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
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). 😍
