Review: ‘An Offer from a Gentleman’ by Julia Quinn
An Offer from a Gentleman
by Julia QuinnSeries: Bridgertons #3
Published by Avon on July 1, 2001
SubGenres: Historical Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 390
Narrator: Rosalyn Landor
Length: 12 Hours And 22 Minutes
Source: Library - Libby, Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball—or that "Prince Charming" would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.
Who was that extraordinary woman? Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except, perhaps, this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid's garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers her his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy tale love?
An Offer from a Gentleman may very well be my favorite in the Bridgertons series, but that could change after I finish the rest of the series. For now, though, Benedict and Sophie’s book definitely warmed this reader’s heart.
I absolutely adore fairy retellings and loved that this book was a Cinderella retelling. It had everything you expect from the original story: a young woman named Sophie loses her father and is stuck with her wicked stepmother, who is jealous of her and bullies her repeatedly with two stepsisters. There’s a masquerade that Sophie attends without her stepmother knowing, and she ends up meeting the ever-dashing Benedict Bridgerton, who falls head over heels for her, but she never reveals her true identity. Benedict keeps thinking about her, even after a few years down the road. He never stopped loving the woman at the masquerade.
I loved, though, that Julia Quinn didn’t stick entirely to the fairy retelling and put her own spin on the story. It was a very romantic and endearing story, and I definitely found Benedict Bridgerton to be one of my favorite Bridgertons. Yes, he was definitely an alpha at times with how he handled things with Sophie, but he was only being protective of her. He did apologize in the end for how he behaved with her, and that made me adore him even more. He knew what he did was wrong, and it also helped that his mother assisted him with his actions and words toward Sophie.
I loved Sophie and how she handled herself. She was a fighter, even with everything her stepmother, Araminta, put her through. Who, by the way, I didn’t like at all. In the end, Araminta got what was coming to her, and that’s all thanks to Violet Bridgerton, who has become a favorite character in the series. Violet tends to figure out things before her children do and pushes them to their destinies. I friggin’ adore her.
This was a sweet story in which the heroine found love and family within the Bridgerton family after dealing with a family that didn’t want her in their lives. She definitely won the lottery with Benedict because he was an overprotective romantic, and he had a family that welcomed Sophie with open arms, especially when they found out the truth about her.
This book gets 4.5 stars, and I can’t wait to dive into Colin and Penelope’s story next. I need to know how Colin is going to redeem himself after what he said about Penelope.
Audiobook: If you prefer to listen to your books, then I definitely recommend the audiobook of An Offer from a Gentleman. The narrator, Rosalyn Landor, did a fabulous job of bringing the story and characters to life.
Trope(s)/Element(s):
💙Fairy Tale Retelling – Cinderella
💙Hidden Identities
💙Difference of Class or Station
💙Found Family
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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.
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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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