Romancing Mister Bridgerton book review

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Series: Bridgertons #4
Published by Avon on July 2, 2002
Pages: 370
Goodreads

Everyone knows that Colin Bridgerton is the most charming man in London. 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 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 decide...is she his biggest threat - or his promise of a happy ending?

I am making my way through the Bridgerton books, because after being spoilt at the end of the last season I didn’t want that to happen again. Romancing Mister Bridgerton was the next one on the list and it was probably my least favourite. There may be spoilers for the other books in the series in this review. Out of all the stories this was the one felt the most rushed and awkward. There was no real chemistry and even the spicy scenes were a little lacking.

Characters in Romancing Mister Bridgerton

This is the story of Penelope and her love for Colin. I was the most excited about this one, and it let me down. I am a massive fan of Penelope in the earlier books, there is definitely something about her that brings life to the stories even when she isn’t the focus. But for some reason despite being the one everyone is focused on she loses that spark in this book. I think its because she is reduced down to being a spinster and nothing else in this book. It frustrated me to watch her lose herself to become Colin’s wife and she deserved better.

The other irritating part of the story was watching Colin fall in love with Penelope because it was the single most boring thing I’ve ever seen. There was no chemistry between the two of them and it was so run of the mill there was no romance involved. I wanted Penelope to be swept off her feet and it just felt as though she was settling which was upsetting. It would have been great for these two characters to have grown as people as well as together.

The Bad Bits in Romancing Mister Bridgerton

I think the whole reveal of Whistledown was poorly handled, there was so much potential for something better. What we got was ridiculously lazy writing with very little direction. I wanted for there to be more momentum in the entirety of it all. Everything felt a little lacklustre and so anti-climatic. Something that should have been a great moment was a watered down mess. Just wasn’t what I was looking for when I went into this book.

The romance felt a completely rushed and there wasn’t nearly enough time spent on the reasons why they loved each other. It felt so much more forced than the others in the series. I also thought the stakes weren’t as high as the other books, there wasn’t a climax that really made the relationship work for the happiness they wanted.

The Good Bits

I always find this books an easy read and this one was no different. Although not my favourite of the series, it wasn’t hard to follow and during my never ending slump it was exactly what I needed. I enjoyed watching Penelope and Eloise’s relationship develop. Especially by the end. There were definitely moments where the characters really came into their own and as always I enjoyed the setting. It was a pleasure seeing the world through Penelope’s eyes, someone who isn’t necessarily on the inside of all the different groups.

Next move

I’m going to carry on with the series but I think I’m going to take a small break and branch out into something new. The stories are feeling a little repetitive and I think if I rushed into another I wouldn’t enjoy it and I really want to make the most of the series and get to the end.

Have you completed the series? Which one was your favourite? Let me know!