The Duke and I is the first book to Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series. The first book focuses on Daphne, the fourth of eight siblings in the Bridgerton family, and the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset. Readers will also meet the other Bridgertons’ and other secondary characters that I liked getting to know more than the main characters at times in this book.
Female Protagonist: Daphne Bridgerton is a beautiful young lady who everyone loves as a friend, but nothing more. I liked her character but did not connect with her. She was sweet at first but turned into something else later on, especially after working with the Duke to have a pretend relationship that grew into something more. She’s determined to get what she wants, and she’ll do anything, even do something that I found unforgivable.
Male Protagonist: Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, has to be my favorite in this book. He’s a handsome young Duke that every woman wants to be with, but he has no desire to be with them unless it’s casual. He has his reasons. He is considered a Rake by many, but he changes once he meets Daphne. He has a past that made me feel for him immediately. I loved everything about him. Yes, I have a thing for flawed heroes. 🙂
Storyline/My Thoughts: My thoughts on The Duke and I are that I enjoyed the book, up until one particular scene, which I mention in my review’s forewarning (below). This is the first book I read by Julia Quinn, so I did enjoy the storyline of how Daphne and Simon met in this book. I also love the trope(s) that were in this book. One, in particular, the Fake/Pretend Relationship. You know it’s never going to continue to be fake. One character or both will eventually fall in love. It’s inevitable.
Julia Quinn was very descriptive in details with the events the characters went to in the book, making it feel like I was there with them. I’m afraid I could not live back in a day where marriages were arranged, and women were not allowed to do certain things because it was frowned upon back then. There’s also the issue of wearing dresses every day. Nope, not this gal here. I love wearing my t-shirt and jeans, especially living in a rural area with livestock.
There was so much drama in this book that kept me turning the pages. Daphne has three older brothers who are protective of her. What does she think they will let her marry just anyone? Nope!
This book has a Gossip Girl feel to it, with the gossip papers from Lady Whistledown going around. I may know who she is but won’t give it away to readers who have yet read the book/series.
Forewarning: This book does have a scene that I would consider a rape scene. I will not go into details with it because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read the book or watched the show on Netflix. I was disappointed with this scene, so I gave it 3.5 stars instead of 5 stars.
Standalone or Part of Series: Part of Series.
Steaminess: Some steam towards the end of the book.
HEA: Yes.
Trope: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Shotgun Marriage
Would I recommend this book? Yes. I would recommend it to Historical Romance readers out there if you have read any of Julia Quinn’s other books, too. Again, this was the first book I read from Julia Quinn, and I look forward to diving into the rest of the Bridgerton series this year (2021). I’ll need to read them before the next season comes out on Netflix.
I will say this; this will be my first time I loved the show better than the book. I know it’s due to Shonda Rhimes. She’s amazing! (Although I may be the only person who hasn’t seen Grey’s Anatomy, I plan on changing that soon. I did fall for her show Scandal. I loved that show!!) Shonda Rhimes did a fantastic job with the first season of Bridgerton.
Far too many romance novels glorify toxic relationships - and while everyone in The Duke and I appeared to have a fairytale ending, nothing was really resolved, and people's appalling behaviour was pushed under the rug as "cute" or "fixable."
This is another case where the television adaptation far outstripped its source material. I was expecting something sweet, witty, and self-aware. I was sorely disappointed. While sometimes a simple, straightforward, easy read can be just what the doctor ordered, The Duke and I raised far too many problematic elements to get away with not analysing or discussing them. That, combined with some limited, boring, vanilla sex scenes, one of which was an entirely unnecessary nonconsensual one, made for a rather dull read overall.
