A Dream Is A Wish - Review of "An Offer From A Gentleman" by Julia Quinn

Title: An Offer from a Gentleman
Author: Julia Quinn
Series and Number: Bridgertons, #3
Release Date: July 1, 2001
Audiobook Narrator: Rosalyn Landor

Dear Readers - if I get all fluttery and sigh-y, just know that this book more than deserves it. Because... sigh... I love this book!

Some years ago, I read through all the Bridgerton series because I'd heard so much about it and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Daphne and Simon's story was good, as was Anthony and Kate's, but when I came to Benedict and Sophie's book, I practically devoured it in one sitting. It was so unlike any romance I'd read before, both in tone and in how the hero and heroine meet. Not to mention that they're both in love with each other from almost the very beginning of the book.

And with the upcoming Bridgerton Netflix series set to drop on Christmas, I decided that I wanted to re-read the whole series. But when I discovered that my library's OverDrive catalog included the entire series on audiobook, I retooled my plans and went that route. Which I am enjoying IMMENSELY. Once I started, I was eager to get to "An Offer From a Gentleman." As much as I like the whole series, this one is by far my favorite one.

Now, there are plenty of Cinderella retellings and homages and send-ups and whatever-else-you-want-to-call it. Hell, I highlighted two just a few posts ago. But this one actually embraces the fairy tale aspect of the original tale, just minus the magical aspects of it so this can still be realistic (well, as realistic as historical romance gets. But that's for another time).

The story begins with a young Sophie Beckett, who is the bastard daughter of the Earl of Penwood. Though he claims that she's simply his ward, orphaned by some connection-or-other, Sophie resembles the earl so much that it's obvious where her parentage truly lies. The earl doesn't really treat her like a daughter, though he does take an interest in some aspects of her life. She's more at home with the servants. But she occupies this weird middle-ground - not quite aristocracy, but not really the lower class either.

As with any Cinderella story, there must be a wicked stepmother. That comes in the form of Araminta, the earl's new wife. And she has two daughters - Rosamund and Posy. Araminta HATES Sophie. She hates that the earl has his bastard daughter living in his house, she hates that her daughters have to be taught with her, she hates that her husband won't send her away. But it's not like the earl tries to make things easier for Sophie. She's pretty much on her own.

Then the earl dies and Araminta becomes the heinous beast that every wicked stepmother exemplifies. Sophie is turned into a virtual slave for Araminta and her daughters. She has no money, no friends, no support other than herself.

Then one day, the other servants in the household help her disguise herself so she can attend a masquerade at Bridgerton House. She meets Benedict Bridgerton and sparks IMMEDIATELY fly. Like, seriously - this is Love At First Sight taken to ridiculous levels. And I mean that in the best possible way. But, like in any Cinderella story, Benedict doesn't know who Sophie is. He just knows her as the Lady in Silver. They talk, she fascinates him, she's comfortable in his presence. And you feel like you can end the book here and get a satisfying happy ending.

But the clock must strike midnight and Sophie has to run to get back home before Araminta finds out that she snuck out. She leaves Benedict with no idea who she is, though she does leave a monogrammed glove behind that belonged to her grandmother. That leads Benedict to talk to Araminta, who puts all the pieces together and realizes that Sophie snuck out and actually had one nice evening. She kicks Sophie out of the house and leaves her to fend for herself.

That's all by the end of Chapter 6.

Of all the cover variations I found, 
this one was my favorite.

The rest of the story is after Sophie is exiled, which is great because a little Araminta goes a looooooong way. That's one thing about the Horrible Parent trope that gets on my nerves. When you have an awful parent-figure causing problems for the main characters, sometimes the author leans on their presence a lot. And it gets to the point that I (at least) want to reach through the book and throttle this terrible person. Or, at least, I have to flip to the end of the book and make sure this beast gets their comeuppance. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Or, at least, not a very satisfying comeuppance.

But here, Araminta kicks Sophie out and Sophie has to fend for herself. But the story fast forwards a couple of years and Sophie and Benedict reconnect (though, as far as Benedict is concerned, it's the first time). Sparks fly almost immediately, through a variety of slight misadventures.

Basically, fate is playing a HUGE role in getting these two together. Because Sophie is determined to (A) Stay in her place as a servant and (B) Not risk having an illegitimate child, because her life was so hard because of her illegitimacy (very understandable). And even the fact that Sophie doesn't tell Benedict that they met at the masquerade doesn't bug me as much, because watching them fall in love a second time is so great. It's their original meeting stretched out over time - so if you don't like Love at First Sight, this actually gives you both.

Also, the way Sophie was treated her whole life has really stunted her sense of self worth. And it's not Benedict that actually helps right her opinion of herself. It's his family. Because Sophie ends up working for Lady Bridgerton and the younger Bridgerton daughters and they just adore Sophie. They treat her like one of the family, even though she's their lady's maid. And by the time Benedict figures out who she is and that she needs to be freed from Araminta's tyranny once and for all - they ALL rally to Sophie's side.

The ending is the best thing ever. That's all I will say. But you will be punching the air by the time it's over. Lady Bridgerton is amazing. That's all.

The audiobook is great. Rosalyn Landor narrates all of the books in this series and she can do all kinds of wonderful voices. It's probably as close as you can come to getting a full-cast dramatization of a romance novel (dang it, that makes me want a proper radio play of such...) It also includes the 2nd epilogue that Quinn wrote for all of the Bridgerton novels, so this series of audiobooks has those short stories as well.

While I am looking forward to the Bridgerton Netflix series, I'm really hoping that the series is a success because I REALLY want to see Benedict and Sophie's story come to life. 

And on that note (and this was totally a coincidence, I didn't post this review just so I can share the trailer), have the final trailer for Bridgerton. And get excited! :D

The Social Season Is Upon Us - Initial Thoughts on the "Bridgerton" Teaser Trailer

 The teaser trailer for "Bridgerton" dropped this morning! Take a look -

My initial thoughts -

- I have never watched "Gossip Girl," so I have zero idea what's it's about. But there are a LOT of comments comparing "Bridgerton" to that so... sure?

- On that note, I have also never watched anything that is produced through Shondaland, though I certainly know of Shonda Rimes's output. Nothing that she's produced has really piqued my interest enough to try it out until now. That being said, I'm willing to be impressed.

- I am slightly annoyed that the teaser trailer touted its TV connections, but failed to mention that this series is based on Julia Quinn's original Bridgerton series of romance novels. Maybe another trailer will drop and make that clearer? Or the show itself will say so? Maybe my inner book nerd is just needlessly irritated on that score.

- I am well-aware that the series definitely has its own look to it. Not just the racial diversity of the cast, but also some of the costuming is... interesting. Like I said, I'm willing to be impressed. The actress playing Daphne Bridgerton looks amazing and the actor cast for Simon Bassett is damn easy on the eyes. So maybe I'm being a bit shallow, but I'm okay with it. As long as the subplot regarding the Duke of Hastings's father and his childhood is left intact, and we get the glorious relationship between the two leads, I will be happy.

- And here I probably should go with the broad statement that book-to-screen adaptations can be hit and miss. Some are great (Lord of the Rings), some are ehhhhh.... (Artemis Fowl). So while I say I am willing to be impressed, I also am approaching this with some trepidation. Or I can just sit back and enjoy this for what it is, while enjoying the book as a different entity.

- But dammit - Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown? Yes, you have my attention! (Though how they'll handle the reveal of Whistledown when they finally get there... not sure. But that seems that it'll be in a future season, if they do the "season = book" formula that it looks like they're doing for the whole series.)

- I hope this series is successful, both in terms of ratings and in terms of impressing the True Believers. I would love the possibility to open up for other romance series to get adapted into streaming shows - the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that streaming is the perfect outlet for such adaptations. I will always love reading romance books and visiting those settings in my head. But there is something to be said for being able to see it played out on screen. And while I love Jane Austen adaptations and the like, period drama needs to branch out. Just a bit.

That's really all I have as far as thoughts. I mean, this was just a minute and a half trailer for a series that's going to be eight episodes (all dropping on Christmas Day - yay!), so it's impossible to know the whole picture. But it's a nice little tease and I'm excited to see the finished product.