I started the Bridgertons series by Julia Quinn last year when I heard that there would be a Shonda Rhymes Netflix adaptation. Last month, I read Book 3 in the series, An Offer From a Gentleman. It was pretty good, just like the first two books in the series. When I headed on vacation, I knew I needed to download a romance novel on my Kindle before (the only genre I read by the pool, of course). So I went with Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, the fourth in the Bridgerton series. And this has been my absolute favorite in the series by far!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on and/or purchase from some links, I make a portion of the sale. This helps keep Bitch Bookshelf running.

The summary, from Amazon:

Everyone knows that Colin Bridgerton is the most charming man in London . . .

Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend’s brother for . . . well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret . . . and fears she doesn’t know him at all.

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can’t seem to publish an edition without mentioning him. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad, he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same—especially Penelope Featherington! The girl who was always simply there is suddenly the girl haunting his dreams. When he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide . . . is she his biggest threat— or his promise of a happy ending?

Buy Romancing Mr. Bridgerton here!

First of all, I went into this book excited because I already had come to love Penelope and shipped her with Colin HARD. Penelope reminds me of someone I would want to be friends with. She might be shy, and she was bullied growing up, but as an adult she has a subtle way of taking no shit that I adore. Colin is a great match for her in that he’s kind and doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. He does have a temper, but he shows it so rarely that people are surprised when it comes out.

What I really liked about this book is that Colin and Penelope don’t have to work hard for their Happily Ever After. They have been friends for years, and Penelope always has loved Colin. Finally, Colin has grown up enough to see her the same way, and it isn’t long before they get married. The rest of the book deals with them helping one another through two struggles. Penelope faces the potential unearthing of a major secret of hers that could lead to scandal. Colin deals with his insecurities in that he wants to leave a legacy, and feels unsure about doing so through his major skill, writing. Colin is a little unreasonable dealing with Penelope’s struggle at times, but it all ties back to his own jealousy/insecurity. Because I’m used to reading romances about two people pining for one another and taking ages to be happily in a relationship, it was refreshing to read a book where two people got together, then worked hard to help one another succeed in life.

I also liked this book because as I’ve said before, the Bridgertons aren’t known for understanding consent. In the first three books, I’ve found something to roll my eyes at. Colin is more than happy to attempt to distract Penelope and/or himself with sex, but when she tells him to stop because they have more important plot points to deal with, he backs down and faces the facts. So, yes, Colin is my favorite Bridgerton so far. But I DO have high hopes for Eloise after having seen the beginning of her story unfold in this one, and I immediately downloaded Book 5 in the series on my Kindle after finishing this read.

 

Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgertons, #4)Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has been my favorite in the series so far! Penelope and Colin are both lovely, and they don’t have to work too hard for their HEA – they’re together fairly quickly, and the second half of the book deals with the two of them struggling together with a possible scandal that could affect Penelope as well as Colin’s personal insecurities. Plus, we get lots of insight into the wonderful friendship between Eloise and Penelope. All in all, I loved this one, and it was also the first time a Bridgerton completely behaved his/herself when it came to consent. 🙄😂 I was going to take a break from the series but now I need to know what happens in Book 5!

View all my reviews

P.S. I like to read my romances and prefer nonfiction audiobooks, but different strokes for different folks, right? I love Audible, and if you like audiobooks and romance, I suggest you try the Audible Romance Free Trial. Get unlimited listening free for one month. Who doesn’t like free?

via GIPHY

Interested? Buy Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.
And don’t forget to add me as a friend on Goodreads!

Add yourself to my mailing list for more updates on what I’m reading!