Bridgerton: Romancing Mister Bridgerton

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Romancing Mister Bridgerton, a book review

The fourth book in the Bridgerton series is Romancing Mister Bridgerton, by Julia Quinn. This book examines the romance between Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington. So far this book in the series has the biggest time jump, eleven years into the future. Penelope is a spinster and Colin is a well-traveled bachelor. Colin typically sees Penelope as nothing more than a sister figure. She is always at the Bridgerton home with his younger sister Eloise. That is until one day Penelope asks a favor of Colin. This event completely changes the way he sees her. The romance then assumes while other secrets are then revealed.

You can purchase the Romancing Mister Bridgerton on Amazon here or listen to the audiobook on Audible!

Thoughts

I do like this story. Though unfortunately, I did have a hard time staying interested in some parts of the story. Some scenes played out too long, but at least I did not get irritated with the characters skirting around the point using withholding communication. I do appreciate that.

Netflix

This love story is the focus of the Netflix Bridgerton season 3, which does not premiere until May 16th, 2024. So much has changed between the two TV shows and book series that I am very curious to see what they have in store and how they will play out their storyline. We did see that they skipped Benedict’s love story and added a lot of other characters (as well as omitted) storylines to the television series. I do hope in this upcoming season they start to delve into Benedict’s and Eloise’s story. Since Benedict’s story already happened in the book series, they skipped his love story in the Netflix show. Not to mention that in this book Eloise’s love story graces the readers towards the end.

Colin

Just like the other Bridgerton boys, and Simon, Colin does have his irrational rage fits. I am glad they are more short and that his jovial nature butts in to prevent him from being too aggressive.

Penelope

Penelope is a good character. Other characters hyped up Penelope in the previous books and has been most noted to be a wallflower. I found her to be relatable and no real criticism of her character at all

“Ugly Duckling”

There were a few things mentioned in this book that made me question the historical accuracy. I looked up two of them and found that it could be mentioned or done during that period. They were the waltz and the term wallflower. They got a pass. However, there was a mention of the Ugly Duckling, which Penelope used to describe herself. Hans Christian Anderson wrote The Ugly Duckling in 1843, around 15 years after this book was supposed to take place.

Timeline

With all the jumps in time with this book and the last. Even with all the epilogues in all the stories, I feel like there may be some time and consistency errors that take place. Like maybe Lady Whisledown’s secret reveal or when she stopped writing may not be consistent. But I cannot confirm that, and at another time I will have to go through all the books again and lay out a timeline

An Austen Moment

I did not find a fresh Austen moment in this book. It makes me sad and I am hopeful that I just miss it and the reference went over my head. There were a few mentions of Wickham, Violet’s butler. 

There was a heavy focus on writing as a career for both main characters. Which could be a nod to Miss Jane Austen.

To read the book, purchase here on Amazon, or listen to the audiobook on Audible!

Read next: Bridgerton book 5 review

Previous Bridgerton book reviews: book 1, book 2, book 3