An Offer From a Gentleman (Bridgertons, #3)

by Julia Quinn

[kimbacaffeinate]

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor, I quickly slipped back into the Bridgerton's world as Quinn shared Benedict's romance. We meet Sophie Beckett as a young child and learn her backstory as the bastard child of the Earl who raises her as his ward after her mother a house maid dies. While there were no mice or pumpkin carriages we do get a masked ball and a tête-à-tête with Prince Charming aka Benedict Bridgerton.

We have the mean stepmother and her two daughters and all the drama poor Sophie can handle. The romance that develops is complicated by miscommunication and Sophie's unwillingness to tell Benedict who she is. Obviously, she doesn't have the same social standing as him, and when he asks her to be his mistress, things get complicated. They do have excellent chemistry, but this story was missing the giggles I have come to expect from Quinn's books.

We see growth from key characters and are treated to updates on previous couples. Quinn hints at the next story and I adored the inclusion of the 2nd Epilogue previously published as a novella which shares updates on Sophie and Benedict in addition to updates on the youngest stepsister.

I ended up listening to the audio narrated by the delightful Rosalyn Landor. While her male voices can be a bit on the stuffy side, she makes listening pleasurable.

I love the retelling and interaction at the Bridgerton household. We did get some excitement thanks to Sophie's wretched stepmother. I adored Momma Bridgerton in this scene. While not a personal favorite this was still enjoyable to listen to, and I look forward to listening to the next novel in the series.

Audio provided by the publisher.
This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer