Quinn, Julia - Bridgerton series
Thu, May. 20th, 2010 12:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterAs previously mentioned, I tore through Julia Quinn during my last month or so at school, largely thanks to my public library having a ton of her books in their ebook library. I suspect this may have either saved my sanity or caused me to nearly fail school, or possibly both.
Quinn seems to be most famous for her Bridgerton series, an eight book series about the Bridgerton siblings, cutesily named with the first 8 letters of the alphabet (Anthony, Benedict, Colin, etc. etc.). I normally shy away from giant family series with everything possibly, but I didn't mind this one as much. There are too many babies (nine? really?!), and the Bridgertons are a little too perfect, but they are also warm and charming and feel like an actual family, not a collection of London's most rakish rakes. I particularly like the matriarch, Violet Bridgerton, and some of my favorite moments in the books I read are either between mother and child or between siblings.
Overall, I've found Quinn's books to be very funny and full of banter, and she often includes female friendships and relationships that feel real. I read somewhere that Quinn's heroines are people you want to be friends with, and I do. Her men are sometimes alpha, but the heroes I like best are friendly and nice. I even found myself wanting more books about characters in her world, because really, someone in the Smythe-Smith should get their own book. Also, I can't quite believe I read all the second epilogues (!! I know!) that were available from the library.
Alas, Quinn's downfall has so far been her sense of pacing. All the books in the Bridgerton series I've read really should have stopped about a hundred pages before they actually did, and Quinn tends to drag plots out. Still, she's been fairly consistently entertaining and likable, if not necessarily deep, and I've had a hard enough time finding likable heroes and heroines that I find it refreshing.
Another post to come on the non-Bridgerton books.
The Viscount Who Loved Me - Anthony Bridgerton, Viscount Bridgerton (not a mistake), is looking for a suitable bride and has decided on Edwina Sheffield. Unfortunately, Edwina's announced she will not marry someone her older stepsister Kate doesn't approve of, and Kate very much does not approve of the rakish viscount. Also, Anthony is determined not to fall in love because he is convinced he will die young. The logic for him worrying about dying young didn't quite convince me until I read Quinn's afterword, so I will also not mock his angst, but Anthony's reaction to being convinced he would die young still baffles me. You can tell this is earlier Quinn—there are some terrible contrivances to get the two married, Anthony's a bit too much the traditional romance hero for me, and I had little sympathy for both parties' angst. Still, Kate is excellent, and I especially like her relationship with her stepmother and stepsister. Also, as everyone has noted, the pall mall scene is wonderful. Mallet of death!
Romancing Mister Bridgerton - Penelope Featherington has loved her best friend Eloise's brother Colin Bridgerton for forever, but she's the perpetual wallflower all the Bridgerton men dance with out of sympathy. Quinn seems to have a great liking for unrequited-turned-requited love stories; however, since I do too, I have no problem with this! Actually, that was what drove me to pick up her books in the first place. Alas, the main plot of the book threatens to take it over when I'd rather have more of Penelope and Colin talking, and although Colin seemed wonderfully nice and sensible at first, near that dreaded hundred-pages-from-the-end mark, I started wanting to whap him. This is also a book about writing and writers, and Quinn manages to capture it in a way I don't find self indulgent or annoying. Unfortunately, it also suffers from saying the writing is much better than I found the actual sample to be. Still, I am greatly fond of it for the crotchety Lady Danbury, one of my favorite characters from Quinn's books, and I can see why Penelope is a favorite heroine of many.
When He Was Wicked - My First Quinn! Rakish Michael Stirling has fallen head over heels for Francesca Bridgerton, but unfortunately for him, she married his beloved cousin and best friend John a few days later. But John dies, and neither of them can figure out how to move on. This is an odd Bridgerton book, because it actually has very little of the Bridgertons in it, although there is a conversation between Francesca and her mother about being widows that I adore. It also has angst and emotional conflict that was very believable for me, and I especially like how Quinn does not disparage Francesca or Michael's relationship with the deceased John to make the romance work. There is a bit about the sex being better though, sigh. (I also did the usual "LALALAARGH" to Michael being in India, though thankfully, we do not see it). Technically, I think this is the best of the Bridgerton series, and emotionally, it hits a ton of my buttons. It still does drag on a bit too long—near the end, I wanted to tell the characters to stop running away—but I liked the realistic working through grief and being widowed. Also, bonus points for a woman-on-top (literally AND figuratively!) sex scene.
It's in His Kiss - Gareth St. Clair is Lady Danbury's favorite grandson, and she's determined to pair him up with one of her favorite people, Hyacinth Bridgerton, the outspoken baby of the Bridgerton clan. Also, there's someone about diamonds and a diary in Italian and Gareth's father in the plot. I thought I would hate Hyacinth in the earlier books because she's always described as willful and outspoken and idiosyncratic, which is usually code for "obnoxious but the author tries to shove her down your throat," but miraculously, Quinn actually realizes willful and outspoken and idiosyncratic often goes with obnoxious and doesn't make Hyacinth twee. She is, in fact, one of my favorite Bridgertons. Gareth is funny and not terrible, and I think he has some angst, but quite honestly, I don't remember much of him. For me, this book is more Hyacinth growing up, a wonderful conversation between Hyacinth and her mother, and, of course, the hijinks of Hyacinth and Lady Danbury. (I am also amazed that the joke of the Smythe-Smith musicale never gets old for me.)
On the Way to the Wedding - Gregory Bridgerton falls head over heels for Hermione Watson and enlists her best friend Lucinda Abernathy to help him win Hermione over. We all know what happens from here, although Gregory doesn't. This suffers because we have little impression of Gregory from the previous books, and his conversation with Violet Bridgerton is too close to the one in Hyacinth has in the previous book, only without any of the emotional weight. The plot is also entirely too convoluted for me, although I adore having a hero who is not only unafraid of love, he is willing to make an absolute fool of himself for love quite a few times, and quite publicly at that! Unfortunately, Lucinda also suffers from lack of personality, and any number of funny chapter headings would not make up for that. And the epilogue is really ridiculous, even for sibling-series romances.
Conclusion: These aren't my favorite Quinns, with the exception of the somewhat flawed When He Was Wicked, but the world she builds in these books is so delightful and comforting and homey that I can see why they're such a success. Most sibling-series romances I've read make the point to tell the reader how close the family is, but I always feel like the authors cannot possibly have had actual siblings before. Quinn, on the other hand, is good at showing the humor and affection in familial relationships, as well as the way some siblings are more distant and all of them embarrass you at the exact wrong moment. They are a bit too good to be true, but in a way that makes you want to revisit them, rather than in a way that makes you roll your eyes.
Links:
-rilina's review
Quinn seems to be most famous for her Bridgerton series, an eight book series about the Bridgerton siblings, cutesily named with the first 8 letters of the alphabet (Anthony, Benedict, Colin, etc. etc.). I normally shy away from giant family series with everything possibly, but I didn't mind this one as much. There are too many babies (nine? really?!), and the Bridgertons are a little too perfect, but they are also warm and charming and feel like an actual family, not a collection of London's most rakish rakes. I particularly like the matriarch, Violet Bridgerton, and some of my favorite moments in the books I read are either between mother and child or between siblings.
Overall, I've found Quinn's books to be very funny and full of banter, and she often includes female friendships and relationships that feel real. I read somewhere that Quinn's heroines are people you want to be friends with, and I do. Her men are sometimes alpha, but the heroes I like best are friendly and nice. I even found myself wanting more books about characters in her world, because really, someone in the Smythe-Smith should get their own book. Also, I can't quite believe I read all the second epilogues (!! I know!) that were available from the library.
Alas, Quinn's downfall has so far been her sense of pacing. All the books in the Bridgerton series I've read really should have stopped about a hundred pages before they actually did, and Quinn tends to drag plots out. Still, she's been fairly consistently entertaining and likable, if not necessarily deep, and I've had a hard enough time finding likable heroes and heroines that I find it refreshing.
Another post to come on the non-Bridgerton books.
The Viscount Who Loved Me - Anthony Bridgerton, Viscount Bridgerton (not a mistake), is looking for a suitable bride and has decided on Edwina Sheffield. Unfortunately, Edwina's announced she will not marry someone her older stepsister Kate doesn't approve of, and Kate very much does not approve of the rakish viscount. Also, Anthony is determined not to fall in love because he is convinced he will die young. The logic for him worrying about dying young didn't quite convince me until I read Quinn's afterword, so I will also not mock his angst, but Anthony's reaction to being convinced he would die young still baffles me. You can tell this is earlier Quinn—there are some terrible contrivances to get the two married, Anthony's a bit too much the traditional romance hero for me, and I had little sympathy for both parties' angst. Still, Kate is excellent, and I especially like her relationship with her stepmother and stepsister. Also, as everyone has noted, the pall mall scene is wonderful. Mallet of death!
Romancing Mister Bridgerton - Penelope Featherington has loved her best friend Eloise's brother Colin Bridgerton for forever, but she's the perpetual wallflower all the Bridgerton men dance with out of sympathy. Quinn seems to have a great liking for unrequited-turned-requited love stories; however, since I do too, I have no problem with this! Actually, that was what drove me to pick up her books in the first place. Alas, the main plot of the book threatens to take it over when I'd rather have more of Penelope and Colin talking, and although Colin seemed wonderfully nice and sensible at first, near that dreaded hundred-pages-from-the-end mark, I started wanting to whap him. This is also a book about writing and writers, and Quinn manages to capture it in a way I don't find self indulgent or annoying. Unfortunately, it also suffers from saying the writing is much better than I found the actual sample to be. Still, I am greatly fond of it for the crotchety Lady Danbury, one of my favorite characters from Quinn's books, and I can see why Penelope is a favorite heroine of many.
When He Was Wicked - My First Quinn! Rakish Michael Stirling has fallen head over heels for Francesca Bridgerton, but unfortunately for him, she married his beloved cousin and best friend John a few days later. But John dies, and neither of them can figure out how to move on. This is an odd Bridgerton book, because it actually has very little of the Bridgertons in it, although there is a conversation between Francesca and her mother about being widows that I adore. It also has angst and emotional conflict that was very believable for me, and I especially like how Quinn does not disparage Francesca or Michael's relationship with the deceased John to make the romance work. There is a bit about the sex being better though, sigh. (I also did the usual "LALALAARGH" to Michael being in India, though thankfully, we do not see it). Technically, I think this is the best of the Bridgerton series, and emotionally, it hits a ton of my buttons. It still does drag on a bit too long—near the end, I wanted to tell the characters to stop running away—but I liked the realistic working through grief and being widowed. Also, bonus points for a woman-on-top (literally AND figuratively!) sex scene.
It's in His Kiss - Gareth St. Clair is Lady Danbury's favorite grandson, and she's determined to pair him up with one of her favorite people, Hyacinth Bridgerton, the outspoken baby of the Bridgerton clan. Also, there's someone about diamonds and a diary in Italian and Gareth's father in the plot. I thought I would hate Hyacinth in the earlier books because she's always described as willful and outspoken and idiosyncratic, which is usually code for "obnoxious but the author tries to shove her down your throat," but miraculously, Quinn actually realizes willful and outspoken and idiosyncratic often goes with obnoxious and doesn't make Hyacinth twee. She is, in fact, one of my favorite Bridgertons. Gareth is funny and not terrible, and I think he has some angst, but quite honestly, I don't remember much of him. For me, this book is more Hyacinth growing up, a wonderful conversation between Hyacinth and her mother, and, of course, the hijinks of Hyacinth and Lady Danbury. (I am also amazed that the joke of the Smythe-Smith musicale never gets old for me.)
On the Way to the Wedding - Gregory Bridgerton falls head over heels for Hermione Watson and enlists her best friend Lucinda Abernathy to help him win Hermione over. We all know what happens from here, although Gregory doesn't. This suffers because we have little impression of Gregory from the previous books, and his conversation with Violet Bridgerton is too close to the one in Hyacinth has in the previous book, only without any of the emotional weight. The plot is also entirely too convoluted for me, although I adore having a hero who is not only unafraid of love, he is willing to make an absolute fool of himself for love quite a few times, and quite publicly at that! Unfortunately, Lucinda also suffers from lack of personality, and any number of funny chapter headings would not make up for that. And the epilogue is really ridiculous, even for sibling-series romances.
Conclusion: These aren't my favorite Quinns, with the exception of the somewhat flawed When He Was Wicked, but the world she builds in these books is so delightful and comforting and homey that I can see why they're such a success. Most sibling-series romances I've read make the point to tell the reader how close the family is, but I always feel like the authors cannot possibly have had actual siblings before. Quinn, on the other hand, is good at showing the humor and affection in familial relationships, as well as the way some siblings are more distant and all of them embarrass you at the exact wrong moment. They are a bit too good to be true, but in a way that makes you want to revisit them, rather than in a way that makes you roll your eyes.
Links:
-
rilina's reviewTags:
(no subject)
Mon, May. 24th, 2010 06:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Thu, May. 27th, 2010 06:37 am (UTC)