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Title: The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgerton Series, Bk. 2)
ISBN: 0380815575
Author:
Julia Quinn
Publicate Date: 2000-12-01
Publish: 2000-12-01
List Price: $7.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $3.55
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.93
Amazon Merchant Price: $7.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: My All Time Favorite
This is my all time favorite romance novel to date. I fell in love with both of the characters and laughed throughout the entire book. The characters are well developed and Quinn also develops their relationship extremely well. As their relationship grew, they both grew as individuals as well. I have read this book multiple times and I devour it each time.
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2: Fun and enjoyable, even though I didn't like a few parts of the story.
It was fun seeing a relationship develop between Kate and Anthony. Kate disliked him from the start because he was a notorious rake. I enjoyed the clever bantering going on between the two of them. Eventually she learned Anthony's true nature and admirable qualities.
Because Anthony's father died early at age 38, Anthony feared that he too would die by age 38. In the Author's Note at the end of the book, the author explained that this fear is more common among men than it is among women. Therefore, readers might not be able to relate to it because it is more of a "guy thing." I can accept that, but I did not like Anthony's further interpretation that he must never fall in love because loving someone would "make him fear his own mortality" (page 323). Since he already feared he would die young, this reason for not loving was not logical. His decision to not fall in love was the basis for his actions, which did not work for me. See spoilers below.
Story brief: Anthony is 29 and thinks he has at most 9 years to live. He wants to marry someone to provide an heir, but he does not want to fall in love with her. He asks his brothers about available women who are pretty and intelligent. Even though he has never met her, he decides that he will marry Edwina who fits his requirements. Edwina trusts her older sister Kate and will only marry someone Kate approves of. Kate dislikes Anthony because of his reputation.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
Anthony's fear of loving was solved toward the end of the story, when Anthony had a rational realization, page 326. "He was going to be haunted by the premonition of his own death whether or not Kate knew of his love for her. Wouldn't he be happier during these last few years if he spent them loving her openly and honestly? He was going to die. Everyone died, he reminded himself. He was just going to have to do it sooner rather than later. But by God, he was going to enjoy his last years with every breath of his being." This realization was too convenient as a way to end his conflict. He could have and should have had this realization much earlier.
I also did not like the event that caused a separation after Kate and Anthony fell in love. Page 314, when in bed, Kate said "I hope we'll be like this always. Always and forever." "Anthony froze. Forever was a word that had no meaning. He had to get out of there." He left her.
I also agree with Avid Reader's review about Kate overhearing Anthony telling his former mistress that he intends to keep having mistresses after he is married. Anthony also kisses Kate. Kate never tells Edwina about either of these events, but she should have. Edwina was considering marriage to Anthony and needed to know. Edwina trusted Kate.
Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: three. Setting: 1814 London. Copyright: 2000. Genre: regency romance.
For a listing of my reviews of other Julia Quinn books, see my 3 star review of "The Duke and I" posted on 6/28/08.
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3: The Best of Julia Quinn
Of all the Bridgerton books, I feel this is her best story. Kate is not only smart but funny, sensitive and somehow more relatable with her fear of storms (I also have a fear of storms).
I so enjoyed that Anthony didn't just "get over" his fear of bees, or his belief that he would die early (as did his father, uncle, etc.), just because the story was coming to an end.
The story moved along at a good pace and the character development wasn't so over the top that it wasn't believable.
A truly enjoyable story!
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4: Effervescent!
I loved the first book in the series, but this one is as good or better. Funny characters, a story beside the usual chest-heaving soft porn in many romance novels, the hero & heroine actually like each other, the secondary characters are great and the story is interesting & fun. Read it!
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5: One of my favorite romance novels
The hero and heroine of the VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME could be boring archetypes. Kate Sheffield is a plain virgin and the eponymous Viscount Anthony Bridgerton is a reformed rake. Quinn fleshes her characters out and makes their motives clear (and understandable to a rational person). Kate seems like nothing special because her half-sister Edwina is something special. She does not envy her sister and become bitter, but instead loves her and wishes to protect her, though she knows Eloise must marry for money rather than love. Fear rules Anthony.
Anthony's beloved father died young of a bee sting. Now Anthony fears both bees and dying the same age as his father. While he needs to produce an heir, he does not wish to marry for love because he knows how losing his father hurt his mother. He decides to marry this Season's Incomparable: Edwina. Kate, of course, wants better than a rake for her sister - no matter how rich.
Instead, a bee causes Kate and Anthony to be caught in a compromising position by a known gossip. They marry immediately, unsatisfied with the match. Quinn allows love to bloom between the two without resorting to deus ex machina. Not only does Kate and Anthony's relationship shine, but so do the familial relations and Edwina's own quieter romance.
The Bridgerton siblings are obvious fodder for a series. Yet their appearance in THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME makes you want to read each of their individual tales. They seem like a real family, very competitive and teasing, instead of like characters to be rendered in three dimensions at a later date. When Kate sends Anthony's ball flying during a game of croquet, you know she is going to be comfortable with the family. Throughout the novel you can also see that Anthony's going to be a terrific father.
It could grate that he only wants a wife for her womb. (A common situation, especially in those days, but not one from which romances are made.) However, you see how much he loved his own father and how well he has served as a surrogate father for his younger siblings. The reader knows he will live a long life with Kate and their children, overcoming his fear of an early death.
Quinn also begins each chapter with a passage from the gossip column of Lady Whistledown. Witty and surprisingly kind, her observations create an excellent frame for the story. Readers can enjoy guessing the woman's identity.
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