Should I get “I AM AN ON-THE-SHELF SPINSTER” tattooed on my forehead?

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton is the fourth book in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, which follows the seven Bridgerton siblings in their various quests for love and marriage, etc. This is not a series non-romance fans will enjoy; it doesn’t exactly wallow in genre tropes, but it does embrace them quite willingly, and does teeter on some cutesy attitudes every once in a while (you can tell it’s pleased with itself and its characters).

That said, this series is fun, and so is this book. This time around we’re following Colin, the third Bridgerton child, who has been traveling abroad for a good portion of his adult life. As a younger son with money to his name, he can pretty much do what he likes, but what he likes doesn’t seem to be enough of late. Enter Penelope Featherington, who has been a side character for the last three books. She also happens to be an “on-the-shelf spinster” (at twenty-eight . . . sigh), and has been in love with Colin Bridgerton since she was sixteen years old.

I liked Colin and Penelope, and I liked the subplot involving the ton attempting to find out the true identity of the infamous Lady Whistledown, although SPOILERS it was pretty obvious to me from the get go that Penelope was actually Lady Whistledown END SPOILERS.

My only complaint is that I thought feelings developed rather too quickly on Colin’s end. They went from zero to engaged in like sixty seconds, and his POV was constantly saying things like “he didn’t know why but” and “somehow” and other indicators of sloppy romance writing. I was willing to overlook that, though, because overall it was so enjoyable. I just wish there had a been a little more development of their relationship, and less relying on the fact that they’d known each other for years to do all the character work.