Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 5th, 2000
Age: Adult
Genre: Romance – Historical
Goodreads
Rating: 2/5 Stars
This book was so good until maybe the last third? Everything prior to Simon and Daphne getting caught in the garden is great, but unfortunately the book takes a downward turn from there and gets a bit messy. Do I still want to read the next book? Yes, but largely because the TV show more than the book itself and I’m super curious about the various changes made.
One thing I preferred in the book – Daphne doesn’t come out of the gate as the diamond of the season. This isn’t her first season, either, and although she has the occasional offer of marriage, they’re not coming from the most desirable of bachelors. The problem is most men see Daphne as a friend, a chum, not someone they want to marry. Enter Simon, Duke of Hastings. Simon has absolutely no interest in marriage, or society, but a chance meeting with Daphne makes him realise he’ll need some plan to avoid the mothers constantly circling eligible men like sharks. There is a solution to both their problems – if the pair conduct a fake courtship, it’ll keep the mothers off Simon’s back and make Daphne much more eligible in the eyes of the ton.
I preferred Daphne being a bit overlooked at the start, as it really added another sweet element to Simon’s character – he cannot understand why she hasn’t been snapped up, and he clearly believes the other men are absolute idiots for not courting Daphne in the first place. I think the TV series did well to give Simon someone else he could talk to as a friend, as here he doesn’t really have anyone except Anthony and Daphne, and from the moment him and Daphne start ‘courting’, him and Anthony are on the outs. Simon definitely comes across as more sympathetic in the show, too, and from the midway point onwards, the same applies to Daphne. I think if I had picked this up prior to watching Bridgerton, I would have ended up feeling less invested and without an interest in continuing on. Another change for the better in the TV series – more of the other siblings!
Spoilers from this point!
So the book as a whole was enjoyable until about three quarters of the way through. Once we hit the part where they go deeper into the garden, Daphne comes across as very manipulative – in the show, she feels like she’s portrayed as more naïve, but in the book she’s a bit older and all too aware of the possible consequences. And Simon…Simon is an absolute idiot going along with it, when he is fully aware if they are caught the only way out for them both is to marry. Of course, they’re caught, a duel is imminent, Daphne ‘saves his life’ by pressuring him into marriage, accepting when he says they won’t be able to have children. From the point they actually marry, things get ridiculous. There’s that key scene everyone has mentioned, which leaves a horribly sour taste, and I’ll circle back to, but prior to that, Simon’s actions are domestic abuse – he threatens Daphne when she tries to get some space, his anger gets the best of him, and his threat includes the idea that as his wife, he can have her whenever he likes. He doesn’t follow through, but it’s a horrible scene.
Then we get to the part where Daphne takes advantage of him when he is asleep and drunk. It’s kind of played off after like she didn’t know what she was doing, that she didn’t know what would happen, yet in the moment her POV is focused on the idea that she has power over Simon. There were much better ways to handle this!It literally could have been consensual and Simon losing control with Daphne on top, or seeing as he’s pulling out every time which is not going to work as contraception especially long-term, Daphne still could have got pregnant that way, or had a ‘scare’ which could have freaked Simon out, or any number of things that did not involve Daphne raping her husband then it all getting handwaved away.
It was frustrating, and handled poorly, and is by far one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever read in an otherwise fun romance book! If you are going to pick this up, my suggestion would be to just stop reading after their first night married, maybe skip to the epilogue, and let your own imagination fill in the blanks, because it’s going to be better than the toxic, abusive mess these characters are in after the wedding.
Reading Challenge
The Disney Reading Challenge
Prompt: Ratatouille – Paris – a book set in a capital city
Progress: 12/40 Completed
Unwrapping Words 