Review: ‘The Viscount Who Loved Me’ by Julia Quinn
The Viscount Who Loved Me
by Julia QuinnSeries: Bridgertons #2
Published by Avon on December 5, 2000
SubGenres: Historical Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 378
Source: Purchased
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1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry. And in all truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
--Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814
But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. 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 to 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’ve been meaning to read The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn since the second season of Bridgerton came out on Netflix last year (2022). Thanks to the Romanceopoly Challenge hosted by Under the Covers Book Blog, I listened to the audiobook, fulfilling the Autumn Challenge.
Storyline/My Thoughts: This was Anthony Bridgerton’s book, and since he was introduced to Duke and I, I was curious about him since he was a Rake in the first book and the TV series. Even Lady Whistledown mentioned how much of a Rake he was and how he would never marry in her papers. I was curious about which lucky lady would have to courage to tame the Rake. Unfortunately, while listening to the book, I found I didn’t like Anthony much, not because he was a Rake, but because of how he treated the FMC, Kate. I didn’t particularly appreciate how he kept talking about Kate’s looks and calling her not as beautiful as the other women, especially to her face. Then, for most of the book, Anthony tries to convince Kate that he is worthy of her little sister, but Kate isn’t convinced. There was constant banter between the two when they were together, again mentions of Kate’s looks and other things, and then eventually one incident between them. Now they are being forced to marry due to society’s rules. (I could never live during these times.)
I felt for Kate’s character and how Anthony treated her. He also was dealing with some issues from what happened to his father that didn’t make sense half the time. I didn’t connect well with him.
On the other hand, I liked Kate because she didn’t care what people thought about her. Kate initially was not looking for marriage. She was only there to help her little sister find a husband, and Kate didn’t need a man to take care of her, but here came Anthony Bridgerton and his ways. She put him in his place a few times, which I respected, but she did give in to the marriage with him due to the risks of being shunned. I felt for her character and hoped she might end up with someone else who loved her since Anthony kept saying he couldn’t. Drove me crazy with his ways in this book.
It’s been hit-and-miss with me with this series while reading it. I actually prefer the TV show over the books (so far), which has never been the case for me. It’s all because of Shonda Rhimes. This amazing woman has given us Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal and now is an executive producer for Bridgerton. She helped bring Bridgerton to life, and I love the actors/actresses portraying these characters from Julia Quinn’s series.
I haven’t watched the second season, but since I read the book, I’m diving into it now.
Unfortunately, this book is only getting 3.5 stars from me, just like the first book. I’ll round it to four due to Amazon not having half-stars. I hope, eventually, I’ll fall in love with one of the books in this series. I’m not giving up just yet.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Bridgerton series. Each book follows a new couple from the Bridgerton family and can be read as standalone.
Steam/Spice: 🌶 🌶
Genre/SubGenre(s)/Trope(s)/Element(s): Romance. Historical Romance. Regency Romance. Enemies to Lovers. Marriage of Convenience. Reformed Rake MMC. Virgin FMC.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of Julia Quinn and Historial Romance, I recommend this book/series.
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About Julia Quinn
#1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn loves to dispel the myth that smart women don't read (or write) romance, and and if you watch reruns of the game show The Weakest Link you might just catch her winning the $79,000 jackpot. She displayed a decided lack of knowledge about baseball, country music, and plush toys, but she is proud to say that she aced all things British and literary, answered all of her history and geography questions correctly, and knew that there was a Da Vinci long before there was a code.
A graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, Ms. Quinn is one of only sixteen members of Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame. Her books have been translated into 32 languages, and she lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.
The Bridgertons, her popular series of historical romance, is currently in production by Shondaland as a Netflix original series starring Julie Andrews, Phoebe Dynevor, and Rége-Jean Page.
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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