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To Sir Phillip, With Love — Julia Quinn — Bridgertons #5

“I had to do something, (…) I couldn’t just sit and wait for life to happen to me any longer.”

Genre: Historical Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 4.5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses suicide, parent death, child abuse, and grief.

“To Sir Phillip, With Love” is the fifth book in the Bridgerton book series, and it follows the fifth out of eight Bridgerton siblings: Eloise. Eloise Bridgerton is already considered a spinster, unmarried at 28 years of age, when she starts to correspond with her distant cousin’s widowed husband, Sir Phillip Crane. After a year’s correspondence, and right after her best friend Penelope marries her older brother, she decides to run away to meet him and properly determine if he could be the one for her.

If you’ve seen the Bridgerton Netflix series, you’ve actually met Sir Phillip Crane already, he is the one who’s married to Marina, who’s portrayed in the Netflix series as a Featherington cousin and is a prominent character in the first season, while she’s written as a Bridgerton cousin in the books and hadn’t really been mentioned until now.

This book is sweet and gentle, filled with suspense, as we never know what Eloise might do with her volatile nature. Through this story, we get to see sides of her, both maternal and affectionate, that we haven’t really seen before. It was truly a wonderful read.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy Regency Era romances, and who like the idea of pen pals falling in love, sight unseen. Also, it gave me some Sunshine meets Grumpy trope vibes, but take that with a grain of salt.

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An Offer From a Gentleman — Julia Quinn — Bridgertons #3

“It suddenly made sense. Only twice in his life had he felt this inexplicable, almost mystical attraction to a woman. He’d thought it remarkable, to have found two, when in his heart he’d always believed there was only one perfect woman out there for him.
His heart had been right. There was only one.”

Genre: Historical Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parent death, child birthed out of wedlock (in the regency period), child labor and mistreatment, classism, and attempted rape.

“An Offer From a Gentleman” follows Benedict Bridgerton, the second eldest of the Bridgerton siblings, and his one true love, Sophie Beckett, who’s the bastard child of an Earl. These two meet one night at a masquerade ball, fall smitten in love with their masks on, only to not see each other for years—that is because Sophie has been working as a servant to her stepmother ever since her father died, and she had only been in that ball as an act of rebellion. Fast forward a few years, and Sophie is working for another family after her stepmother kicked her out, when the son of said family and his friends are set on raping the young maid, who is then saved by the brave Benedict Bridgerton. He gets a feeling that they’ve met before but doesn’t really recognize her, all he knows is that he doesn’t want to part ways from this clever girl dressed in maid’s clothes.

If we don’t get to see Benedict’s story on the Netflix series I will be royally pissed. I know they’ll be making Book 4 instead of Book 3 into Season 3 of the Bridgerton series, but God will I riot if we don’t get this happily ever after for Ben. The only reason I didn’t give this book the full 5 stars was because it was extremely predictable, in true Cinderella fashion.

I felt like the connection between Benedict and Sophie was explored better than the romantic connections in the previous Bridgerton books, but I think it had to do with the fact that Benedict and Sophie were in a secluded cottage for half the book, rather than in the middle of the London season as we saw with Daphne and Simon, and Anthony and Kate.

This is a truly lovely book. I would recommend “An Offer From a Gentleman” if you’re looking for a regency era romance where the main characters are from different social classes. A.k.a. if you’re looking for a spicier version of Cinderella, grab this book.

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“I shall have to make sure you take me up on my offer to find you employment with my mother. You do bring out the best in me, Miss Sophie Beckett.”
“This is the best?” (…)
“I’m afraid so.”

The Viscount Who Loved Me — Julia Quinn — Bridgertons #2

“You have to live each hour as if it’s your last and each day as if you were immortal.”

Genre: Historical Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parent death and describes panic attacks.

“The Viscount Who Loved Me” follows Anthony Bridgerton, the eldest of the Bridgerton siblings and the one who inherited the viscountcy after their father’s death, and Kate Sheffield, the orphan (and the eldest) daughter of a modest family who’s in London for the season in hopes of marrying off her little sister. Anthony wants to marry Kate’s little sister but she is completely against it, given his reputation as a rake—or is it because she’s called to him as well?

Anthony, oh how I love you. Julia Quinn really did go for my heart with this one. We get to see Anthony’s inner monologue and repressed guilt, which is something that they tried to portray in the series, but in the book it’s even more intense, more heartbreaking. But not only that, we get to see Kate’s trauma up close, and we get to love her through it all too.

There is no real love triangle in this one, which I much appreciated. Anthony and Kate end up together under extremely different circumstances as those portrayed in the series. Anthony recognizes his love for Kate at another time and for another reason as well.

I would recommend this book a hundred times more than the first book in this series. It is the perfect book for fans of regency period dramas and romance book. If you’ve seen Season 2 of Bridgerton, the Netflix series, expect to be surprised. “The Viscount Who Loved Me” is almost nothing like Season 2, making it even better.

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“Listen to me, (…) and listen well, because I’m only going to say this once. I desire you. I burn for you. I can’t sleep at night for wanting you. Even when I didn’t like you, I lusted for you. It’s the most maddening, beguiling, damnable thing, but there it is.”

The Duke and I — Julia Quinn — Bridgertons #1

“His mouth captured hers, trying to show her with his kiss what he was still learning to express in words. He loved her. He worshipped her. He’d walk across fire for her. He—
—still had the audience of her three brothers.”

Genre: Historical Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis (but -10 on one scene)
Content Warnings: Sexual climax without consent (I consider it rape but others disagree).

Set in the Regency period, “The Duke and I” follows Daphne Bridgerton, the fourth of eight Bridgerton siblings, and Simon Bassett, the Duke of Hastings, as they meet and conspire to make their season more pasable. Daphne is looking for a love match, but no prudent gentleman is interested in her much, while Simon is looking to never marry but wants the mother of all eligible ladies to leave him alone—and so they come up with an agreement: they’ll fake a connection. Men will find Daphne more suitable if a Duke is after her, and some mamas will lay off on the matchmaking if they believe Simon is already claimed. Sounds like a perfect plan… as long as they don’t fall for each other.

This is the novel the first season of Bridgerton is based on, and it shows. The series is almost a scene by scene retelling of the book, with some very minuscule exceptions. I mean, physically the actors match nothing of how the characters were described, but other than that the plot stays the same. Simon is easier to forgive the unforgivable. We get to hear Daphne’s inner monologue when she pretty much rapes her husband, and italia aa horrible as that sounds. I don’t feel like she deserved that happily ever after. But maybe that’s just me.

I would recommend this book to fans of regency period dramas and classical and historical romance books like Pride and Prejudice or Jane Eyre, but making those a little more spicy.

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Hook, Line, and Sinker — Tessa Bailey — Bellinger Sisters #2

“You can’t live life worrying about what people will think. You’ll wake up one day, look at a calendar, and count the days you could have spent being happy.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warnings: Sexual content, bullying, objectifying and sexualizing men, and discusses parent death.

“Hook, Line, and Sinker” is the second book in the Bellinger Sisters/It Happened One Summer series and I was 100% there for it. It follows Hannah Bellinger, an LA-based director’s personal assistant who’s hoping to climb up to soundtrack making, and Fox Thornton, a self-proclaimed player and king crab fisherman. After a weekend in Seattle that took place in the first book’s timeline, they become friends and keep in touch even after Hannah leaves Fox’s small fishing town. Their unexpected friendship has left Fox perplexed, as he’s never had a woman want to be his friend only for his wits and personality. But Hannah isn’t interested in him, she’s focused on the crush she’s had on her boss for forever. They’re focused on staying as friends and that’s it, even if their hearts seem to have other plans…

Do I know what the title of this book means? No. Did it matter whatsoever? Also no. This book was the sweetest escape from reality. Hannah is such a complex and distinct character, I did not feel like I was reading a different story with different names but from the same point of view—which is something that I usually feel when reading series where the main characters have the same gender. Hannah was not Piper. “Hook, Line, and Sinker” is NOT “It Happened One Summer”. I would even dare say it could work well as a standalone. And I absolutely loved it.

Do not make me choose between these two books, I loved them equally but differently. “It Happened One Summer” was spicier, in my opinion, while “Hook, Line, and Sinker” was more emotional—and spicy too, just not as spicy. I wish I would’ve waited to read one of these books by the ocean. They feel like the perfect beach read.

I would recommend this book to people who liked “It Happened One Summer”, and to fans of books like “The Hating Game” by Sally Thorne and “The Simple Wild” by K.A. Tucker. If you like small-town loves and the clashing of two worlds, this is the book for you.

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It Happened One Summer — Tessa Bailey — Bellinger Sisters #1

“Trying to figure out what to do when no one is watching. And wondering if maybe that’s the stuff that actually matters.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warning: Veeery sexual (consensual) content and discusses parent and spouse death.

“It Happened One Summer” follows the Bellinger sisters, Piper and Hannah, as they’re sent off to a remote fishing town after a Los Angeles-scale scandal. Following Piper specifically, this first book in the Bellinger Sisters series shows how the eldest of the sisters gets to know the town her late father adored. They meet a bunch of unique people, but there is one particular boat captain that’s caught Piper’s eyes… But in order to fall in love with him, she must fall out of love with LA and the spotlight, which is something she doesn’t think she can do. Set in a quaint-y, old town, this book is fast-paced and very entertaining.

Well, I must say this was the spiciest book I’ve read in a while—but that wasn’t why I gave this book 5 stars. I gave it 5 stars because this book had everything: a compelling love story, complex characters, emotional growth, and feelings other than just lovey-dovey romantic love. We see how the sisters grow to love the town they’re in and the people that live in it. We see how they become more aware of the value of things and the pleasure of doing good, honest work. We see them go through a rollercoaster of emotions, and we feel all the confusion with them. And yes. In the end, we get our happily ever after, but it’s made even sweeter because of how we got there.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romances. I am pretty sure it’s impossible not to like this book and its characters.

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“You can be as high maintenance as you want, honey. But I’m the only one who does the maintenance.”

All The Feels — Olivia Dade

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warning: Discusses fat-shaming and domestic violence.

“All the Feels” follows Lauren Clegg, a former ER therapist, and Alex Woodroe, a famous actor in the long-running TV show “Gods of the Gates”. Hired to keep Alex out of trouble, Lauren must follow him wherever he goes. With a budding friendship and a ton of sexual tension on the line, this book, although shelved as a sequel, really isn’t. You could read it as a stand-alone, so don’t let that deter you.

Does this book encompass the close-proximity trope? Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like Lauren and Alex would’ve fallen in love either way, but I guess their close proximity did help. Also, I will not be picking favorites from this series. I just loved them both so much. The writing is great, the characters are charming and complex, the stories are radically different (although they both include famous actors and non-famous, plus-sized women falling in love), and they are both spicy, if you know what I mean.

I would recommend this book to anyone who’s ever fantasized about soulmates or read fanfiction or both. I would recommend reading Spoiler Alert first, but honestly this series is like multiplying, the order of the factors does not change the product—you’ll love the stories no matter which one you read first.

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Spoiler Alert — Olivia Dade — Spoiler Alert #1

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses fat-shaming.

“Spoiler Alert” follows April Whittier, a geologist and fanfic-writing stan of a popular tv show, and Marcus Caster-Rupp, one of the actors of said popular tv show and a fanfic-writer himself. April and Marcus have been chatting on online forums for years under aliases. When April finally posts a picture of her cosplays online—under another alias—it goes viral and trolls go off with their insults because of her plus-size take. Without knowing that April is his fandom bestie, Marcus invites her on a date to spite the trolls and because he found her cute. But what will he do when he finds out she is his closest friend from the fanfic forums? That’s for you to find out once you grab this book.

How have I never heard of Olivia Dade before? This book was perfect. Her writing was descriptive without being boring, and her characters were well defined and complex. The dialogue was witty and funny, and did not seem forced at all. Was it predictable at times? Yes, sure. But come on, everyone was rooting for the exact ending we got, what’s wrong with that?

I would recommend this book to anyone who’s ever read or written fan fiction—or anyone who loved the Disney movie Starstuck. Essentially, if famous person-normal person romances are something you’d enjoy, read this book ASAP. It was so good, I seriously couldn’t recommend this book enough.

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