The Literary Puff

I have almost reached the end of the Bridgerton series and I’ll admit—I’m a little sad. Book seven was Hyacinth’s book and it was a mixed one for me—parts were brilliant but there seems to be a bit of a running theme with these books--they start slow, then they get good, then around about the middle you’re thinking it’s slow again but it picks up once again at the end. Hyacinth and Gareth were most definitely a good match. They complimented each other really well and their story had a lot of fun and mischief. Perhaps if I hadn't read When He Was Wicked before this and fallen in love with Michael, I'd have thought Gareth St Clair more devilish ... but in comparison, he's not. Or at least, we don't see that side of him. I enjoyed ‘the hunt’ and the moments that created, I loved that Gareth learned the answer to 'the secret' and I’m glad Hyacinth found someone who she could be herself with and who loved her because of it. Again, it was an easy, light-hearted read ...

This story was so unexpected because I don’t remember seeing hardly any mention of Francesca in the other books. But what a delight it was!  I feel like with the last two books, Quinn was really hitting her stride, really perfecting her craft and for me, it’s paid off. Francesca’s story is one with a lot of emotions which felt really modern which I loved. And of course, there is Michael - where do I start with him? He’s got a charming side but even better than that, (for me anyway) he’s got a devilishly dirty mouth which I simply love. I really enjoyed the beginning, then I struggled in the middle for a while, but from about 60% it got so good and I couldn’t put it down. There’s love, loss, grief, working out how to move on and navigating falling in love with your best friend. This story has themes that pull at your heartstrings and leave you with tears rolling down your cheeks while other moments will leave you laughing and then you’ll be feeling a little … overheated. Aren’t thos...

To date, this is my favourite Bridgerton book! I loved the story, I really loved the journey the characters, in particular Philip, go on. I loved how we learn more about him and why he, at first, appears gruff and moody. I thought there was a lot of depth to the characters which I loved and hope this continues as for me, I felt you could see how the writing was improving. I found myself laughing out loud with this one and not being able to read at times from tears - just wonderful. For me, it was the most ‘contemporary’ feeling of all the novels thus far and I enjoyed that immensely. For Quinn, the sex was a little more descriptive and it appears Eloise is the first female lead who doesn’t just lay there and want to be taken slowly - I wholeheartedly approve of this, Eloise! I love the regency setting but some of the themes and story lines haven’t grabbed me as much as this one did which is absolutely fine, as everyone wants something different from the books they read after all. I’m ...

I really enjoyed Colin and Penelope’s story, much more than I was expecting to. I found it so easy to read and I simply adore Penelope even more than I did at the beginning. She is a character that is just full of goodness, kindness and empathy as we see throughout this story. But she’s also brave and talented and so overlooked by most people it drives me crazy. I enjoyed seeing more of Colin too and even though he frustrated me at times, I liked that he could be vulnerable and honest with Pen. I loved reading him realising he felt much more for her than he thought he did, I adored reading him falling in love with her and I loved how protective of her he was. I loved how Colin’s love and desire for Pen allowed her to feel sexy and desired and wanted, After all isn’t that what every female wants? And who knew a mirror could be very erotic? Colin Bridgeton apparently. Another easy, cute and simple read but one I enjoyed very much. I’m excited to see what they do with their series even mo...

I really, really wanted to love this book as I adore Benedict in the Netflix show, but for me, it was just okay. There didn’t seem to be massive amounts of depth to his character. Gone was the arty Benedict who pushed societies boundaries and who didn’t want to step into the normal role of a member of the ton. He didn’t seem to have a sense of humour and he was really not easy to like in various points in the story. He seems, to date, to be the Bridgerton who is the most entitled and arrogant and not in a good way. I liked Sophie in lots of ways but she frustrated me so much too. There were so many times I wanted to shake her about the head. She was so feisty except when she needed to be and I feel like she could have been so much more. There were parts I really liked and there were parts I really didn’t like but overall it was okay, nothing groundbreaking but not awful either and I’ll be honest, I’m left feeling a little disappointed and that’s okay, I didn’t expect to love all the ...

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Anthony and Kate in the TV series on Netflix (I mean, who couldn’t love them? Their chemistry was insane.) so I hoped I would enjoy the book too. There were a lot of changes to the TV show from the book which I didn’t realise and I’ll be completely honest and say I liked some of the changes that were made and I disliked others. I actually think the TV show made Anthony a lot more likeable and the reasons for his behaviour and choices more believable. There were moments in the book that even I found a little ridiculous and I can take ridiculous in books perfectly well. I enjoyed Kate in the book too, she was still outspoken and funny and gave as good as she got which Is what I adored from the show. I loved Anthony and Kate’s banter a lot and often found myself smiling as I was reading. I think it helps that, in my head, I’m picturing the leads from the show which adds a lot to the overall telling of this particular story for me personally. All in all,...

I think everyone has heard of Bridgerton thanks to Netflix , right? On a recent holiday to Europe, I decided to finally dive head-first into these books. I wanted something light, something easy and something sweet and this book certainly delivered that. I think I’m in the minority that didn’t fall for Regè-Jean’s portrayal of Simon, so I’m really glad that this book has me warming to the Duke much, much more. There was a little more depth to all the characters and because you’re reading from their POV, you’re able to understand them all a little more, something that didn’t come across as well in the series for me. You understand Simon’s motives a lot more and for the most part, you can understand why he feels the way he does. He’s still charming and devilish in equal amounts of course and he has moments that made me laugh and swoon—perfect.  I much prefer Daphne’s character in the book to on screen. She’s more feisty and doesn’t allow her brothers to push her around half as much ...