Bridgerton: To Sir Phillip, with Love

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To Sir Phillip, with Love, a book review

Eloise Bridgerton takes a daring risk after seeing her best friend, Penelope, marry her brother Colin Bridgerton. This event turns her world upside down, her best friend, is no longer a spinster, leaving Eloise alone with that title. It just so happens that there is a man she is in correspondence with who is entertaining the idea of marriage. With no regard for consequences, she runs off to meet this man and to change her life.

You can purchase the book on Amazon here, or listen to the audiobook on Audible!

Thoughts

I had mixed feelings about this book. I realized that Netflix tainted my view and idea about characters and that set me up for disappointment. But not completely. I was still interested in the story and very curious about how it played out. The only thing that irritated me about this book is Sir Phillip, who of course is the lead male.

Sir Phillip

Where do I start with this man? In the Netflix series, we meet Sir Phillip fairly early compared to how the books play out. He is portrayed as a docile, soft-spoken man, who loves plants and is an active and caring parental figure to his late brother’s and Marina’s children.

While the book Sir Phillip, does show some signs of a soft boy, is negligent. Probably the worst part of all of it is that there is no real character growth. It is something I would have to, and hopefully, expect to happen after the story and be an in-between detail in the epilogue. But overall, I did not see it at all. I hated it.

He gave no attention and care to his children. When they misbehaved, or just in general, he referred to them as “monsters.” When he finally has a few moments of reflection or realization that he is not there for his children, his solution is to get a woman to fix it for him. That was his immediate plan after Marina passed, with no accountability. 

Even when it gets to the point where he then realizes that he needs to change, he looks at Eloise as the person to do it for him. This guy wants to be in his world alone and dumps his baggage on anyone, taking no action or responsibility. 

Props to the Author

I do have to give Julia Quinn credit, she does know how to write about real flawed people. Even though I did not see Sir Phillip as a dynamic character, there are people, and I know especially men, that are like this. I do not expect every character to take it upon themselves to know how to proactively fix their problem, but I kind of hope that Phillip did have some humility and at least asked for help. There was a moment where did eventually had a realization, but I found it muted and just like all the other times when he realized he wasn’t an active parent, so I did not expect or even see actual development. Yes, he made changes, but were they long-term? Possibly, but I did not find it believable.

Back to the rant

He also never really apologized for how he viewed Eloise and women. He made no effort to understand her or any women and expected all women to carry the emotional and physical labor of a marriage. Given that he was only in charge of the “lovemaking.” Yeah, I found no sign of remorse or even a change in that mentality.

I thought that maybe the reason for the negligence of his children, was because it had to do with some kind of resentment and the kids were actually from his late brother. No, there the children were 100% biologically his.

I was baffled reading the reviews of this book on Amazon. The high regard and love for Sir Phillip just left me perplexed.

Ladies, let’s raise our standards in men, please.

I can ramble on and on of what I do not like about this fictional man. If you want to hear more, leave a comment below.

Eloise

Moving on to Miss Eloise Bridgerton. I like her as a character, I am however, not a real fan of the choices she makes. But hey, without those choices, there would be no story. I found her to be a strong character. Her stubbornness, I admired. It became a virtue for her in some situations.

I did wish she was not so forgiving of Sir Phillip’s close-minded and shallow remarks about women. Yes, it is the early 1800s, but even Jane Austen’s outspoken characters wouldn’t have tolerated that.

Oliver and Amanda

Oliver and Amanda, also known as “the monsters.” Hey, I think kids are annoying, and I did think these children were annoying and bratty, but calling them monsters was too cruel and daft for my liking. It is so obvious that Sir Phillip left his children for their own. Their mother wasn’t there for them, or barely there, and the father was absent. Of course, they are going to act out as much as they can because that is the only attention they can get. I am glad Eloise had the sense to pick that up.

Marina

I do have to say that Marina with lifelong depression was not what I was expecting. Losing her great love, Sir Phillip’s elder brother, and mixed with postpartum depression I thought was the reason. No, she was known to be sad her whole life.

An Austen Moment

I luckily found some Jane Austen nods in this book! The names in Jane Austen’s novels are given to the next generation of children in the epilogues. 

Read for yourself and let me know what you think! Buy the book on Amazon or listen to the audiobook on Audible!

Read Next: Bridgerton: When He Was Wicked book review

Previous Bridgerton book reviews: book 1, book 2, book 3, book 4