By Josephine Geiger-Lee
Full Disclosure: This is a clickbait title. I would encourage everyone to read at least one Bridgerton book in their lifetime. You can read it for the humor (and, no offense to Mrs. Quinn, I did cackle during some of the parts where you were not supposed to be laughing). You can read it for the romance. You can read it for the cute sibling interactions! There is something to be enjoyed in these books, shockingly!
Last year, I bought all eight Bridgerton books as a summer reading project. I just ended my freshman year at the University of Iowa, and it felt like a good project. I love Frankenstein and King Richard III, don’t get me wrong, but after my first semester of dissecting them, I wanted a fun read. I gave myself three months to read them. I finished the first one on May 12th, 2022. I finished the last one on May 31st, 2022.
I wasn’t going to read them again this year (trust me: some of the details from Bridgerton stay with you; I can still tell you if I burn or melt for you). But, the end of the school year hit, I went home, and there were my eight books, looking at me, waiting for me, and what other choice did I have?
So, walk with me (in the digital space, of course) as I read through the eight books!
(Beware: there will be spoilers ahead.)
Book #1: The Duke and I
2.25/5 Stars
The basic summary of the Duke and I is that it’s the romance between Daphne Bridgerton (Bridgerton #4) and Simon, the Duke of Hastings. It’s Daphne’s second season, and she is afraid she will never be wed because everyone sees her as a “friend,” not a lover. Simon doesn’t want to be wed because he is spiting his father, who mistreated him due to his stutter. They end up fake-dating, which turns to real-dating, which turns into them being married and having kids. While everyone here has a valid perspective, here is where it gets dicey for me, and here is where it landed itself two stars. Daphne’s “solution” to Simon not wanting kids was crude and overall disgusting. It colored how I saw her from that point onwards. It was hard to root for her to get a happy ending. The book doesn’t condemn her for her actions (it operates in a murky gray area), but I would definitely caution any incoming readers to look up people’s responses and determine whether it’s a good fit.
Outside of the main romance, however, there were fun things going on behind the scenes. The introductory novel makes a point to showcase most of its characters, and it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Part of the cleverness comes from Lady Whistledown’s Reports, which are at the beginning of the chapters. Here you find a lot of the context, such as the Bridgerton siblings being named alphabetically (Anthony-Benedict-Colin-Daphne-Eloise-Francesca-Gregory-Hyacinth). The siblings, in general, are a great throughline. Even if you dislike some of the siblings, you root for the family as a whole. There are hints of why the Bridgerton family is better than the others in the ‘ton (they let their youngest eat with them! they don’t mistreat servants! Their mother wants them to marry for love first!).
Book #2: The Viscount Who Loved Me
4.25/5 Stars
Full disclosure: Anthony Bridgerton is both #1 Bridgerton in birth order and my heart, so this might be a little biased. Anthony has decided to get married, not for love, but for ~responsibility and duty~. This stems from his horror from seeing his father die and leave his mother devastated. Meanwhile, Kate is on the shelf (it’s a little humbling, and exasperating, that as a twenty-year-old, I should start being afraid of being on the shelf because you really have 2 prime years to get
married). After an enemies-to-lovers arc (Kate blocks him from marrying her sister, for obvious reasons), they get married and Anthony gets his head out of his ass.
I have no remorse about this one; when I started rereading it, I was so, so excited. There were scenes I wanted to read again (the scene where Anthony and Kate have a talk about why Anthony’s so afraid to die at the same age as his relatively young father, and she tells him he can’t get over it until he surpasses him in age, but she will support him through it? Like, what?) that I literally skipped ahead to get there. The whole saga out at Aubrey Hall is a masterpiece, by the way. Every chapter out there hits, and every time they leave Aubrey Hall, I’m a little sad because the vibes were so rich and beautiful.
That said, book 2 is NOT heavy on the sibling interactions. You get a little bit of it on Kate’s side; she is very cute with Edwina, who is the one Anthony is courting at first. AND the Pall Mall scene goes down in legends, seeing them bicker and fight with one another. Ultimately, though, it’s about Kate and Anthony.
If you have to read any Bridgerton book, this is the one I’m pointing you towards, if only because you’ll read it and realize you have to keep going.
Book #3: An Offer from a Gentleman
3.25/5 Stars
Fair warning: if you hate Cinderella, you will hate this story. The first time I read through it, I couldn’t get over the fact that this is just the fairy tale. Sophie (the love interest!) is a bastard child, and when her father dies, her stepmother all but turns her into a servant. She sneaks away to a masquerade ball, falls in love with Benedict, and then leaves him with only a glove. Then, two years pass, Benedict has all but given up on his mystery woman when he meets (gasp!) a serving girl, rescues her, and thus begins hijinks. Hijinks include getting sick, skinny-dipping, asking a girl to be your mistress and being a little shocked when she’s offended, and a jailhouse
scene that is almost hysterical in its theatrics.
Where this book struggles, in my opinion, is Benedict’s reactions. There is a small problem in all the Bridgerton books where I think the men overreact and get way too angry, or possessive, or generally assert their masculinity. If this was a pissing contest, Benedict is pissing all over this book. He keeps making choices for Sophie, trapping her into things that we know will work out for the best because of the genre and the book, but it’s frustrating, especially when Sophie is one of the most sympathetic characters I encountered in the Bridgerton series.
Still, the first time I read this, I fully read it in one day. It’s a shockingly fast romance, especially if you consider the way it takes place outside of the balls and the court and all of the typical regency flair. It breaks a pattern Daphne and Anthony sets, so I respect it for the ground it’s making there. The jailhouse scene might be a little over the top (this would make a great soap opera, and I’m also thrilled by the idea I might see it via Netflix one day), but it also was a scene I was thrilled to reread, so take the criticisms with a grain of salt. Would it be the first one I pick up again? No. Would I be disappointed to read it again? No.
Book #4: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
4.25/5 Stars
If you’re paying close attention, you might notice this has the same rating as the second book.That, I have no regrets about. I go back and forth over which one is better, and at the end of the day, I think they both pack a great punch. This one deals with Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington, two characters who have received space in the narrative before. It’s a friends-to-lovers arc! The romance, however, is not where the most tension comes in (and, again, after the first three, it’s nice to see one starting to venture out of the mold). The tension comes from Miss
Penelope Featherington being (drum roll please) LADY WHISTLEDOWN!
When I read it the first time, I remember I really did not like Penelope’s character. As the ‘ton starts scrambling to hunt down Lady Whistledown, I didn’t get why Penelope had to fight Cressida Cowper when Cressida takes credit and why she didn’t let it go. Rereading it, though, I think a lot of those frustrations stem from Show! Penelope’s choices. Like, let’s be real. Show! Penelope is literally going for the queen’s throat; who’s shocked there are consequences? Book!Penelope is spitting facts, and she might have made enemies, but the books highlight again
and again that she never insulted people who couldn’t take it.
(The concerts are one of the sweetest gestures in the book, that Penelope will suffer through a god-awful concert just to support the one who realizes how bad the quartet is.)
Colin also is an upstanding, if not a little chaotic, gentleman throughout the book. His conflict is well-done, I’m not going to lie. The Bridgerton boys fall into the trap of being the least relatable people around. Anthony, at least, is burdened by responsibility. Benedict, Colin, and Gregory’s lives are literally just to have fun and get married one day. At least the girls have to deal with societal pressure as women! Colin learning to be a writer is actually a fascinating behind-the-curtains type thing, however. Writers writing about aspiring writers is always an interesting balance in a story, and I think Julia Quinn handled it perfectly.
The obsession with talking about Colin and his appetite, though, did knock it down .25 stars. Trust me: once it gets started, it will not stop. This will be a personality trait defining him through the series.
Book #5: To Sir Phillip, With Love
2.00/5 Stars
UGH! This one is such a SLOG to get through, which is really unfortunate considering it is placed so perfectly in the middle. In the book’s defense, it already has a hard task. A: Lady Whistledown’s asides are gone, what with Penelope casting it aside in the previous book. I didn’t realize how much I loved them until they were replaced with the letters. B: Eloise is a… hardcharacter to root for. C: Phillip is also hard to root for.
Eloise decides she wants to marry after Penelope marries, and she goes to Phillip to see if they would be suitable together. Phillip lives out in the country, being generally anti-social and giving lumberjack vibes, with his two children, who are adorable but also complete menaces. There is nothing wrong with that premise. Here’s the hard part: both are painfully anti-social.
Eloise talks too much, something she admits in the very beginning. She trips over herself SO MUCH in this book. Her best moments are when she’s being clever, such as when she pranks the kids back, versus when she is talking to Phillip. Phillip, on the other hand, does not talk enough. He doesn’t like making conversation. He also doesn’t like his children that much (I know this is a huge plot point, that he has to learn to care for his children again, but jeez, my man. There is too much inner monologue about being a bad father and then not fixing it).
The moments the book shines is when we’re NOT with Eloise and Phillip going through the blandest courtship known to man. When her brothers come and invade, threatening Phillip, I loved it. ABC&G can do no wrong in my book (especially Gregory! He’s all grown up now!). The sequence of visiting Benedict when his child gets sick also packs a punch.
But if you had to skip any Bridgerton book, it’s this one. Sorry, El.
Book #6: When He Was Wicked
5.00/5 Stars
5 STARS. I SAID WHAT I SAID.
First of all, when Julia Quinn was debating who to give trauma to, she gave it all to Francesca. Francesca (who is notably absent in the TV show; sorry, Franny!) goes through the ringer in this one. She starts off in a happy marriage to John, and within the first fifty pages, he dies abruptly, leaving her widowed INCREDIBLY young, and she miscarries their child. Meanwhile, her love interest (her late husband’s cousin) runs to India because he’s terrified to take John’s place and erase his memory in that way, and Francesca loses her best friend. Michael, the love interest, is also going through it. Obviously, his cousin dies. He’s in love with his now dead cousin’s wife.
He goes to India and contracts malaria, and he suffers a malaria fit when he returns to London. When they start to fall in love with each other, they have to go through the emotional saga of realizing their love for each other doesn’t erase their love for John.
Was that a lot for you?
Yes, me too. I fully cried reading this book just because you feel so bad for everyone involved. I would also like to say that this is one of the most believable reasons love interests keep their distance from each other. Some of their excuses are a little weak, I’m not going to lie (Sophie? I’m looking at you). This whole moral question is a good reason not to get with someone yet.
Francesca and Michael are also such fun characters to explore together. Francesca is one of the slyest Bridgertons, and it shows. She owns up to being quieter, and her solution just to run away never misses. Michael is also a classic rake character (think Simon and Anthony from earlier books), and he’s unashamed of using that to his advantage.
Also, hate to say it (or do I?), Francesca actually understands she’s in a sexy regency novel, and she doesn’t have to be taught anything.
Book #7: It’s In His Kiss
3.50/5 Stars
I fully believe Julia Quinn got to the seventh book, wiped her brow, and wondered how she could make this one different. Then, she came out swinging. Hyacinth, the last Bridgerton, and Gareth fall in love through an elaborate heist together. They’re hunting the crown jewels of Gareth’s past with obstacles such as Gareth’s daddy issues and Hyacinth’s audacity. Hyacinth knows societal norms, and she does not care. Gareth knows this about her and is still vaguely surprised every time she shatters gender norms.
I love this one, just for the quirky hijinks. After the sixth book, this one is a lot more
lighthearted, filled with them bantering back and forth. The inclusion of the Bridgerton siblings only adds to it. I laughed out loud when Anthony got Hyacinth married to Gareth and all but said “thank God I’m free.” Good for you, Anthony! Be free! Gregory and Hyacinth are fun together, the two youngest siblings stirring up shit for the general population. Gareth slots right in, giving clever, sarcastic remarks through his monologue.
The biggest issue in this book is Gareth’s whole conflict with his father. It’s very understandable, and I don’t begrudge him for anything in the beginning. It’s when he decides he needs to lock Hyacinth into marriage. They’ve already been engaged, but he’s so afraid she’ll choose to leave him that he decides his only choice is to have premarital sex. Yeah. Guess what problem could have been solved with a simple conversation? Healthy communications, folks. It works wonders.
(Also, tragically, Hyacinth and Gareth only find the jewels in the second epilogue. Me and Hyacinth both so desperately wanted to find that bracelet. Why did it take her so long? It doesn’t have to be realistic!)
Book #8: On the Way to the Wedding
4.50/5 Stars
This one does NOT miss. I need you to picture the two of us (me and you, reader) at a cafe, and I’m just gushing about these books. Here are things you would have picked up on: I love the siblings interacting, I love when the reason they’re being blocked from each other is reasonable, and I love the over-the-top dramatic scenes, even if it’s hard to get me to admit it. We go out with a BANG here.
First, we speedrun love-at-first-sight. Gregory is chilling with Anthony and Kate (yes! from book two!), and he falls in love with Hermione. Hermione, however, is not in love with him. She’s in love with someone who works for her father, and then she’s in love with Gregory, and then she’s in love with Lucy’s brother (Lucy being the love interest).
The book gives us shockingly cutting commentary on love-at-first-sight. As in: maybe not the best tactic when it comes to love. Technically, Hermione, who seems a little flighty to me, ends up happy, but I don’t have high hopes for this lasting forever for them (sorry, Hermione!). Gregory realizes he can’t just fall in love with a woman from the back of her neck. And then, he realizes he’s in love with Lucy.
But Lucy is engaged to another for too complex of reasons to write down now! So, Gregory has no choice but to crash their wedding. He does a full “speak now or forever hold your peace — I have something to say!” moment. Then, because this book wants to be surprising, it doesn’t work! It’s insane!
This book literally just keeps escalating until you get a standoff in a closet, Gregory and Lucy’s uncle with guns, and someone gets shot. (Spoiler alert: it’s not Gregory. What a book that would have made.)
Again, this one is a speedy little read just because my jaw was perpetually on the ground. Gregory and Lucy are both funny narrators, and if this one wasn’t the last one, this is the one I’m throwing in people’s faces. This encapsulates the Bridgerton family relationships (they all rally for Gregory—except Eloise and Francesca, who are pretty much absent), and it’s just a fun little read.
Overall Thoughts?
Read the Bridgerton books.
Then, come back and tell me if this ranking of the Bridgerton siblings is wrong. I can take criticism (on SOME of them):
8. Daphne
7. Eloise
6. Benedict
5. Hyacinth
4. Colin
3. Francesca
2. Gregory
1. Anthony