The end of 2016 finds me reading and reviewing quite a few Romance novels. This is my third in recent weeks. I decided to read the second four books in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series this year, which meant it was time to make sure I hit that goal and finally get to Gregory’s book, On the Way to the Wedding.
When I started the Bridgerton series in 2015, I knew from the romance readers around Cannonball Read that these were peak Quinn books, and I was starting with perhaps the cream of the crop for this author. I didn’t care, given the variety of my reading habits I knew I would and could stretch these books out over a few years. 2015 saw me read, review, and highly enjoy (well, mostly) The Duke and I, The Viscount Who Loved Me, An Offer from a Gentleman, and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. I ended on a high note; I waffle back and forth about whether Benedict or Colin’s book is my favorite.
2016 started off with a bit of fits and starts as far as Bridgerton books were concerned. To Sir Phillip, With Love and When He Was Wicked were set concurrently with Romancing Mr. Bridgerton and reading them separated over many months did not help the experience, although Eloise in To Sir Phillip was a delight to me. It’s in His Kiss moves forward to the next year and embarks on the story of youngest Bridgerton Hyacinth and her love Gareth. The Eloise/Phillip and Hyacinth/Gareth books were the highpoints for me in the second half, and while I fell hard for book eight’s pairing of Gregory and Lucy, their book didn’t completely live up to the characters Quinn built.
At this point, nearly 300 words in, I feel I should say that this book is firmly a 3.5 rating for me. It was a perfectly serviceable Bridgerton book, and Quinn continues to excel at building great characters, but she doesn’t always know what to do with them, specifically when providing an antagonist. I personally find that Quinn’s style is at its best when the problems remain within the character’s own personalities, (Sophie’s distrust, Colin’s blindness to what’s been right in front of him, Hyacinth’s bullheadedness), but where there is some sort of external dilemma… Quinn struggles. I’m not alone here, either. Malin, in her review of this book, says Quinn “rarely manages to do good antagonists and the books where there is no outside party trying to interfere with the lovers are generally better.” Mrs. Julien is with us too: “the only challenge is that it seems to be hard for her to shift gears when the going needs to get tough. Everything glides along beautifully, but when the action in On the Way to the Wedding gets ratcheted up, it’s too sudden a tonal shift and jarred with the carefully crafted buoyancy of the rest of the story”.
The outside antagonists in On the Way to the Wedding are the men contracting Lucy’s betrothal to Lord Haselby. Both are odious, overbearing, and violent. One is worse than the other, and when the true levels of his treachery are uncovered the novel takes a decided turn in tone, heading for suspense. Up until this point this is just another fluffy, light, whimsical meditation on what love is, and what falling in love feels like, or doesn’t. I was on board. This was the good stuff: if you’re already spoken for and your best friend is a stunning beauty, what is your understanding of falling in love? Particularly if you haven’t laid eyes on your betrothed in years? What if you are the last unmarried sibling in your family where everyone has found a truly loving pairing, how does that affect your thoughts on the ease of finding love? This is what I am here for.
And then… the sturm and drang of it all gets well out of proportion. Thankfully Quinn balances this against reappearances by several beloved siblings and Violet, but you know something’s off when not even Colin can pacify me. It’s also a nitpick, but we as the reader never find out how exactly these two crazy kids overcome the various obstacles to their wedding and if they are ever properly accepted in polite society, since the epilogue skips ahead 12 or 13 years. Is it answered somewhere else? I have questions.
With this I conclude my reading of the main books of the Bridgerton series. I’ll be on the lookout for more Quinn, but next year’s Romance reading will be focused on Lisa Kleypas’ Hawthorne series, and perhaps Loretta Chase’s Dressmakers series. Oh, and I really should make time for the last book in the ridiculously named Stud Club series.
Yay Hathaways! I love that series, except Win’s book. Burn Win’s book to the ground. I should get around to reading all of the Dressmaker’s series, especially as I really enjoyed the last, but we’ll see. For now I’m back to another Balogh series. If you ever want quiet, adult romances that seems to be her niche.
I also have a store of Balogh on my ereader. I have a mental note to skip Win’s book, you all have been very clear on that point :)
Only Enchanting by Balogh is delightful.
This is the only Bridgerton book I haven’t read. I ended up burned out on the series. Finally read Hyacinth’s book this year and didn’t even bother a review. I’m trying to decide if your 3.5 stars and the helpful pull quotes you included are going to get me to this one. I remain undecided.
I totally agree with Beth Ellen on Win’s book for the Hathaways. I think you can enjoy the series without that one (and may enjoy it MORE without that one).
If you don’t have my “must finish all the things” reading gene (I promise I’m skipping Win’s book though, you all got through to me) then I think this one is skippable. Its bottom three of the series for me.
I would say that this is the second most skippable of all the Bridgerton books, the first obviously being When He Was Wicked, which my re-read this year confirmed that I still disliked. To put it into perspective, I read a Bridgerton book a week for seven weeks, then sort of forgot about Gregory’s book for a couple of months until I felt I had to read it to complete my re-read.
See, When He Was Wicked is my second favorite of the series, so now I’m not sure. I know I’m an outlier on that one, and I intend to reread it at some point to see if I was wrong the first time. I KNOW I was wrong about The Duke and I, and I cannot reread that one now. I picked Gregory’s up when it was on sale last spring so I will probably get to it someday. Maybe.
But the last book in the Stud Club trilogy has Julian and I loved him.
The Hathaways books are mostly strong and very kleypasesque.
Thank you for the shout out!
Thanks for the shout-out. Be sure to skip book 2 of the Hathaways, a solid candidate for my worst romances ever list, unless you’re obsessive about completing whole series. I wish I’d listened to everyone who told me, but I figured “how bad could it be?” The answer is VERY bad. Book 3 in the indeed ridiculously named Stud Club series is absolutely the best of the trilogy, and one of Dare’s better romances, if I recall correctly.
The first two books in The Dressmaker series are less than great Loretta Chase, but books three, and especially four, Dukes Prefer Blondes make up for the patchy quality of the early books. Besides, I find the intricate descriptions of all the ridiculous late Victorian fashions fascinating and there’s more than one love scene where undressing the heroine takes several pages, because there were so many different parts to the outfits.
I liked the first Dressmaker book a lot, thought the next two were much weaker, and then was blown away by Dukes Prefer Blondes. Between this series and Bridgertons I’m feeling a little odd since I usually fall right in line with your ratings.
Dukes Prefer Blondes made it into my top 3 of the year.
I’m reading it right now, and I can see how that would happen. Look at me reading a series out of order! Who have I become?
Ellepkay, we seem to be on a similar wavelength with these, and I’m generally okay being the odd person out. :)
Mine too!
I stand firm that Quinn should have quit the sibling books after Daphne (alphabetically speaking, not chronologically). Maybe a case could be made for that Eloise book, but the last few just peter out and I was hanging in for glimpses of the already-paired-off siblings.
I LOVE Hyacinth and very much enjoyed her book. She’s a force of nature.
I find Anthony supercilious.
I was just trying to figure out my ranking, and I think Anthony’s book, this book, and Francesca’s are the bottom three, Colin and Benedict are tied for the top spot since in two different reviews I claimed each was my favorite, and Hyacinth, Daphne, and Eloise make up the middle.
Ooh, really? I loved Hyacinth in every book but her own. I found her story a complete mess.
Kate is definitely the star of her book. Anthony was just there to marry her.
Colin is obviously the best Bridgerton. :)
I really liked Hyacinth’s book, and once I got used to her as a grown-up character in her own right we got along just fine. I have a fondness for books which feature well matched people in intellect and interest who have the hots for each other. I also adored all things Lady Danbury. Hyacinth’s book probably comes in at #4 in the ranking.
Anthony’s terribleness in his own book almost prevented me from remembering how much I love Kate. He’s better in the later books when he and Kate are established and she doesn’t let him get away with his ridiculous behavior.