentioned in a conversation, and that connection was lovely. I can’t say I really connected with Penelope, but it was great to see her get a happy ending. Speaking of endings, I wasn’t a fan of how this book wrapped up. It felt rushed and fell flat. I was hoping for something more, you know?

I found it interesting that Quinn portrayed Colin as a man with a hidden temper, setting the stage for a much darker narrative. However, I felt that the romance aspect was lacking, with a sudden shift towards marriage and love without a substantial build-up. Where was the romancing? Consequently, I would give this book three strong stars, as I really did not connect with Penelope and Colin as I would have liked. I hope that Shonda Rhimes’ adaptation will offer a different perspective.

I think I’ll continue with watching the Netflix series instead of reading the books though.

Happy Reading Folks!