An Offer From a Gentleman (Bridgertons, #3)

by Julia Quinn

book data

985 ratings, 3.94 average rating, 59 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		30%
4		39%
3		24%
2		4%
1		0%

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published

July 1st 2001 by Avon

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 362 pages

characters

Benedict Bridgerton, Sophie Beckett

setting

The United Kingdom

isbn

0380815583 (isbn13: 9780380815586)

description

Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball---or that "Prince Charming" would be waitin...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1,214)

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09/08/08

Eastofoz added it

bookshelves: favourites

recommends it for: Regency romance lovers / Tammy

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! This is a fantastic read! Quinn’s best so far for me. She has an amazing way to draw you into the story from the first few pages and you’re smiling from the get-go right up to the end :) She even manages to take you on a sudden heart-breaking emotional roller coaster ride that really gives you the chills and makes you want to cry for the h/h as a couple. This contrasts so well with the rest of the light-hearted story making the situation all the more poign...more

Like this review? yes (9 people liked it)

20 comments

01/24/08

Kathrynn rated it:

bookshelves: 2006, funny, gentle-reads, own, reviewed, romance-historical, series-bridgerton_quinn

Read in November, 2006

This was a delightful cinderella-type story. Wonderfully written. A true romantic romance. Ahhh...I would classify the entire Bridgerton series as "gentle reads" because there isn't rape, murder, a huge suspense plot; yet, they are so refreshing. Setting is early 1800's England, women trying to find husbands and men trying to stay single.

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

3 comments

04/30/08

Kym rated it:

bookshelves: historical-romance

Read in August, 2006

Sophie Beckett is a bastard and everyone around her knows it. She is the by-blow of the Earl of Penwood, though most people have the grace not to mention it to her face. Her stepmother Araminta, however, is not most people. When the earl dies, Araminta begrudgingly takes Sophie in, though not as her ward, but as a servant. When Sophie sneaks out of her life of servitude to attend a ball thrown by the dowager Viscountess Bridgerton, she never expects to meet Benedict Bridgerton, and certainly nev...more

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01/06/08

maricar rated it:

bookshelves: favorites, julia-quinn, romance, series

the first time i read about Benedict was from The Duke and I. even from then i was intrigued by him (well...okay...i was intrigued by the older Bridgerton brothers). obviously, of course, Benedict is the more somber one of the lot. he's the quintessential brooding rake--who's really not a rake since he can be considered the "upstanding" one among the brothers. but, knowing how handsome and compelling he is, he might just as well be a rake. lol

i really fell in love with thi...more

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06/26/07

Sara rated it:

bookshelves: romance

Read in April, 2007

(#3 in the Bridgerton Series)

aka Benedict and Sophie: A Cinderella Story.

No, seriously. For the first like... three chapters, maybe... I was like... "Ummm... Julia? This story has already been written! It's called Cinderella. There's a movie, and everything!" (And I would know... I own the Disney animated version, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, and A Cinderella Story!)

It diverged from that story, though, of course. After all, Benedict isn...more (#3 in the Bridgerton Series)

aka Benedict and Sophie: A Cinderella Story.

No, seriously. For the first like... three chapters, maybe... I was like... "Ummm... Julia? This story has already been written! It's called Cinderella. There's a movie, and everything!" (And I would know... I own the Disney animated version, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, and A Cinderella Story!)

It diverged from that story, though, of course. After all, Benedict isn't a prince. He's not even titled... but he IS a gentleman. Sophie is the bastard daughter of an earl, though he won't admit it, just passing her off as his ward. Her stepmother hates her, of course, and forces her to become a servant in the house (polishing the countess's ton of shoes is the bane of Sophie's existance).

So she sneaks out to attend a MASKED Ball at Bridgerton House and meets "Prince Charming". (Her mask covers the upper half of her face, not including her eyes.) She realizes later, when Benedict and Colin run into each other, who he is. She even knows exactly WHICH Bridgerton brother he is, as Lady Whistledown described Benedict as being an inch taller than Anthony and Colin.

Anyway, so Benedict has been annoyed lately because he just feels like "#2"--like everyone just judges him to be "a Bridgerton" and doesn't even bother to get to know him. So he is pleasantly surprised when this stunning woman (I can't remember if he calls her an angel or something else) not only knows he's a Bridgerton, but knows that he's Benedict.

This idea plays a part later, also, after some fun turns of events, Sophie ends up being a lady's maid to Benedict's mother, Violet. Violet, Eloise, Francesca, Penelope Featherington, and Sophie are having tea, and they're talking about how Anthony is the Viscount and Simon (Daphne's husband) is good at math and Colin is the funny one and they can't think of what Benedict excels at. And Sophie gets ticked off because SHE knows, and his mother and sisters don't? So she's like, "Art." And they all look at her questioningly. "Benedict is good at art." And they're all surprised.

Anyway, CUTE book.(less)

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07/02/09

Chibahanako rated it:

Read in July, 2009

I don't know what to rate this book, because it's in between "liked it" and "really liked it" and there are some parts which are memorable for me.. and some parts which just fell flat upon my imagination.

But if I get to describe this book, I would say, it's CUTE and somewhat HARMLESS. sensuality is just below 5 (10 the highest)..

It was my second book of the author.. first book was "When he was Wicked", that will add as to why I am probably ...more

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01/03/09

e.lyn rated it:

bookshelves: 2009

Read in January, 2009

Another hit for Julia Quinn with this book. I enjoyed the third installment of this series as much as the second one, if not more. JQ retells yet another classic story, Cinderella, for the third book and I absolutely loved it. Benedict was missing for most of the second book which was a little bit of a disappointment but she made up for it and delivered a great love story for him.

JQ is quickly becoming one of my favorite historical romance authors. She has a good amount of romance an...more

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02/09/09

Allie rated it:

Read in March, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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04/17/09

Michelle rated it:

bookshelves: historical_romance, julia-quinn, regency_1811-1820

Read in May, 2009

I love this "Cinderella" story. It may start off like Cinderella but this story is very unique. I love how Benedict was in love with the Mystery Girl and would never marry until he found her. How romantic! He's such a dreamer! And Sophie is so sweet. I wanted her to just blurt it out "I am the mystery girl"... Another great job by Quinn.. I totally fell in love with both characters.

Sophie is a bastard daughter of the Earl. After his death Sophie becomes the maid t...more

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12/28/07

LJ rated it:

bookshelves: england, female_author, historical, regency_1811-20, romance

Read in July, 2001

Offer from a Gentleman - VG+
Quinn, Julia - 3rd in Bridgerton Series

The Bridgerton family is wealthy, well born, and universally admired. And with six of the eight Bridgerton children already mingling with society, it's no wonder they're mentioned so frequently in the most popular (and accurate) source of social news, Lady Whistledown's Society Papers. But not even the mysterious Lady Whistledown can identify the masked maiden who completely captivated the Bridgerton second son,...more

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12/08/07

Ana T. rated it:

bookshelves: keeper, read-in-2008, traded

Read in April, 2008

Continuing with my Bridgerton rerads, this time it was Benedict's story!

The Bridgerton family is wealthy, well born, and universally admired. And with six of the eight Bridgerton children already mingling with society, it's no wonder they're mentioned so frequently in the most popular (and accurate) source of social news, Lady Whistledown's Society Papers. But not even the mysterious Lady Whistledown can identify the masked maiden who completely captivated the Bridgerton second son, ...more Continuing with my Bridgerton rerads, this time it was Benedict's story!

The Bridgerton family is wealthy, well born, and universally admired. And with six of the eight Bridgerton children already mingling with society, it's no wonder they're mentioned so frequently in the most popular (and accurate) source of social news, Lady Whistledown's Society Papers. But not even the mysterious Lady Whistledown can identify the masked maiden who completely captivated the Bridgerton second son, Benedict, at his mother's masquerade ball -- a silver-clad beauty who vanished on the stroke of midnight. It was a magical night for Sophie Beckett, orphaned, illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood. Attending the ball was a beautiful dream, sharing the evening with Benedict Bridgerton was the stuff of fantasy -- and returning home to her role as unpaid servant to her father's cruel widow and stepdaughters was a nightmare. Then she lost even the small security of that position, and things went from bad to worse. By the time Sophie met Benedict again, she was in truly desperate straits. He made her feel precious, even in rags, but Sophie had grave reservations about accepting.

More on the level of TDAI than TVWLM. An Offer From a Gentleman tells the story of Benedict yes but especially the story of Sophie Beckett. Slightly different in tone from the previous books - there's less attempts at humour - because this pretends to be a Cinderella story.

I actually enjoyed the beginning with Sophie going to the party in disguise and Benedict falling for her (even if a bit too suddenly) but I had trouble with the rest of it. Sophie going away, then meeting Benedict again and he never recognising her but them starting a relationship again. There are a number of problems as Benedict believes Sophie is a servant and that he can only make her is mistress not marry her and Sophie's evil stepmother and stepsisters (absolutely awful in the first chapters) come back to torment her but eventually the happy ending arrived.

I felt Sophie should have told him the truth of who she was much sooner and I was a bit annoyed at Benedict who kept asking her to be his mistress even after he took her to work in his mother's house.

On the whole it seemed to me that Quinn didn't succeed in making this one as light and funny as is usually her style but it also didn't live up to the darker feelings that the situation evoked. The last scene with Mrs Bridgerton in jail trying to save Sophie seemed more like a farce being played on stage. One wonders if it wasn't for Mrs B wether Benedict and Sophie would have had their happy ending.

The book ends with a huge cliffhanger - Lady Whistledown decides to stop her column writing and actually live her life. I'll be reading Colin's story soon just so I can relive all that.

Grade: C(less)

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04/27/09

Nihan rated it:

(review of isbn 0749936592)

bookshelves: favorites, historical-romance

recommends it for: Bridgerton family fans

I was astonished by this book because before I started this book I read some bad reviews saying that it is a typical Cinderella story... Well, I definitely don't agree with them. It was such a wonderful story, Benedict's character was always subdued in other Bridgerton novels so I didn't really know how he was like. I fell in love with his character in this story. I felt my heart melt away for Sophie and Benedict's love story, it was so touching.

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06/13/09

whistledom rated it:

bookshelves: historical-romance, romance

An Offer from a Gentleman is a Bridgerton Cinderella story. I love how Julia Quinn took a classic story and added twists to the plot for a completely new take on the story. This book has a very solid romance between Sophia and Benedict. However, having read and loved The Viscount Who Loved Me, and Romancing Mr.Bridgerton, I felt that this book was not at par with the beauty of the stories of the three books I mentioned.

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06/26/09

Cynthia rated it:

Read in June, 2009

Sweet, simple, classic. A well done Cinderella story mixed with "I refuse to be your mistress" and a satisfying righteous ending.

I thought Sophie was rather endearing and Benedict was just like Prince Charming, bland, handsome, devoted, forgettable. Although it was nice of Quinn to give him a bit of "everyone sees me as just another Bridgerton" angst mixed with some hidden art skills.

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11/25/08

Joanne rated it:

Read in November, 2008

Truley a Cinderella book. I did not think I would like this as much as I do. I liked it. This was an easy read and not too deep. Easy to read when you have a lot going on. I did however not go back to reread it in order to figure out the identity of “Lady Whistledown” was. I look forward to more Julia Quinn's books. this was my first.

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04/11/09

Ashley rated it:

Oh Nancy, we should have saved this one for May!

A fun retelling of the Cinderella story. Definitely fluffy, fun read for the pool. A 4 for the genre, not recommended for more serious (or, probably, male) reader.

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2 comments

06/24/09

Danylle rated it:

bookshelves: guilty-pleasures

I know you are cringing seeing this book on my shelf but I adore a yummy bit of smut now and then especially when it's set in England it's a Cinderella story and it involves white gloves and slippers...

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05/18/09

Kelasher rated it:

I kept looking for romance novels I would like as much as the Bridgerton books when it hit me - why not just reread the Bridgerton books? I read this one and the Duke and I over the weekend.

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02/13/09

joy in wonderland rated it:

bookshelves: romantic-novels

Read in February, 2009

"some defining moments... heartwarming line"

it's okay, enjoy it in some ways, hmmm but am not much into fairy tale like story nyahhh... haha but it's a nice experience to read experience other authors writing, it's my first julia quinn novel but wouldn't be my last haha :)

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11/01/08

Sarja rated it:

bookshelves: gave-it-away

I look forward to any re-telling of the Cinderella theme and I truly enjoyed this book to begin with. It got off to a very promising start and I thought I'd even found a 'keeper'. Near the end however, the heroine's constant martyrdom started to grate and a character I started out liking became incredibly annoying. Add to that a lacklustre love scene that was about as titillating as watching grass grow and a clichéd ending and this book is definitely not a 'keeper'.

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