Month: February 2022

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Bridgerton Novel #2: The Viscount Who Loved Me

Photo by Abigail Keenan. (Image lightened).

I’m happy to announce that I just finished the second Bridgerton novel by Julia Quinn, The Viscount Who Loved Me. I was worried about not finishing on time by March 25th, which is when Netflix’s Bridgerton returns with Anthony’s story. In other words, when The Viscount Who Loved Me debuts on Netflix. I honestly can’t wait to watch the new season and compare the show to the novel! 😆

But before any of that, here is my take on The Viscount Who Loved Me.

A Fun Read

As pointed out, this Bridgerton novel is all about Anthony Bridgerton and his love interest, Katharine (Kate) Sheffield.

It’s about how Anthony, convinced that he will die at an early age as his beloved father had, vows to marry out of everything except love. He chooses to marry a decent, intelligent-enough young lady named Edwina, who is the season’s diamond of the first water. But he gradually falls in love with her sister, Kate, who distrusts and detests him with all her might.

Image of The Viscount Who Loved Me from Amazon.

I sincerely enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers trope. It really is entertaining to watch two people who hate each other fall in love. The Pall Mall scene where Kate beats Anthony by hitting his ball into the lake is golden! 😁 I love how their rivalry continues well into their marriage, as shown in the second epilogue.

Image from Netflix’s official Bridgerton Instagram page. Can’t wait for the Pall Mall games!

Anthony & Kate

The new cover of The Viscount Who Loved Me from Amazon.

But what I really appreciated was reading Anthony and Kate help each other overcome their traumas. I think Julia Quinn did a great job exploring both Kate’s and Anthony’s demons.

At first I couldn’t believe the lengths Anthony took to avoid love. His adamant conviction of a premature death was hard to wrap my head around. But the more I read, the more plausible it all became. I was further convinced after reading the author’s note, which explains that Anthony’s reaction to his father’s early death is something that is common among men.

Young Anthony and his father Edmund Bridgerton, to be played by Rupert Evans. Image: Netflix.

The Viscount Who Loved Me is a pleasant read. It explores deep topics like loss, trauma, and their lasting effects. But unlike To Sir Philip, With Love, this novel shows its protagonists overcoming their wounds together. Whereas Sir Philip expects Eloise to solve all his problems (and she does), Anthony and Kate solve their problems together by being there for each other.

They each face their fears while standing next to one another. Anthony and Kate are such a lovely couple who become stronger together. It has been wonderful reading about their story. 💖

Sneak peek photo from Shondaland! Image: Liam Daniel/Netflix.

Pet Peeve

Despite my compliments, there was something that bothered me while reading the novel. It was the fact that even after falling for Kate and kissing her in his study in chapter 7, Anthony still pursues after her sister Edwina.

In the beginning, I was somewhat able to understand his decision to marry Edwina and the lengths he took to avoid love. But after kissing his future sister-in-law, it sounded incredibly weird. Like, there are other women out there he can marry not out of love. It just boggled my mind that Anthony would continue to woo Edwina after kissing Kate and thinking that she just “felt right.” (pg 109).

New characters for season 2: Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley), Mary Sharma (Shelley Conn), and Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran). The casting is perfect! Image: Netflix.

Anthony and Kate’s story all works out in the end, but I found this to be extremely perverse of Anthony. And just cruel to Kate.

Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). Photo from Shondaland. Image: Netflix.

Netflix’s Bridgerton Season 2

Kate Sharma, Newton the Corgi, and Edwina Sharma. Image: Liam Daniel/Netflix.

I’m truly glad to have finished the novel on time. I’m now ready to watch the next season of Bridgerton on Netflix! I can already tell that Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley are going to be incredible together as Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma. (They changed her surname from Sheffield to Sharma for diversity purposes.) Here’s the official teaser:

Though she doesn’t exactly fit the physical descriptions written in the novel, Simone Ashley totally has Kate Sheffield vibes. I think she’s going to be stellar like Regé Jean Page was as Simon Bassett, Duke of Hastings.

It sucks that Regé Jean Page won’t come back for the second season…
He will be dearly missed! 😥 Image from Variety, by Liam Daniel/Netflix.

Well, now I’m off for the third novel, An Offer From A Gentleman! 🥿✨✨✨

Check out my post on the 4th Bridgerton novel, Romancing Mister Bridgerton right HERE.

For my review of the 5th Bridgerton novel, To Sir Philip, With Love, click HERE.

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PADERIA BAKEHOUSE: A Whole New Level of Quality Pastry

Not all pastry shops are the same. There are the good ones that sell pastries that aren’t overly sweet but still taste excellent; the bad ones with tasty but sugary goods that make one feel really guilty for having consumed them. And the ugly, where cheap-looking, sugar-coated treats make one feel sick after a few bites.

And then there’s Paderia Bakehouse, where even a single item (i.e. their Portuguese Egg Tart) makes one visit the shop again and again despite the distance. Not to mention their award-winning Cookie plus their Malasada that I haven’t even tried yet.

The Square Shopping Center

Left turn leads to John Wayne Airport while at the right is The Square.

Tucked away in The Square next to the John Wayne Airport, Paderia Bakehouse may easily be overlooked. In fact, one may opt for the better-known Starbucks several shops away. Yet, once you experience their desserts and/or drinks, the shopping center will become that spot where you get all your Paderia goodies.

The Square shopping center.

On the outside, the bakery looks nothing special with its bland but neat store front and clean fonts:

The Bakehouse

But once you enter, you will be pleasantly surprised by the chic designs of the dark interior with gilded accents. Along with the stylish, modern interior design, the green plants placed here and there help give off an eco-friendly atmosphere.

A few steps further in, you’ll face the counter with the baked goods displayed behind the glass:

Here’s a close up of the baked treats sold at the Irvine location:

A Limited Menu (Serving Only the Good Stuff)

What I also found somewhat unique to Paderia was its limited menu. They only have select drinks and treats to choose from, compared to, say, Starbucks or other cafes.

This is their complete menu from the Irvine location:

I conjectured that this was due to the fact that they were confident in their select items. The limitation, to me, felt like a sign that this bakery only served top-quality food and drinks that they knew (like really knew) how to make.

And I was correct!

Portuguese Egg Tarts

On my first visit, I chose to get some Portuguese egg tarts, cookies, and Mazapan coffee. I had never tried Portuguese egg tarts even though it’s easily available in other bakeries that I visit, as I never expected it to taste particularly good, given the visuals. The egg tarts at Paderia prompted me to try, and little did I know that my life would change forever!

The egg tarts are just…

(How do I type this as accurately as possible..?)

They are SO GOOD that they haunt you. Seriously. After tasting their egg tarts, I became HOOKED. Me, a skeptic of egg tarts and an opponent of the concept of putting more eggs in pastries other than during the baking process, became a FAN.

Portuguese egg tarts with an ensaymada.

It’s warm & soft in the inside, crunchy & flaky on the outside, with hints of sweetness that explode as you savor each bite. It’s COMPLETE BLISS.

Other Items

As for the other items, they were excellent, too. The hot Mazapan coffee, which is hazelnut “harmonized with a crème froth & Mazapan peanut candy bits” is as good as its description on Paderia’s website. The cookies, which are satisfyingly fatter than other cookies, are great. According to their site, their Chocolate Walnut Cookie is an “Award-winning Cookie.”

Who doesn’t want to try an award-winning cookie?

My favorite thing about the cookie was how thick and chunky they were. You really get to just dive in the chocolatiness and the buttery texture. But as such, it can get overwhelming if you eat more than one in a single seating.

On my most recent visits, I tried the Ensaymada, Drip Coffee (both hot & iced), and the Vietnamese Coffee (+more Portuguese egg tarts), and I can say with confidence that they are all good. As for the rest of the items, I haven’t tried yet so I can’t say but they all sound & look delicious. Especially the Malasada that they only sell at their Fountain Valley location!

Paderia Bakehouse: For the Cosmopolitan Connoisseur

Paderia is not some bakery to try out. As their self-description, they are a bakehouse serving traditional baked goods from around the world, with emphasis on “basics, quality and authenticity.” They make “fresh-from-scratch” products in their kitchen with “intentionally sourced” ingredients, making sure to not sell old inventory with their “Open until sold out” policy.

Dear Cosmopolitan Reader, do yourself a favor and check out Paderia Bakehouse next time you’re around Fountain Valley, CA/ Irvine, CA / Santa Monica, CA.

This modern, globally-inspired bakehouse will inspire you.

P.S. Paderia Bakehouse was founded by the two young Vietnamese owners, Nathan Vuong and Davion Tran. Check out the duo’s interview here! 🤩

🍪Official Website of Paderia: https://www.paderia.com/

☕Official Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/paderiabakehouse/?hl=en

P.P.S. They have this cute little egg tart crochet plush displayed with the egg tarts behind the glass display. I’ve asked the cashier if they sold plushies (as I said, I’ve become quite a fan), but she said that they don’t. 🙁

The cute little Portuguese egg tart crochet plush.

P.P.P.S. 2/16/2022 Update: I visited the Fountain Valley location to try the malasada – and it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. It was good, for sure, but not as good as a beignet I’ve tried in Corona Del Mar, CA (view the post HERE.)

It is unfair to compare a malasada with a beignet but the two pastries all share similarities with the doughnut and I can’t help myself from comparing them…

The malasadas at Paderia Bakehouse in Fountain Valley, CA.

The dough and vanilla cream of Paderia’s Malasada were both very light, and I prefer my dough and cream heavier with more substance. I wouldn’t drive all the way to their Fountain Valley store to eat their Malasada whereas I would drive to both their Fountain Valley and Irvine locations to get their Portuguese Egg Tart.

Here’s a short clip of the pretty signage inside the Fountain Valley location to wrap up this post!

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Bridgerton Novel #5: To Sir Philip, With Love

So I finished To Sir Philip, With Love, aka Eloise’s story today and… I have a complaint quite a few complaints.

#1) Philip

It has been written in the novel that Philip Crane is a good man. He is described as a “nice” and “honorable” man. To be sure, he is: he married his late brother’s to-be bride out of responsibility and took utmost care of her (Marina Thompson) even though neither she nor he loved one another. And considering everything Philip had gone through from a traumatic childhood (violent, toxic father) and the early death of his mother to a loveless marriage with a suicidal wife who, in a way, succeeds in her attempt to end her life…One cannot help but feel deep empathy towards the man who hides in his greenhouse to avoid further problems in life (i.e. his twins).

Nevertheless, that does not change the fact that he is one of the worst guys to marry for a young heroine who has lived a life protected by her loving family. Eloise looked for romance while he, as stated throughout the book, looked for a problem-solver, mother to his twins, housekeeper and a bedwarmer. The witty Bridgerton sibling who dreamed for romance ended up with her late cousin’s husband who had personal problems he needed to address with a psychiatrist. And his two children.

#2) Philip Crane

I continued reading To Sir Philip, With Love to see how things would work out. And it does work out. Eloise is extremely happy and content, as are Philip and his two children, Oliver and Amanda. It all works out magically. But life doesn’t work out so magically like that, especially when a young girl (28 but inexperienced and naïve) makes the mistake of running away from home to marry her pen pal she never even saw once in her life.

And that Pen Pal turns out to be a man so hurt emotionally and psychologically that he can’t and won’t manage his children. And he had talked about marriage in hopes that his new wife would solve all his problems.

#3) Sir Philip Crane

But what really made me dislike Sir Philip Crane was when he says this:

You said we have a problem,” he repeated, his voice so low and forceful she didn’t think he’d hear another interruption even if she tried. “But until you live through what I lived through,” he continued, “until you’ve been trapped in a hopeless marriage, to a hopeless spouse, until you’ve gone to bed alone for years wishing for nothing more than the touch of another human being.

He turned around, stepped toward her, his eyes alight with a fire that humbled her. “Until you’ve lived through all that,” he said, “don’t you ever complain about what we have. Because to me… to me…” He choked on the words, but barely paused before he continued. “This – us – is heaven. And I can’t bear to to hear you say otherwise.”

Philip Crane to Eloise Bridgerton on page 353 of To Sir Philip, With Love by Julia Quinn.

But they did have a problem. When Eloise pointed out that they needed to have a conversation about their twins’ nurse (who turned out to be hurting them beyond reason with a book), Philip avoided the conversation and dumped all responsibility on Eloise as he was more interested in her than solving problems together as husband and wife. It was a problem.

Eloise had pointed out a problem. And here was Philip, telling her later to don’t “ever complain” about their marriage… I mean, I get where he is coming from as he is a man who’s been in much pain from a loveless, hopeless marriage, but he ought to consider from her perspective, too. Or any perspective that does not involve self-pity.

Conclusion

As one of my favorite Bridgerton siblings is Eloise, I think I may be a bit harsh on Sir Philip Crane. The novel portrays him as a good, honorable man, and I do think the man who’s been through so much trauma and pain is indeed good and honorable. Yet it was depressing to discover that he was the “one” for Eloise Bridgerton.

Alas, everything works out in the end (like magic). Eloise Bridgerton is even described as being so happy and in love that she cries. Sir Philip Crane and Eloise Bridgerton feel lucky to have found one another. That’s wonderful.

But from my limited knowledge and experience, I find it hard to believe that such magic is possible. Because in the world that I live in, a 28-year-old woman who rashly marries her late cousin’s husband/Pen Pal friend she’d never seen in her life, who becomes his twins’ stepmother, does not have everything work out so magically.

And though the novel is set in the Regency Era, Eloise and Philip’s love story seems highly implausible. To Sir Philip, With Love felt more fictional than fictions can be.

Beautiful photo by Євгенія Височина.

I really hope Netflix doesn’t make Eloise Bridgerton (played by Claudia Jessie) settle for Sir Philip Crane (played by Chris Fulton). They should keep changing the plot as they’ve done in Season 2.

To read about Penelope’s story of the Bridgerton novels, click HERE. It’s way better.

P.S. Tippi Studio has created some of the most beautiful Bridgerton fan arts – check out the artist’s Eloise on Instagram HERE!

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Bridgerton Novel #4: Romancing Mister Bridgerton

Like the rest of the ton who watched Netflix’s first season of Bridgerton, I fell prey to the addictive series. And I fell hard, looking up details for the next season once season 1 ended ended and starting to devour the original novels written by Julia Quinn. Just a week ago, I finished reading Brigerton novel #4, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, instead of reading The Duke & I and The Viscount Who Loved Me first as would have be in order and proper.

I made the transgression as I already saw the story of Daphne and Simon via Netflix and preferred to read their story when I didn’t remember all the details. And I wanted to find out about Penelope’s fate more so than Anthony’s. Though I adored Anthony Bridgerton (played by Anthony Bailey) and was curious about his happy ending,

1) Penelope Featherington was such a lovable character (one of my favorites in Bridgerton) played by Nicola Coughlan,

2) and she’s Lady Whistledown.

So I skipped over a couple of novels and started binge-reading Romancing Mister Bridgerton. And I have no regrets whatsoever!

Penelope & Colin’s Story

It’s an entire book devoted to Penelope Featherington, a close friend of the Bridgerton family aka the BFF of Eloise Bridgerton, and her life-long crush who never really paid any attention to her: Colin Bridgerton. At least not romantically. It details how the two fall in love. Or rather, it shows how they truly get to know each other beyond mere acquaintances and become each other’s soulmates.

Julia Quinn does such a lovely job showing the two family friends become lovers that the novel leaves you smiling at the end. But I must add that like the Netflix series, it’s definitely not for young readers.

On Bridgerton

The biggest reason I started watching Bridgerton was because I had heard that it was set in the Regency Era. And although I truly adore all things Regency, Georgian, and Austenian, I was equally fascinated by the Netflix series’s unhistorical elements: the diverse cast and the pleasantly garish costumes. It was such a daring, interesting move made by the production/creative team.

And as proven by the countless fans including myself, it turned out to be refreshingly enjoyable and successful!

One thing that drew me further into the series was the excellent choice of the cast. They’re all excellent actors and actresses – I was able to see that while watching the series. But after reading Quinn’s novels, I can’t help but wonder what a great job they did with the casting. Nicola Coughlan is Penelope Featherington; Luke Newton is Colin Bridgerton. And everyone else, too, are perfect portrayals of the fictional characters of the Bridgerton world.

Not to mention the chemistry amongst the cast! Whether it be amongst the Bridgerton siblings or between Simon Bassett and Daphne Bridgerton, their relationships are incredibly believable.

🐝🐝🐝

More to Come

Beautiful photograph by Katherine Hanlon.

After finishing Romancing Mister Bridgerton, I am now almost done with Eloise’s story, To Sir Philip, With Love. I must admit I prefer Penelope and Colin’s story over Eloise and Philip’s story. Where the former’s deal with friendship, love, and secrets, the latter’s deals with heavier topics like suicide, loss, childhood trauma, and parenthood in addition to love. And Sir Philip Crane is unbearable most of the time as opposed to Colin who becomes intolerable a few times (like when he was jealous of Penelope’s talent & success). Though one must consider that Philip has gone through so much, I can’t help but think that Eloise, the witty, unique heroine, deserves someone better.

I can’t wait to read the rest of the Bridgerton novels, especially Benedict’s story, An Offer from a Gentleman, as Benedict is one of my favorite characters (after Penelope and Eloise). But I’ve read someone say that in the novel Benedict asks his love interest, Sophie Beckett, to become his mistress and that…is unromantic to say the least.

Well, season 2 starts March 25th 2022! Click HERE for the first look showing Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma (Kate Sheffield in Quinn’s book, The Viscount Who Loved Me). 😍