My favorite of all of them maybe because it's relatable. I went through every moment with her and was glad for happy ending. ( )

I was curious going into this book, as I felt like Francesca was the Bridgerton sibling I knew the least about and I was surprised to realize that this book's timeline is pretty much concurrent with the previous two (there are multiple references to events in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton and To Sir Philip with Love). I liked Francesca and Michael as a couple and I could appreciate their struggle to find happiness after the death of someone important to them both. Overall, another good installment in the Bridgerton series. ( )

Historical Romance

I think this may be the only JQ book in which the heroine is not a virgin when she meets the hero, which means that this book is a little racier than most of the Bridgerton books. It's also got a much different vibe going on. Lots of people read romance novels because they're full of idealized love, perfect love, completely non-messy love. This book shakes that formula up quite a bit because our heroine, Francesca, has already met and married her perfect man when the book begins. And then he dies. And then Francesca falls for his best friend, his cousin, the man who took his place. That's kind of morally uncomfortable, right? No one wants to fall in love with their dead husband's best friend. It's messy and everyone feels guilty about it. But, of course, it's also got that forbidden thing going on...

I'd say this book is overlong and I skimmed through quite a bit of it. It was also a little less funny and little more angsty than I like. But if you're a big Bridgerton fan, you'll love how much the other Bridgertons are in this one. There are important references to the other books, and several characters actual meddle a lot in Francesca's story. It's pretty fun and I'm surprised JQ doesn't do it more often. ( )

I really liked this one, mostly because Michael asks for consent each step of the way (plz take notes Philip Crane) and because this is the horniest one so far and Francesca takes ownership of it. Maybe because we have a young widowed character we don't need to do the "oh no, what's a penis" ignorance like some of the other heroines. We exit the London scene pretty abruptly, but after various books with parties it's ok to step away to the countryside...

Would've liked a followup between Colin and Michael after those chapters in the first half. ( )