The Duke and I (Bridgerton #1)

Author: Julia Quinn
Pages: 384
Overall: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot and Themes: 4/5
Cheers Factor: 4/5
Pairing: Tea in the Drawing Room
Ingredients
2 oz gin
1 English breakfast tea bag
½ oz Lemon juice
½ oz Simple syrup
Club soda
Ice



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Instructions
-Take gin and pour into glass and steep english breakfast tea bag in it 
-Let steep for half an hour
-Combine infused gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and ice into a shaker
-Strain into chilled glass
-Top with club soda
-Enjoy responsibly

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“Simon caught her gaze, his eyes burning hot and intense into hers. A warning bell sounded in his mind. He wanted her.”


Take a Shot: Daphne is not the diamond in the start of her **third season being out** and is always seen as the friend. That is until a handsome Duke shows up in London who is also friends with her brother. He and Daphne devise a plan  to pretend to have an attachment and as the best laid plans always go…they go awry. 

“If Anthony isn’t a rake, I pity the woman who meets the man who is.”

Setting
I love a period piece. I will never not like a period piece and will always feel fondy of them. That being said I read this after the lovely television adaptation by the incredible Shonda Rhimes so I love the setting in fiction. In reality it was a lot smellier and far less glamorous that we make it seem on the big screen. Nonetheless regency era London still sounds like fun if you were one of the ton and got to live in lavish mansion style homes with endless balls to attend in the lavish homes of your friends.

Characters
I really love Daphne and the Duke. I have to admit I liked their characters equally to the television adaptation which is hard to do. I think their slight variances in their story make them likeable in different ways. I think the books are obviously better because I love the character development we get when we see in both Daphne and Simon’s heads and getting to watch the events of their relationship unfold from their respective perspectives.

Plot and Themes
I think this book is a perfect example of a mass market paperback that is successful. I found such utter enjoyment out of a simple plot, that did have some unexpected turns, that was quick and easy. There is something to be said about reading a 300 some odd page book and getting a lovely bow on top at the end. I’ve made many a tik tok about this but it’s so rewarding. We get minimal investment, 300 pages, for a happy ending. That’s not to say an 8 book series across multiple thousand pages is not amazing but it’s so wonderful to just read a nice book with a nice easy plot.

Overall
I really liked this book. It was easy to read and easy to get invested in. It was also easy to read a chapter and put it down then pick it back up a day or two later. While that is contradictory to my reading goal for the year, it’s nice to not feel so pulled in by a book that I can’t breathe without reading it. I think a balance of a book like this one with one like House of Sky and Breath is vital and this one was necessary to break up my routine. 


“I just don’t know whether to thank you or throttle you.”

Too Strong - I know a lot of people take issue with Daphne taking advantage of the Duke and I don’t disagree. I negatievley support non consensual relationships, however, I do recognize that it was a different era and truthfully Daphne’s lack of knowledge about a lot of things can be seen as equally as bad. Sending a woman into a marriage not knowing what to expect is so dangerous because who is to say her husband is to be righteous and honorable in the interaction. I think in this story it is easy to see that as the sole transgression, but I think overall as it is a period piece we must all reflect on the progress that has been made not only for women, but for consent in all forms as well.
Reasons to Raise a Glass- I love seeing inside the heads of our characters. It takes what we see on the silver screen and in my opinion amplifies it and expands upon it in ways that only literature can.