The blurb:
This time the gossip columnists have it wrong. London's most elusive bachelor Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry--he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield--the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate's the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...
Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands--and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate's determined to protect her sister--but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...
I took a brief break from the Pratchett Project when this one showed up at the library. I read The Duke and I in 2024, prior to watching any of the shows on Netflix, then watched the three seasons plus Queen Charlotte's story, and now I'm back to the books.
The overall setup is as the blurb describes: Anthony Bridgerton has decided the time has finally come to get married and carry on the Bridgerton line. The novel does go into more detail about why; ever since his father died abruptly, Anthony's always had a conviction that he will die at or before the same age as his father. Therefore he decides that he must marry — but he won't subject his bride to the same suffering his mother experienced when his father died; so therefore, he'd rather marry someone who will be a good mother to their children, but not someone he's going to fall in love with.
Enter the Sheffield sisters, Kate and Edwina. The Sheffield family is rather poorer than the Bridgertons (and many other families as well) and has only the two daughters. Kate is older and unmarried; Edwina is the younger, and is stunningly pretty, everything a young Regency miss should be. Because of the family's stretched resources, they've decided on only one London season, in hopes that Edwina at least will find a husband (nobody has high hopes for Kate). Cue 'enemies to lovers' trope as Anthony sets his sights on Edwina, Kate does everything she can to prevent that happening because of Anthony's rake reputation, and you can probably guess where this all ends up.
It's no accident, I'm guessing, that Kate is named Kate; you can squint and see a somewhat-reworked Taming of the Shrew here. However, Kate is considerably less tamed than Shakespeare's Kate, and Anthony is no Petruchio. Just as well, that play's infuriating.
What brings them to gether is coming to a shared understanding of the related traumas they both experienced in their childhoods. They stop seeing each other as their reputations and start seeing each other as people. In the best tradition of romance novels, though, that doesn't happen until some way into the novel, so it's quite a slow burn as the two of them slowly realise what's going on, and realise that they can get past their traumas and expectations.
There was humour in the first novel, in a Pride and Prejudice sort of style; The Viscount Who Loved Me retains that, but throws in some broader, less arch comedy, and I don't think it works as well. The family banter like the "I'm going to KILL you!" rants are in keeping, they're family arguments and, when Kate is included in them, they just work at showing how well Kate is suited to the Bridgertons in general and, by extension, Anthony in particular. But the moment where Anthony accidentally kicks Kate in the stomach...that just felt like somone suddenly switched the channel to Benny Hill or something. It felt quite out of place.
But that's the only real bone I have to pick with the novel. In the main, I enjoyed the family dynamic, and how easily Kate slid into interacting with the family; I really enjoyed Edwina's journey from being expected to marry well and support the family to realising that she too can marry for love, and I wish there'd been a little more of that shown on screen instead of it being between the lines a bit. The slow burn between Kate and Anthony was well done, and believable. I'll be following on to the third novel when it arrives at the library.
Started: 24 February 2025
Finished: 27 February 2025
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