julia quinn the duke and i original cover

I know, a very unpopular opinion, but this book only gets as high as 2-stars because of the narration. I wasn't motivated to keep listening, even with a flawless narration from Rosalyn Landor, who did her very best to add personality and sympathy for these odious characters. To top it off, the book was way too long, and it took me ages to finish the audiobook.

He was self-pitying and broody, and though I didn't like him, I thought he got the short end of the stick being stuck with Daphne. He had a rakish reputations, one that I didn't see any evidence of in the story, and had a twisted mentality about his situation. She was vile, truly, and thought herself to be entirely blameless throughout the story. She forced him to befriend her, she forced him to marry her, and forced him in other ways that found absolutely morally reprehensible. She manipulated poor Simon every step of the way. She is meant to be strong and spunky, but I thought that she was self-serving and TSTL. Daphne Bridgerton was the worst heroine that I've read in a long time. However, I'm absolutely flummoxed by the love for this book. So, of course, I decided to take the series on, and I even bought the next couple of books following the first. EVERYONE has told me to try the original Bridgerton series, starting with The Duke and I. I've read Julia Quinn before, and I really liked Because of Miss Bridgerton. I've been meaning to try this series for some time now. I'm thanking my lucky stars that I didn't try this book first because I fear I would have never read the genre again. Thankfully, I discovered historical romances by Tessa Dare and Courtney Milan, and I fell head over heels for the genre. I thought they were silly and anti-women, and I wasn't even interested in trying them. Once upon a time, I wasn't into historical romance. Actually, disappointed doesn't even begin to describe it.

Julia quinn the duke and i original cover