Book Thoughts: The Duke and I (Julia Quinn)

A fun romp with a dubious hero…

★★★★☆☆☆

Title: The Duke and I (Bridgertons #1)
Author: Julia Quinn
Genre: Historical Fiction / Romance
First published: 2000
Edition: Kindle e-book

Recently returned to England from abroad, Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

***

So many people are reading this right now because of the Netflix TV show, but apparently it piqued my curiosity as well.

I won’t lie, I enjoyed most of this book. It was a lively read that definitely classifies as ‘a romp’ in my book. Was I as enamoured with it as most people seem to be? No, but that is absolutely fine. I still had fun reading it. I just had a few issues.

My main issue was with the Simon character. Although I kind of understand that he is supposed to be this brooding sexy hero, to me he just came across as a bit of an arse to be honest. I get it, he has this complicated background, which makeshim this said arse, but I still did not feel it justified just how much of a selfish oaf he was, not to mention violent.

I did enjoy Daphne’s character and I thought she was great lead. Spirited, steadfast and sweet. Her actions (bar one!) made sense to me. The whole dynamic in the Bridgerton family was so endearing and that was definitely the highlight throughout this book.

I am not going to compare this to the TV show as it is quite different. I don’t think one is better than the other, just different.

So, yes, I enjoyed it, but Simon… not so much.

4 out of 7 stars