Audio Book Review: Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

 

Genre: Romance/Audio Book

Publisher: Recorded Books

Pub. Date: July 2, 2002

Source: Personal Copy 

Other Books By Author: The Duke and I, 

 The Viscount Who Loved Me, and An Offer From a Gentleman

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "On the sixth of April, in the year 1812 - precisely two days before her sixteenth birthday - Penelope Featherington fell in love. But Colin Bridgerton certainly didn't fall in love with her in 1812 (and not in 1813, 1814, 1815, or - oh blast, not in all the years 1816-1822, either, and certainly not in 1823, when he was out of the country the whole time, anyway..' Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret and fears she doesn't know him at all. Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of everyone's preoccupation with the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him in the first paragraph. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same - especially Penelope Featherington! The girl haunting his dreams. But when he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decides she his biggest threat - or his promise of a happy ending?"

 

Penelope Featherington, if you are familiar with the Bridgertons series, is a wallflower. She is best friends with Eloise Bridgerton and due to this has always been in the Bridgerton family's orbit.  However, she has never really had her moment, that is until this book.  Readers know that Penelope has adored Colin Bridgerton for years.  He has never really noticed her as anything other than Eloise's best friend. Sure, they are friends, but that's it.  He is busy with his traveling, and when he is home, his boisterous family takes up the bulk of his time.  Penelope is confident she knows all there is to know about Colin that is until she stumbles upon his journal from his travels. This isn't something that Colin was willing to share with anyone, so cue major drama.  Penelope had no idea that Colin fancied himself a writer.  Then there's still the issue of Lady Whistledown's identity.  Lady Danbury proposes to offer a reward to anyone who uncovers her identity.  Without giving too much away, this is the book that readers will find out who is behind Lady Whistledown.  Colin can't help but think it's Eloise and he worries that this will ruin her.  As Penelope and Colin spend more time together, sparks fly and despite Colin being not entirely sure of things, he can't deny his new found attraction to her.  Romancing Mister Bridgerton is book four in the Bridgertons series and despite Colin's stubbornness, this book is a delight thanks to Penelope and the uncovering of Lady Whistledown.

I have always enjoyed the character of Penelope. She is an underdog of sorts and I felt she should have been treated better by her family.  Her friendship with Eloise is one of the reasons I adore her and even though she has resigned herself to the fact that she is now a spinster, there's so much still to come for Penelope in Romancing Mister Bridgerton.  Her obsession with Colin in this book is awkward at times, especially when she stumbles upon his journal.  However, despite the cringe-worthy moment, she finds out Colin's big secret, which definitely drives the plot forward a bit.  It appears that Eloise isn't the only Bridgerton who enjoys writing. 

Also, Colin has been interacting a bit more with Penelope than usual, because he is convinced that his sister, Eloise, is Lady Whistledown.  Who better to discuss this with than Eloise's best friend?  Once Colin starts to see Penelope as more than just Eloise's best friend, things really heat up between the two.  But this is where I was conflicted and it surrounds the character of Colin.

Colin has always seem to be the kind Bridgerton brother; however, in Romancing Mister Bridgerton, he is really stubborn and even  rude at times.  I didn't care for his behavior; however, I wanted the happy ending for Penelope and he does come around.  Despite his brash behavior at times, I thought Penelope and Colin's story was a delightful one; plus, who doesn't love to see the underdog win?  Penelope deserves that and more, especially after dealing with her insufferable family. 

As always, I chose to listen to this book and it was a delight. Rosalyn Landor is one of my favorite audio book narrators; I couldn't imagine listening to the Bridgertons without hearing her memorable voice.  I highly recommend the audio version of this series.

So, are you a fan of the Bridgertons series and the TV show? Have you read Romancing Mister Bridgerton? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.