Because of Miss Bridgerton: A Bridgerton Prequel (The Rokesbys Book 1)

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At 23, Sybilla Bridgerton—known as Billie to her friends and family—is impulsive and tomboyish, riding around her father’s estate in breeches and reading agricultural treatises for fun. The latest installment of Quinn’s ( The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy, 2015, etc.) Bridgerton series opens with Billie stranded on the roof of an abandoned house, nursing a sprained ankle. She climbed a tree to rescue a cat, then fell onto the roof from the tree. She’s appalled when her nemesis, George Rokesby, Viscount Kennard, happens along and she’s forced to ask for his help. Although the two grew up on neighboring estates, Billie has always been closer to George’s three younger siblings. George, as the heir to an earldom, was always too serious and busy to romp with the other kids, and when they did interact, George and Billie always needled each other mercilessly. But after George helps rescue Billie from the roof, they begin to see each other in a new light, and gradually both are horrified to realize that their strong feelings of antipathy have given way to strong feelings of a different kind. For both of them, “this had to be the most inconvenient attraction in the history of man.” Although George and Billie are both likable characters and Quinn is an accomplished writer, the book’s exciting opening is not followed by additional exciting plot points. A brief house party and a single ball make up nearly all the events in the novel. Everything else is just the characters’ thoughts and conversations. Also, in the first half, Billie was super annoying, and George was as interesting as a cardboard box. This last bit was made even more obvious whenever George had a scene with Andrew, his little brother who reminded me so much of Sebastian from The Devil in Winter. I even started rooting for Andrew at one point, because I got bored with George. I know some people might absolutely love the Pall Mall scene because they liked it in the original...but—confession time—I didn't really care for it in the original to begin with. It's not that I hated it, but I didn't really give a damn one way or the other about it. So it's inclusion here? I was less than enthused by it. (Which made it all the more cringey.) And, once the house party had served its purpose—which, I assume, was simply for the Pall Mall—it was immediately terminated. Again...wha?

I liked George _despite having forgotten his name *cough*_, his bafflement over his "sudden" interest in Billie was fun to read, but in the end this story's plot was practically non existent. If that made her some kind of strange, unfeminine freak, so be it. She would much rather be out on her horse. Or fishing at the lake. Or climbing a tree. Not for the first time Billie wondered what her Heavenly Father had been thinking when she’d been born a girl. She was clearly the least girlish girl in the history of England. She bit her tongue. First figuratively, and then literally. Be nice, she reminded herself. Even if it kills you… Suzanne: Quinn’s books, even the Bridgerton series, all follow a pattern and this one was no different; if you like one of her books you are very likely to enjoy them all. So, it did have that mix of humour, romance and passion I enjoy from her; however, it didn’t quite have the special something that makes the original series special.Crompton, Sarah. "Meet Julia Quinn, the woman behind Bridgerton". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved May 18, 2022. Aunque el romance tarda en aparecer, si se deja ver ésa química entre ellos, y si está bien descrito el enamoramiento, o al menos a mí me lo ha parecido. Tampoco voy a decir que es el mejor libro de Julia Quinn, ni mucho menos; pero sí me ha gustado más que los mas sosetes de los Bridgerton. As for Billie she comes out as someone somewhat cold ( doesn't like cats -_- never a good sign), someone who is indifferent to her younger sister to the point of having George admonish her. And then there's some espionage-lite business with Lord Arbuthnot. What was even the point of his subplot? I thought it was actually going somewhere at first, but then, like the house party, once it served its purpose, it was dispensed of. Arbuthnot literally sidles out the door while George and Billie are confessing their love to one another. And then the book is over. George: I like him. He’s stern and calm, but mainly kind. I love that he’s honest and straight-forward with Billie. He’s pretty much the perfect balance for her craziness.

His head popped into view, and his Rokesby-blue eyes narrowed. All the Rokesbys had blue eyes. Every last one of them.The disjointed and odd events aside, the emotions of characters (Billie in particular) I also found to be odd. I had trouble reconciling Billie's reactions and emotions to events in comparison to how I felt she should've reacted. After Billie and George first kiss, he follows it by telling her it was a mistake. After she gets a bit angry, she then proceeds to ask him to kiss her again. I thought the kiss scene was awkward to begin with. (Well, not the scene itself, but what initiated it.) After he tells her it was a mistake, she's obviously hurt, but then she agrees to kiss him again?? Wtf? If I were in her position, even if I didn't want to show the person that they'd hurt me, I wouldn't be all YES PLEASE KISS ME AGAIN after just having been told that it was a mistake. Twice. Now, you might be wondering, "Why the three stars, Daniella?" Well, despite the book's initial imperfections, I truly fell in love with the story. The thing about Billie and George is that they weren't great characters individually, but together, they were amazing. I loved the banter, the subtle glances, the discreet gestures. I savoured them. I lived for them. Although it’s fairly slow-moving, I enjoyed the developing love story and would certainly recommend the book on the strength of it. What doesn’t work so well however, is an odd sub-plot that concerns Edward, the second Rokesby brother, who is away fighting in America. Without giving too much away, events transpire that see George becoming unwittingly embroiled in a potentially dangerous situation, but it doesn’t make much sense and the ending is rushed and somewhat confused. I didn't even like the house party bit to begin with. It came out of nowhere, and that didn't make any sense to me. Supposedly it was for Andrew...? But then the house party is upon us and they're at dinner? And then playing Pall Mall? Okay, the Pall Mall scene was a little fun (though it was nowhere near the one from The Viscount Who Loved Me), and it also helped in the relationship development somewhat. However, I didn't really care for it for the most part. I also felt it could've been incorporated better as a whole (house party and all) than it was. Worst of all, though, was that it just felt like fan service to me. And, admittedly, I'm not a fan of fan service when it's so blatant, as I felt was the case here (because it feels cheesy, which makes me cringe). Suzanne: I would say 3.5 stars; but this is also a book I would recommend anyone who wants something light and funny paired with fantastic writing to give a go.

As a couple, they complement each other; he lends her some much needed steadiness and she brings him out of his shell a little. Most importantly, she enables him to see that he is doing something just as valuable as his brothers by staying at home and maintaining their parcel of English soil as a place fit for fighting men to return to. Those of us who read a lot of these books know how the enemies becoming lovers trope works and we can anticipate what will happen. Knowing does not spoil it one jot. The fun comes from watching them fight temptation, misunderstand the other's wishes, come so close to an understanding and then fall out again over nothing. All this written by Julia Quinn's talented pen makes for a really entertaining read.

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I don’t know what you think you were doing up in that tree,” she continued. “Any fool would have known you couldn’t have got down.” There are a little house parties that Billie detests because she has to wear dresses for these. George doesn't really care for them either. It seems someone is always trying to set the both of them up with people. And little known to anyone else or to themselves, they are slowly falling in love. Sure, I had some fun reading the beginning of this story: Billie is supposed to be an hellion and what's his name... George is all conservative and formal... you know, true to the time in which he was living?

Other young ladies might read romantic poetry and Shakespearean tragedies. Billie read treatises on agricultural management.I don't know about you, but. This. Feels. Too. Fractured. And. I. Can't. Get. Myself. To. Like. It. Puede que Billie y George nunca se hayan soportado, pero ése momento en el que ambos están atrapados infunde algo entre ellos que los hace olvidar sus diferencias y acercarse más el uno al otro. De repente, pueden ser amigos, hasta pueden llegar a gustarse, pero ninguno sabe que pueden llegar a enamorarse. Billie siempre pensó que se casaría con uno de los chicos Rokesby, pero Edward está luchando en Estados Unidos y aunque Andrew está en casa con un brazo roto preferiría estar en su barco y Nicholas solo tiene catorce años.