An Offer From a Gentleman (Bridgertons, #3) in What's the Name of That Book???

Jan 08, 2012 Nadine in NY Jones rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: era-regency, historical-romance

I like Julia Quinn, I really do, but this was not her finest moment. Looking back on "Bridgertons" #1 & #2, maybe this just is not her finest series. This book was so ... blah. And the hero was such an ASS. On the plus side, it was nice that the heroine was not from conventional society, she is the bastard daughter of an earl, raised as his ward until his death, at which point she is Cinderella to the evil stepmother and two step-sisters. (She even secretly goes to a ball, meets the hero, and th I like Julia Quinn, I really do, but this was not her finest moment. Looking back on "Bridgertons" #1 & #2, maybe this just is not her finest series. This book was so ... blah. And the hero was such an ASS. On the plus side, it was nice that the heroine was not from conventional society, she is the bastard daughter of an earl, raised as his ward until his death, at which point she is Cinderella to the evil stepmother and two step-sisters. (She even secretly goes to a ball, meets the hero, and then flees at midnight. I really liked the fairytale aspect and had high hopes for the book at that point. That was before I knew the hero was going to turn out to be an ass.)

The hero is the second Bridgerton son, Benedict. The heroine is Sophia (Sophie) Beckett. They meet, they fall in love, she flees, they don't see each other for years, she finds work as a housemaid, he saves her from rape and catches cold while rescuing her, she nurses him back to health in a little "cottage" he happens to own (yeah, got the hurt-comfort going both ways there), he teases her mercilessly, she falls in love with him all over again. Well, so far so good - it's a little tedious, a little blah, but not SO bad. They start making out on the forest floor, and this is where is all goes wrong. Our Sophie, being a bastard child herself, has vowed to never ever have sex out of wedlock, since she cannot bring her own horrid fate on her child. So, while she really REALLY wants to schtup our hero, she says no. He invites her to be his mistress, and want for nothing. She turns him down. He continues to push the issue. This is where he becomes an ass. (SPOILER AHEAD) It'll come as no surprise to hear that he does eventually talk her into have sex with him (ASS) and she regrets the action, although she loves him and it was a moment to treasure, blah blah blah ... He CONTINUES to insist that she become his mistress, even after she has quite CLEARLY told him no, and even told him WHY. He says "well surely you can't expect me to marry you!" ASS.

More events unfold until the inevitable denouement, which I'm sure you can guess, though I will not reveal all (for those few who may be surprised). By this time I was so completely disgusted with him that I couldn't possibly be happy for them.

Hmm I was going to give this 2 stars, but I just got so worked up writing this review, remembering how awful he was to her, how he pressured her relentlessly for sex ... it's got to be 1 star.

...more

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Mar 19, 2022 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: library, historical-fiction, romance

My favorite of the four I've read, because it's a straight up, unapologetic Cinderella story!

Sophie has a wicked stepmother and two stepsisters, one of them wicked, and one of them clearly based on Jacqueline from Ever After! There's a masked ball, and a midnight curfew, and tiny shoes, and a couple of starstruck lovers dancing out on a terrace, alone!

I did not appreciate the part towards the end, when Benedict (my favorite lil' art student from the TV show!) acted like such a massive dick, but ...more

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Jun 26, 2007 Sara ♥ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, 2010, books-i-own, romance, challenge-spring-2010

April 19-20, 2010

Super cute! I forgot a lot of the details, so I'm glad I reread this book! :)

April 1-2, 2007

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 cour April 19-20, 2010

Super cute! I forgot a lot of the details, so I'm glad I reread this book! :)

April 1-2, 2007

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. ...more

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Jul 06, 2007 Chelsea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: cheesyromance, historicalfiction, 2000to2005, own, retellings, cinderella, reread

A super fun read, even managing to overcome it's reliance on the Superman syndrome (without your glasses/masquerade mask, you look like an entirely different person and I would never connect you with the other person in my life you look exactly like!). This is the book that made me hunt down the rest of Quinn's Bridgerton series. ...more

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Jan 29, 2014 Wealhtheow rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, regency

As the unacknowledged bastard of the Earl of Penwood, Sophie Beckett is raised in luxury for fourteen years. But upon her father's death, her step-mother turns her into a servant, and Sophie sees no end to her drudgery in sight. She gambles on one, single, shining night of fun: a masquerade ball thrown by the popular Bridgerton family. There, masked and wearing her grandmother's gown, Sophie dances the night away with Benedict Bridgerton. Each falls in love with the other, but years pass before ...more

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Mar 01, 2017 Sara ♥ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, romance, audiobook, regency-georgian, england, 2017, challenge-audio-1000-2017

March 1-2, 2017

So cute! I'm SO HAPPY there's an official audiobook now! Rosalyn Landor is awesome! :)

I thought I remembered something happening at the end of this book.... but it must be a different book. Maybe Everything and the Moon? I can't really remember what happens in that one... No............ It was one with a bad guy who was after the girl and so she was in hiding under a fake name.... A Night Like This! You know, I was actually thinking a LOT of that book was this one! Huh.

Well, Sophi ...more

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Feb 06, 2021 Rachel Piper rated it did not like it

Shelves: audio, but-i-hated-the-characters, from-library, romance

Wow! This was horrible. Mostly because Benedict is horrible and treats our heroine horribly, and even though the book does seem to recognize that he's both boring and a jerk (there are lots of "He said condescendingly" type things throughout) it never makes an effort to ... explain it or have him learn from it? Like, he's just as much of an asshole at the end as he is at the beginning. As a result there's no spark, no nothing, and the romance-y scenes were just uncomfortable. It was like watchin ...more

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Mar 03, 2014 Sara ♥ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, historical, romance, fairy-tale, regency-georgian, england, 2014

I didn't remember that very well! It was super cute! :) I read To Sir Phillip, With Love pretty often though, so I feel like I "see" Sophie (and Benedict) fairly often... :) ...more

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