The Duke & I by Julia Quinn

    

 Title: The Duke & I

Author: Julia Quinn

Genre: Historical Romance

Synopsis: In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he 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.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule... - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I have to admit that I have judged romance novels in the past. My grandma, lovingly called Nan, LOVED romance novels but I always saw them as cheezy books with Fabio on the cover in a shirt open to his navel. After watching Netflix's Bridgerton and seeing that it was based on a romance novel series, I thought I would give it a chance. Fresh off binging season 2 I picked up a copy of The Duke & I at the library. Part of my hesitation in the past was also that I was afraid that the book would be better than the series and ruin the tv show for me. I have only experienced one case when the book was not as good as the film/tv adaptation (Divergent).

As it turns out, I did like some aspects of the book better than the show. Book Daphne is way better than Netflix Daphne. While the novel follows the book in general, there are specifics in the book that are not the same. I also find that books are better for backstory than film adaptations, you can better understand the characters and their motivations. 

The novel really follows Daphne and Simon and very few of the other storylines from the tv series show up in the book. The queen is not mentioned in the book at all and Lady Whistledown is used at the beginning of each chapter to chronicle the passing of time, and to provide background information about the characters that the reader would not get otherwise. The other Bridgerton siblings are mentioned, but only Anthony gets much development as Simon's best friend. 

It may also be surprising to some readers who are fans of the show when Simon is described to have blue eyes and fair skin. The relationships of the upper class in the novel are historically accurate and non-interracial, unlike the color-conscious casting chosen by Shonda Rhimes. 

I was wrong to judge this genre, I enjoyed reading this book and plan to learn more about each Bridgerton sibling by reading each novel in the series. Then, like I do with Outlander, I can yell at the tv about how "that isn't how it happened in the book" but still love both anyway. 

Since these books were originally published between 2000-and 2006, I wonder if Nan read and enjoyed them too. I hope so!

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

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To see more from the author, visit the website linked above