Desiree reviewed on 1/17/2022

Helpful Score: 1

Note: there are multiple issues with the mental health aspect, child abuse, spousal abuse (mental/verbal) that lead me to tag the book as containing triggers.



Sure, would a lady of Eloise's station and lot in life really run off without at least a maid? No. But it's a book, a romance one at that, so I'm willing to suspense my belief somewhat.

I loved Eloise all the way through up until the very end where Julia Quinn makes her a doormat who is not allowed to have her own feelings per her husband's demands. All he seems to want from her is sex and to keep herself and the children out of his hair, and when she tries to talk to him about an issue with the children he ignores her which in turns leads to her trying to talk to him about the problems in their marriage and him into throwing a temper tantrum and belittling her. This issue is never resolved because towards the end he tells her she's not allowed to be unhappy because of how unhappy his first marriage was. It killed me that she allowed this, became a doormat for him to walk all over with his demands of his own happiness at the cost of hers.

The children were hellions as one would expect after the death of their mother and an absentee father who lives with them. Oh but I wanted to see so much more of them especially interacting with Eloise. They needed that adult who could rein them in and who they could trust and love in return. This would have been a much better place to focus a good portion of the plot.

I found Sir Phillip to be at first boring and selfish then a spoiled asshole and selfish. He never changes throughout the book. His desire from the beginning to the end is to acquire a wife to tend his house and raise his children so he doesn't have to. Though he claims to love his children he's quite happy to never have a thing to do with them. At the first meeting I thought he might have a bit of personality and just be shy and constantly sticking his foot in his mouth, turns out he's just spoiled and doesn't care enough to try and has his head up his ass more than his foot in his mouth. I couldn't believe how dismissive of his first wife's health issues, sure for the time period mental health wasn't widely known about like it is now but he didn't care, or I should say he stopped caring long before hear death.


With his childhood, past marriage, wife's death, and two children he should have had great depth and lots of plot. But the plot for this story was so weak Benedict and Sophie even got their own story within this book just to help this book along.

We also had the return of asshole Anthony who we first met in The Duke And I. I'm not sure why he has to be so horrible to his sisters. I enjoyed him in his own book and he's been fine when the book is centered on one of the other male Bridgertons. (See the scene where he treats her like she doesn't matter and has no say in anything. Sir Phillip adds to this. One review mentioned them treating Eloise like chattel and I think that was nearly spot on.)


There was also no chemistry between these two unless you count the forced seduction in Sophie's office. Right at the end they both decided after a âslow burnâ of all of two weeks they were âin loveâ. But it was never felt, never shown.

Maybe Sir Phillip will have an untimely death and Eloise will get a true HEA with a caring man.


Anyway I know my review won't do any good nor my rating but I'm supremely disappointed in this book.

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