I know that I bid adieu to the Bridgerton series after watching season 2. But I must write one more book review of the series, as I’ve already finished the third Bridgerton novel by Julia Quinn, An Offer from a Gentleman aka Benedict’s story.

I had read it before season 2 in hopes of being able to identify hints at Benedict’s upcoming love story. I wanted to be ready to recognize Sophie Beckett (Benedict’s future wife) when she showed up on the screen. To my disappointment, Netflix had hinted at neither the third novel nor Sophie. And Benedict will most likely NOT have the spotlight next season as they have switched up the order. Plus, they no longer do a good job focusing on the hero and the heroine (as shown in season 2), so I don’t expect his season to be that great either.

So despite my disappointment and lack of enthusiasm for Bridgerton, I present you a review of An Offer from a Gentleman since I already read it. And I’m happy to say that Julia Quinn’s third Bridgerton novel is better than the second season of Netflix’s Bridgerton.

Here we go! 👇

Tale as Old as Time

An Offer from a Gentleman is a Cinderella retelling. But instead of Cinderella, we have Sophie Beckett, an illegitimate daughter of Richard Gunningworth, the Earl of Penwood. Though all the servants and the earl himself realize that she is his bastard daughter, he takes her in as his ward and remarries a woman named Araminta. When the earl passes away, Sophie is stuck with his new wife and her two daughters, Rosamund and Posy. Just like Cinderella, she is mistreated by her step family (except for Posy) and degraded to work as their servant (with no pay).

But one night, Sophie gets a chance to attend a grand masquerade ball hosted by Lady Bridgerton with the help of the housekeeper of Penwood, Mrs. Gibbons.

There, she and Benedict Bridgerton (instead of the Prince) fall in love at first sight. Alas, Benedict loses Sophie after she escapes from the ball without telling him her name, and Sophie reluctantly returns back to servitude. With one pair of glove (instead of a glass slipper), the only clue he has to her identity, Benedict searches for his love in vain.

Years later, Sophie and Benedict meet again when he saves her from getting raped by the son of her employer. But Benedict doesn’t recognize her (as they met wearing masks at his mother’s masquerade), and long story short, he falls in love with her again.

A Feel-Good Read

This Bridgerton retelling of Cinderella can’t be bad, as the fairytale has withstood the test of time. And Julia Quinn adds more fun to the classic tale by having Benedict torn between two women who actually are the same person. He can’t forget his “lady in silver” he met at the masquerade while he falls in love with a maid named Sophie Beckett.

In chapter 11, Benedict kisses Sophie and is about to say that he’s never felt the way he did before, but Sophie doesn’t know how to feel about that since he’s kissed her before at the masquerade:

Dear God, was she jealous of herself?”

Page 171, An Offer from a Gentleman

I’ve never read about a heroine having to deal with self-jealousy. It was interesting! 😆

Quinn also adds more drama to the classic tale by exploring class differences of the Regency era and by having the heroine put in jail by her evil stepmother. But all ends well in the end and Sophie and Benedict have their happily ever-after.

Benedict was as unromantic as he could be when he asked Sophie to be his mistress, but considering the importance of class during the Regency era, it was realistic. (And he eventually redeems himself by choosing to marry Sophie despite what society would think of them.)

Lastly but not least, I liked Quinn’s writing of Posy Reiling, Sophie’s step sister. Unlike how both of Cinderella’s sisters are cruel in the original fairytale, Posy was kind hearted – just too young to help Sophie when they had lived together under Araminta. It was nice to see Posy save the day by helping Sophie AND stand against her abusive mother. I truly enjoyed reading the second epilogue where Posy gets her own happy ending.

Benedict & Sophie

Benedict was my favorite Bridgerton brother, so this novel was even more pleasant to read. And it was wonderful to find out that he meets and marries Sophie, a beautiful, kind character based on Cinderella. She, along with Kate Sheffield/Sharma from The Viscount Who Loved Me are some of the most wonderful heroines I’ve read about.

Though I don’t expect much from the Netflix series anymore, I do hope they cast a great Sophie as they had done for Kate.

Similar to Other Bridgerton Novels

Though I enjoyed the 3rd Bridgerton novel immensely, I did realize how similar it was to the other Bridgerton novels. After reading four Bridgerton novels, I noticed how Julia Quinn employs many of the same vocabulary, plot points, and male inner dialogue in her works.

She definitely likes to join couples together in the beginning with marriages of convenience (Daphne & Simon, Kate & Anthony, Eloise & Philip). All four heroines of the novels I’ve read are inexperienced with men (Penelope, Eloise, Kate, Sophie) and the couples always face problems in their relationships after 3/4 into the novels. And the male leads all sound the same when they’re angry. Their inner dialogues are, in my opinion, indistinguishable.

Here’s a short comparison of the conflicts that arise three quarters into the novels:

🧡The Viscount Who Loved Me – Anthony and Kate didn’t really fight. But there was this big conflict when Anthony withdrew himself from his wife when he realized that he was falling in love with her. (Because he felt that he would die young like his father, he didn’t want to fall in love.)

💙An Offer from a Gentleman – Benedict and Sophie fought big time when Sophie refused to become his mistress & when Benedict discovered that Sophie was in fact, his “lady in silver.” These two conflicts arose at about the same time, around three quarters into the novel.

🤍Romancing Mister Bridgerton – It’s been a while since I read it, but I believe Colin and Penelope fought when Colin discovered that Penelope was Lady Whistledown and when he was jealous of her achievements (Goodness, Colin). Again, the fights happened after the halfway point.

💜To Sir Philip, With Love – I distinctly remember because I hated the novel so much: Eloise and Philip fought when Philip refused to discuss an important issue Eloise had brought up. (And he made a big fuss about it.)

And Anthony, Benedict, and Colin all have these bro-talks (not really talks but meet ups) with one another after which they realize how much they love their wives. After which the conflicts are resolved and the novels come to ends.

In terms of repeated vocabulary, there’s the very modern interjection “Damn,” and the word “humbling.” And many more, but I can’t remember which pages they were on. Neither do I have the books with me anymore.

Here’s an enlightening, funny video created by a talented YouTuber named Julia Cudney, who’s read all 8 Bridgerton novels. She reviews and compares the novels excellently, with even spreadsheets!

Conclusion

I enjoyed reading An Offer from a Gentleman because…

1, It’s Benedict Bridgerton’s story.

2. It’s a Cinderella retelling – how could I not?

3. Hard-working, resilient & principled, Sophie Beckett is a lovely heroine!

4. Julia Quinn added fun changes to the classic fairytale.

Of the four Bridgerton books I’ve read, I’d say my favorites were 🤍 Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Book #4) and 💙 An Offer from a Gentleman (Book #3). The 2nd novel in the series, 🧡 The Viscount Who Loved Me was good and I enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope, but I really didn’t like the perverse persistence Anthony displayed in the novel. (Click HERE to read my review.) And of course, my least favorite was the 5th novel, 💜 To Sir Philip, With Love.

At this point, I’m ready to move on from Bridgerton. I’ve heard many praises about Francesca Bridgerton’s story, When He Was Wicked, from a number of Bridgerton fans, yet I’m not interested in Francesca enough to read her love story. (She barely has any lines in the Netflix show. Plus I read that she falls in love with her late husband’s cousin. It sounds awfully similar to To Sir Philip, With Love where Eloise falls in love with her late cousin’s husband, and knowing how much I disliked that novel…I’m not too excited for Francesca’s story. But maybe I’ll give it a go in the future.) Neither am I curious about the futures of the youngest Bridgertons, Hyacinth and Gregory. So…

So long, farewell Bridgerton! 👋

P.S. To read my review of the second season of Netflix’s Bridgerton, click HERE.

P.P.S. Check out these An Offer from a Gentleman covers from around the world! They’re beautiful😍 Visit Julia Quinn’s website HERE to see them all.