Review for BRIDGERTON

Review for BRIDGERTON (on Netflix)...

As I was drunk-posting (on Facebook) last night about my BRIDGERTON binge (yes, I binged the whole thing last night, was up until 2 AM, and yes, I was drinking at the beginning, but unfortunately my buzz wore off about halfway through and I was stone cold sober for the end)...one word kept popping into my head...CRINGE.

Three main things about the show:

1. My overall impression was sort of a surreal over-the-top cartoon p*rno. Highly cringe-worthy.

2. This has about as much in common with Julia Quinn's books as RIVERDALE has with the original Archie comic series...which is to say, almost nothing. Sure, the characters have the same name, and it loosely has the same setting, but other than that, it was merely a jumping-off point for a surreal cartoon p*rno.

3. It's entertaining. (Although I was bored a lot).

Julia Quinn's series may not be a literary masterpiece (I once called her the Master of Marshmallow Fluff), but those books had a lot of heart and soul and sweetness. I would call them "wholesome" even with the sex scenes.

The film version is not wholesome. It also lost the heart and soul of the books (which isn't uncommon with book-to-film).

One of Quinn's strengths is characterization. Her plots are often weak, but the characters felt real. (I chose the name "Penny" based on Penelope Featherington for a reason). The characters in the film version lost that magic. The acting was not great, and the characters were flat and cartoonish.

The Ariana Grande song at the beginning was a false lead. I thought this show was going to be clever, edgy, quirky, ironic.

But the cringe-worthy stuff started right away. The sex scenes were redundant and boring. In all fairness, THE DUKE AND I is one of the weakest books in the series, with a sort of convoluted plot and problematic issues.

Were there highlights?

Oh, yes!

Gorgeous colorful costumes (although I would reckon anachronistic, not sure about that), gorgeous colorful sets. Flowers! Swoony! The color palette thing going on with the Bridgerton family (whites, pale blues and violets)...utterly stunning. Fun music, too.

The queen was fabulous. Lady Danbury was fabulous. The boxer was great. The actors-of-color stole the show.

Whoever did the casting for the white peeps--Bridgertons in particular--bleh. The Bridgerton guys were not sexy at all. In fact, they sort of creeped me out. Hee hee!

I will say that the final scene in the rain with Daphne and Simon was well-written and romantic.

Overall...a weird adaptation, although entertaining enough for me to binge-watch with a glass of Unicum.

For some thoughts about the Quinn Series, check out this link.

Bridgerton Re-Read Extravaganza

Many moons ago, I learned about the historical romance genre from Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, Mary Balogh, and Stephanie Laurens. What a great education! Vintage Julia Quinn is filled with emotion, humor, and a totally satisfying level of sensuality. New Julia Quinn is a bunch of marshmallow fluff...lots of empty calories, and you can't remember the names of the characters the next day.

In spite of the fact that JQ has lost her writing mojo (in my not-at-all humble opinion), I adore re-reading the oldies but goodies. I especially love the Bridgertons...one of the greatest of historical romance families. Here is a run-down of my recent re-read extravaganza.

In order of favorites...(not in chronological order)...

1. Romancing Mister Bridgerton (#4)

Without a doubt, RMB is my absolute favorite Bridgerton book, and on my all-time favorite historical list. In fact, Penelope Featherington was the inspiration for my pen-name. I love her! This story showcases all of Quinn's strong points...there is banter and sweetness and romance and emotional intensity and even a huge surprise thrown in for good measure. It is about a wallflower who is totally overlooked, but underneath is talented, determined, loving, loyal, and has a wicked sense of humor. Colin is a man searching for an identity. She has loved him forever. His love for her develops unexpectedly, and is so sweet and romantic, I could just swoon every time I read it. And the true identity of Lady Whistledown is brilliantly done in this book. You feel the love the Bridgerton siblings have for each other and their mother. You cheer for Penelope when the ugly duckling wallflower becomes a swan and marries the man of her dreams. You cheer for Colin who is a hero in the truest sense of the word. This book is pure gold. Grade: A+

2. To Sir Phillip With Love (#5)

In second place is Eloise's story. If a book has botanical Latin in it, it pretty much is going to get an A rating from Penelope, who has degrees in plant taxonomy and horticultural science and speaks botanical Latin fluently. (Plant Geek!). The hero in TSPWL is a botanist, and at the beginning of the book he and Eloise exchange letters. He encloses pressed flowers for her. *fanning myself* Oh, how I love Phillip...he has no clue how to be a good husband or how to be a good father...he is most comfortable with his plants in the greenhouse. Not only must Eloise win him over, but she also has to win over his horribly behaved children, who are desperate for affection. Well, Eloise is up to the challenge. She's a Bridgerton, for Christ's sake! This love story is lusty and romantic as hell and adorable and Phillip's final declaration of love...written in flower petals...is one of the sweetest gestures ever. Swoonilicious! Grade: A

3. The Viscount Who Loved Me (#2)

This was the first one I read of the series...I read #1 later (which is The Duke and I...not included in this list because it wasn't one of my favorites of the series). Anthony is the head of the Bridgerton family, saddled with responsibility, and traumatized by the death of his father. Kate is living in the shadow of her sister, who is a "diamond" being courted by all marriage-minded men. She is very protective of her younger sister, and is not at all happy when Anthony Bridgerton, rake extraordinaire, sets his sights on her. There are so many wonderful scenes in this book! I especially love the croquet game with all of the Bridgerton siblings exhibiting extremely poor sportsmanship! Kate slowly begins to realize that Anthony is actually a man of honor and kindness. She is crushed to find that she herself has fallen in love with the man who is courting her beloved sister. Oh, how I love this scenario! And Anthony of course finds himself much more fascinated with brash and clever Kate than the stunning younger sib. This book is a super satisfying, romantic read. Love it! Grade: A-

4. An Offer From A Gentleman (#3)

This is Quinn's answer to the Cinderella story. Sophie has an evil stepmother and stepsister. She is living as a maid in their home after the death of her father. Benedict meets her at a masquerade ball. They share one magical night, and Benedict becomes obsessed with finding her...but alas, years pass until they are reunited. This story is super romantic. However, I had forgotten how big a schmo Benedict is for a good chunk of the book, pressuring Sophie to become his mistress because he believes she is not "marriageable" in the eyes of the ton. He more than makes up for his asinine behavior by several heroic acts, including saving her from the clutches of her evil stepmother. The final scene in the book which takes place outside Sophie's prison cell is priceless. I love how Violet (the Bridgerton matriarch) unsheathes her claws with the hideous step-mama in order to protect her family. And of course, she considers Sophie family when she sees how deeply in love Benedict has fallen. What a satisfying ending! As always, true love prevails. Grade: B+

5. When He Was Wicked (#6)

Meh. I know a lot of folks who really dig this one, but it wasn't my fav. I never got a feel for why Michael had been in love with Francesca for so long. This book seemed to focus quite a bit about guilt, not enough about their love. I didn't think WHWW was as satisfying as the others. Grade: B-/C+

The rest of the series is marshmallow fluff. And I didn't love the first one that much either.

Anyway, those are some of my favorites. What's your favorite Bridgerton book? Are you still enjoying Quinn's books, or do you think they are losing the magic?

Happy Reading,
Penelope

P.S. The giveaway contest for Sweet Magik is still open...please leave a comment on this post to enter! Thanks!

For Wallflowers Everywhere

From Romancing Mister Bridgerton, by Julia Quinn.....

"I would like to marry Mr. Bridgerton," Penelope said, trying to summon up as much quiet dignity as she could manage. "He asked me and I said yes."

"Well, of course you said yes," her mother retorted. "You'd have to be an idiot to say no."

"Mrs. Featherington," Colin said tightly, "I suggest you begin treating my future wife with a bit more respect."

"Colin, it's not necessary," Penelope said, placing her hand on his arm, but the truth was--her heart was soaring. He might not love her, but he cared about her. No man could defend a woman with such fierce protectiveness without caring for her a little.

"It is necessary," he returned. "For God's sake, Penelope, I arrived with you. I made it abundantly clear that I required your presence in the room, and I practically shoved Felicity out the door to fetch her watercolors. Why on earth would anyone think I wanted Felicity?"

Mrs. Featherington opened and closed her mouth several times before finally saying, "I love Penelope, of course, but--"

"But do you know her?" Colin shot back. "She's lovely and intelligent and has a fine sense of humor. Who wouldn't want to marry a woman like that?"

Penelope would have melted to the floor if she weren't already holding on to his hand. "Thank you," she whispered, not caring if her mother heard her, not even caring if Colin heard her. Somehow she needed to say the words for herself.

Not what she thought she was.

Lady Danbury's face swam before her eyes, her expression warm and just a little bit cunning.

Something more. Maybe Penelope was something more, and maybe Colin was the only other person to realize that as well.

It made her love him all the more.

Sigh,

Penelope

Bantering About Banter: Review of Ten Things I Love About You

Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn

Okay, I am a long-term Julia Quinn fan (Bridgerton series...yay!). I realize that her books have moved from pretty emotional and having some substance to more-or-less fluff. Now don't get me wrong. I love fluff. I love endless, silly banter. I don't even mind cutesy stuff like top ten lists sprinkled throughout the book. But as I was reading this book, several things occurred to me. I was about 1/3? of the way through and nothing had happened yet. Nothing. There is a lot of deep POV (internal dialogue, etc. etc) and no freaking action. And I do mean none. No matter how good a writer Julia Quinn is, she's gotta pick up the pacing, unless it's a cute little novella or something. Also, the top ten lists were so mindless they actually turned from being cutesy to making the characters look like imbeciles.

My favorite part of Quinn's writing is the banter. Oh, how Penelope loves banter! I love the banter in Amanda Quick's books. I love the banter in Gail Carriger's books. I adore the banter in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. I love banter that is sharp, funny, and witty. (Annette Blair does it in a very fresh, modern and snappy way in her books, too). However, I noticed something about the banter in this latest Quinn novel. Even though the characters are set in a historical romance, the banter comes across as very, very modern. Part of the great thing about the dry banter between Quick's characters is that it's set in a historical time-frame, and the language and dialogue is formal, stilted and the characters have to insult each other in a round-about way. Quinn's banter has lost that fun, historical edge. It sounds like 2 characters from a contemporary novel sparring with each other. Which is fun, it's just not a historical. (Deep thoughts by Jack Handy coming at you, LIVE, from Penelope's Romance Reviews...hee hee!).

A couple other problems...since Quinn appears to be shying away from serious topics, it's a little strange that she introduces the fact that the hero is suffering from PTSD and never really resolves it. I also thought the scene at the end of the book where the "villain" sneaks into the heroine's room was unnecessary and felt like an add-on scene.

This is not Quinn's greatest creation, but it was entertaining enough for a read by the pool. My favorite part was the secret author storyline and the cute "Grey Most Likely To Outrun A Turkey" joke. I must admit I am missing the sparkle of old Julia Quinn books. She created some incredible characters and beautiful love stories with the original Bridgerton books. I would love to see her get back to that level of writing--creating strong, conflicted characters with some meat on their bones. Instead of marshmallow fluff.

Grade: B

Review of What Happens In London by Julia Quinn

What Happens In London by Julia Quinn

Once upon a time, I read a Julia Quinn book and I remarked to a good friend, "This book's about a whole lot of nothing." In fact, many Julia Quinn books are about a whole lot of nothing. Nevertheless, they are extremely appealing. Why? They're romantic! There's delicious sexual chemistry between the hero and heroine, sparkling banter, sweet love-making, lots of deep POV reflection, and tons of humor. I don't need a lot of conflict, or even plot, to make me happy while reading a romance novel. I need...romance!

What Happens In London is not the best Quinn book I have ever read, but it was sweet and pleasant and a perfect summer read. I find it pretty amazing that Quinn is able to produce a book with very little conflict, pretty "common" characters (Olivia is just a regular girl, nothing different or special about her), and still make it work. It's really a testament to her writing ability that she pulls the reader into her web and keeps us there until the end of the book. I sort of feel like I just ate some cotton candy. It was delicious for a moment, melted away, and I won't remember it tomorrow. But that's okay. It was delicious while it lasted, and that's why I read romance. It made me happy. (I am a woman with simple needs, really). The scene in the library when Sebastian is reading from the lurid gothic novel, and the Russian prince, his body guard, 3 ladies maids, the butler, and the hero are all listening in rapt attention, is priceless. Quinn at her best. That's right up there as one of the best romance scenes I've read this year. I will say that Quinn attempted to introduce a rather serious topic at the beginning of the story...Harry's father's alcoholism. However, this theme sort of fades away and is not discussed again. If Quinn writes a story for Edward, Harry's younger brother, perhaps this will be re-addressed. Sebastian's story is next (Summer 2010), and it should be great. He shows a lot of promise as Harry's best friend.

I definitely recommend this for light summer reading. It's fun and sweet, and everything Quinn's fans have grown to expect from this author. 

Grade: B+

Penelope