Title: The Duke and I
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Bridgertons # 1
Publication: December 1, 2020 by Avon
Source: Purchase
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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 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…
My Thoughts
Ever since I heard Netflix was adapting Quinn’s Bridgerton Series, I was stoked and knew I had to read the book. I adore everything about historical period pieces but rarely read them. But I knew I wanted to incorporate more historical romances in my reading this year and going forward. Like most readers, I really wanted to read The Duke and I before I watched the series and thankfully I did. It wasn’t hard because the book had my attention from the very first page.
Initially I absolutely liked Daphne and Simon. They were the polar opposite. Daphne was a respectable innocent lady and Simon a charming rake, their chemistry was undeniable and they just fed off each others’ energy. I was all for their ruse and their faux forbidden courtship. But by the midway point the whole honeymoon stage I had with the book started to peter out. Daphne, our heroine turned out to be quite detestable. First, she basically tricked and forced Simon to marry her knowing full well his view on marriage. Simon also mentioned on various occasions that he did not want children. Daphne was well aware of this and still chose and made sure she took advantage of Simon while he was inebriated. Which is clearly not consensual. Not cool at all and an unnecessary plot device. If the roles were reversed or if the novel was written by a man, there would be raging everywhere.
Without those two aforementioned reasons, I actually enjoyed Quinn’s writing. I loved the humor, charm and witty banter between the Bridgertons siblings. Our two leads eventually had their happily-ever-after and Simon forgave Daphne for what she did. But it still didn’t sit well with me that Simon thanked and was grateful that Daphne did what she did. Would you be grateful someone took advantage of you and took away your choice? I think not. As you may have guessed I will not be continuing with the series. To read more Quinn novels would say what happened in The Duke and I was acceptable when it was not.
Side note: I watched the first two episodes of the Netflix adaptation and it is not good. The actors were poorly cast and the show did not capture any of the humor, charm or clever dialogue found in the novel.
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