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nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness and Injury/Injury detail
fromthefoxhole's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I DID IT! I FINISHED THE SERIES! i’m freeeeeeee!!
um this was….fine! i guess? idk at this point, honestly. 2.5, rounded down.
As always, the base archetype is that the rake doesn’t want to be in love (this time because Anthony is 100% sure he’s going to die young like his father, which….okay but also bruh) plus the virginal, always overlooked beauty (but this time, she’s the older sister of the girl the rake first has eyes for). The general idea is that they hate each other - Kate hates Anthony exclusively due to his reputation, and Anthony hates Kate because she isn’t falling all over herself in his presence. And this continues for ages. There’s physical violence between the two of them, hate-lust, and so many arguments about the same things that my vision blurred.
Then, the infamous bee scene hits and they’re engaged because a man can’t put his mouth on a woman to suck out venom without it compromising the woman, i guess.
Anthony’s worst scene yet occurs right after the wedding, when Kate asks for a few days to get her bearings wrt being married and having sex, to which he replies “no.” And then proceeds to be a massive dick about his rights and how she doesn’t have a good enough reason (in his mind) to deny them.
There is more drama (as usual), she falls first (as usual), and then they have happily ever after.
i’m so glad to be done with this series, i cannot articulate this enough. i’m blaming my 2am brain for eyeing the smythe-smith series with anything other than resentment.
um this was….fine! i guess? idk at this point, honestly. 2.5, rounded down.
As always, the base archetype is that the rake doesn’t want to be in love (this time because Anthony is 100% sure he’s going to die young like his father, which….okay but also bruh) plus the virginal, always overlooked beauty (but this time, she’s the older sister of the girl the rake first has eyes for). The general idea is that they hate each other - Kate hates Anthony exclusively due to his reputation, and Anthony hates Kate because she isn’t falling all over herself in his presence. And this continues for ages. There’s physical violence between the two of them, hate-lust, and so many arguments about the same things that my vision blurred.
Then, the infamous bee scene hits and they’re engaged because a man can’t put his mouth on a woman to suck out venom without it compromising the woman, i guess.
Anthony’s worst scene yet occurs right after the wedding, when Kate asks for a few days to get her bearings wrt being married and having sex, to which he replies “no.” And then proceeds to be a massive dick about his rights and how she doesn’t have a good enough reason (in his mind) to deny them.
There is more drama (as usual), she falls first (as usual), and then they have happily ever after.
i’m so glad to be done with this series, i cannot articulate this enough. i’m blaming my 2am brain for eyeing the smythe-smith series with anything other than resentment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Alcohol, and Sexual content
neurospicy_mama's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I gave this book 1.5 stars instead of 0 because it provided enough fodder for Shonda Rhimes to work with. Otherwise, this was my first book by this author and it will be my last. I found the combination of misogyny and violent imagery/ references both juvenile and harmful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Violence, Murder, and Toxic relationship
pauline79's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Confused me as completely different to the series. Too much focused on their fears so seemed odd when they finally got to the end. Prefer the series to the book on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Car accident
escsmith's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This made big improvements on the previous book.
Lady Whistledown was used much better in this book but I still wish she had been a bigger part of it.
Anthony and Kate were an engaging couple and I felt that they had strong chemistry. However I did feel that there was too much hate from Kate towards Anthony with no real foundation, this made the story feel flimsy and superficial at first. Their relationship and tension does grow well though and it becomes more believable.
I don't like that in both books a compromising position has led to a proposal. I'd rather see love before the marriage.
There were still some phrases in this book that I felt uncomfortable with, that I know are of the time but totally took me out of the story.
Lady Whistledown was used much better in this book but I still wish she had been a bigger part of it.
Anthony and Kate were an engaging couple and I felt that they had strong chemistry. However I did feel that there was too much hate from Kate towards Anthony with no real foundation, this made the story feel flimsy and superficial at first. Their relationship and tension does grow well though and it becomes more believable.
I don't like that in both books a compromising position has led to a proposal. I'd rather see love before the marriage.
There were still some phrases in this book that I felt uncomfortable with, that I know are of the time but totally took me out of the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
ojudge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I truly enjoyed this book - as I do most enemies to lovers reads. I enjoyed this Bridgerton book much more than I did the first. I believe this must be where the author truly found her footing and I am excited to continue my journey through the series. The book seemed to start out a bit slow, but at some point (and I didn’t even recognize at what point exactly) the plot and the characters took off and I found myself unable to put the book down!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, and Death of parent
mariskyjy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
reka111's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Love's about finding the one person who makes your heart complete. Who makes you a better person than you ever dreamed you could be.
Honestly, I have a kind of hate-love relationship with this book, and I still loved every minute of it. I didn't start because the series or crowd worship pulled me in, but because I just needed a good enemies to lovers/hate to love book and I had this at hand.
Kate was arguably my favorite in the book, I really liked that there was so much fire in her, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, she was confident and courageous. Her trauma is just so sad, I wanted to hug her every time and tell her everything is alright, it is just a storm.
Anthony often annoyed me with his...well, let's say interesting, utterances, even though I thought I would bow down to him. However he developed during the book and did him a lot of good, by the end I began to see in him the light and the balance he really needed.
I loved the others very much; Edwina was all cheerful and kind, Colin always made me laugh and I'm infinitely grateful to him, I haven't smiled so much in a long time. Violet and Mary are so perfect as mothers, I love their dynamic with their kids, it just looks like they could jump into a volcano if that means they can protected them.
I wouldn't necessarily label a love story as enemies to lovers, but rather hate to love. However it was, I really liked the relationship between them, as the burning dislike eventually turns into desire and passion. Both have lost an awful lot and deserve happiness and peace in the embrace of a loving family. I loved their little sweet moments together.
The plot flowed nicely, the scenes matched well, were understandable and easy to follow, there were some strange moments (for example, the behavior of the animals - Newton (my heart) - is terribly far from reality) that I couldn't really absorb. The time jumps were not distracting and the pace was adequate. The ending was nicely closed (I'm especially glad we got some confirmation at the end, and it may seem terribly small, but to me that tiny sentence meant the world)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexism
itslani's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I definitely like the Anthony and Kates season sooo much more than the book. The book did help me understand Anthony more, but i feel like the show did a much better job with the story.
I did watch the season before reading the book.
3 🌟
I did watch the season before reading the book.
3 🌟
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Sexual content