luxken27: (Kids Inc - Together forever)
LuxKen27 ([personal profile] luxken27) wrote2015-08-20 09:30 pm

Revisiting the Bridgertons | 2: The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000)

1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London’s most elsuive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.

And in truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better… Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers, April 1814


But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn’t just decided to marry — he’s even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended’s older sister, Kate Sheffield — the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams…

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands—and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister—but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony’s lips touch hers, she’s suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself…



This was a most interesting experience, because I did not really have fond memories of this book. It wasn't that I hated it, or even mildly disliked it...in all honestly, I couldn't really remember most of it. I remembered the ridiculous reason WHY Anthony and Kate had to get married (which is still ridiculous), and vaguely remembered the infamous Pall Mall game, but not much else sprang to mind. So, it felt like an almost new read - and, it turns out, a very satisfying one.

Daddy issues are at the fore again, this time with the stoic eldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony - which immediately meant he burrowed into the soft spot in my heart already occupied by Simon Basset, the hero of the first novel in this series ♥ But unlike Simon, who loathed his father with every fiber of his being, Anthony has pretty much the opposite problem - his father was the most amazing man to have ever graced the planet (at least, in Anthony's estimation), and he died tragically young. Edmund Bridgerton was only 38 years old when he succumbed to a fatal allergy to bee stings; his oldest son was only 18, his youngest child not even yet born. Anthony just knows in the depths of his soul that he will never be as good a man as his father, and that he won't even live long enough to try. He is absolutely, irrationally convinced that he, too, shall perish at 38.

Anthony is forced to embrace adulthood perhaps before he's ready for it, but he steps into his father's shoes and shoulders his responsibilities in caring for his siblings and the estates he inherited, along with his father's title. He can be a totally overwhelming boor of a man, especially when it comes to his sisters, but his heart truly is in the right place. He's lived the wild young aristocrat's life, but at the heart of it all beats the heart of a somber, serious man who faces the scope of his own mortality on a daily basis.

As he nears 30, he reluctantly decides that it's time for him to marry, so that he might have at least one child before his inevitable death (by 38). He is bound and determined to take a practical stance with this; he'd like for his wife to be reasonably attractive, intelligent, and utterly ordinary - he very emphatically does not wish to marry for love.

Ridiculous, perhaps, but he has an honorable reason. He knows what true love looks like; his parents' marriage was full of it (quite obviously, with 8 children borne over 20 years), and he knows how difficult it was for his mother when the man she loved so deeply died. He does not wish that fate upon anyone, much less the mother of his children.

So, Anthony queries his brothers as to who the Incomparable of the Season is, and learns that it is blond-haired, blue-eyed, delicately featured Edwina Sheffield. Upon learning that she isn't a total airhead, he decides to set his cap for her.

Of course, as the Incomparable of the Season, Edwina Sheffield does not lack for suitors. She also does not lack good sense. She comes from a poor family, and knows that she much make a brilliant match in order to provide for her mother and her stepsister Kate, in the event that Kate doesn't find a husband herself. The family from Somerset had to scrimp and save for five years in order to afford a Season in London, and the girls make their bows at the same time: Edwina, a fresh young rose of 17, while Kate is on the wrong side of time at 21.

I really liked Kate. She is the older sibling, and she is fiercely protective of her younger sister. Her own mother died when she was a child, but she was taken under her stepmother's wing and raised as if she was a blood relation. It was really refreshing to see a blended family without the animosity and jealousy that this situation is so ripe for. Edwina and Kate are friends, and together with mother Mary, they face the world as a solid unit.

Kate is quite practical herself; she realizes that she is the sister of the Incomparable, but harbors no resentment towards her sister. She accepts the fact that she is older, taller, and plainer, and doesn't really mind lurking in her sister's shadow at the swirl of society parties that constitute the Marriage Mart. She is most amused by Edwina's declaration that she will not marry without Kate's approval - until Edwina's hordes of suitors begin falling all over themselves trying to impress Kate.

The Bridgertons are society celebrities, so everyone has an opinion about them, not the least of whom is the mysterious Lady Whistledown. Kate and Edwina discuss Anthony Bridgerton long before he even knows who they are. Convinced that his rake reputation has been well - and hard - earned, Kate declares that the Viscount would never make her sister a suitable husband. Edwina rather agrees; she'd much rather marry a mousy scholar instead of a dashing duke, though she convinces herself that she will settle for a scholarly-minded man of great means. She knows the burden she shoulders, but she does so without complaint.

When the inevitable happens - when Anthony Bridgerton meets Edwina Sheffield and decides that she's worthy of his pursuit - it turns out to be game on. Kate can't stand the sight of him and makes that rather plain at one of the balls, much to Colin Bridgerton's great amusement. She's even less impressed when Anthony Bridgerton deigns to call on Edwina the next morning, and does everything she can to get out of having to spend time in his presence. Anthony is not without his charms, however, and Kate melts just a little when she realizes that he's brought flowers not only for Edwina, but also for Mary and Kate. Anthony is struck when he realizes that its the first bouquet Kate has ever received herself, which softens his opinion of her just a smidge.

Mary, of course, is overjoyed at the idea that a Viscount is gracing her parlor, but their visit is cut short by Kate's overwager, overweight corgi, Newton. Newton just loves Mary and tries to jump on her every time she's in the same room. Mary wants so much to be rid of Newton that she shoos Kate away to walk him, and then suggests Anthony accompany her.

The two manage not to kill each other whilst in polite society, but Newton is having none of their restraint. He spots Edwina in the distance - she'd been out riding with another suitor when Anthony had called - and then all hell breaks loose, ending up with Anthony Bridgerton half-soaked in the disgusting waters of the Serpentine as he gallantly rescues Edwina from her bumbling suitor.

Anthony and Kate are very arch with each other; they exchange a lot of very witty repartee, but Kate is unmoved. She will not allow him to pursue his courtship with her sister because she is convinced he is a conniving jackass unfit to even kiss Edwina's slippers, much less any other part of her.

Things do not get better during a soiree at Bridgerton House; if anything, they manage to get even worse as Kate inadvertently stumbles upon Anthony as he attempts to have a lover's tryst with an opera singer. This does not raise Kate's opinion of Anthony one bit - her sister deserves a love match, not a man content to keep mistresses - but it does begin to make his blood rise for her. They have a very heated standoff - a passionate argument that leads to an equally fervent kiss. He only meant to scare her, but ended up scaring himself with the intensity of his attraction to her. She drives him to distraction with her pithy rejoinders and her sheer stubbornness in opposition to his suit of her sister, so when he starts dreaming about her, it only makes him more crazy.

It might all have ended there, if not for Lady Bridgerton's singleminded determination in marrying every single one of her children off in short order. She throws an impromptu house party at the Bridgerton's country home in Kent, Aubrey Hall, and invites the Sheffields along for the ride. Everyone knows of Anthony's courtship of Edwina, and lots of things tend to happen in the country that the rigid, formal rules of society would keep from happening in town, so everyone is expecting the two of them to emerge at the end of the week as betrotheds.

It's very difficult for Anthony to return to Aubrey Hall, because his family spent most of their time there when he was younger, as his father loved the great outdoors. It was here that his father was felled by that ridiculous bee as well, so it's not hard to sympathize with him (or his mother). Still, he puts on a brave face and accepts his role as host alongside his mother. He is pleased to know that Edwina and her family has come down, and determined to get the courtship well and truly finished.

He finds himself continually in Kate's company, however (partly due to the machinations of his shrewd mother), and as the two of them spend more time together, they begin to realize that they appreciate each other more than they dislike each other. They are participants in the infamous Pall Mall game (the Bridgertons play dirty, and they play to win - these chapters are absolutely hilarious and worth the price of admission alone), and encounter each other in the dead of night in the library. Kate, who is deathly afraid of thunderstorms, is caught there when one blows up during the middle of the night, and Anthony finds her cowering under the table in sheer terror. It is a moment of connection, and it's pretty much the catalyst of change in their mutual regard.

Kate remembers how he allayed her fears the next morning, and decides that no man that gentle and caring could be as horrible as his reputation paints him to be, and decides as well to tell him that she's dropping her opposition to his pursuit of her sister. Edwina could hardly do worse; it was obvious to one and all that Anthony had a genuine love and affection for his family, and he wasn't stupid. He would be kind to her, and maybe even faithful. It's enough for Kate, at least.

Anthony, on the other hand, is more intrigued by Kate than ever after witnessing her vulnerability during the storm. He seeks her out, wishing to apologize/explain about the night before, and realizes that he feels hollow inside when she tells him that she'll consent to him marrying her sister. He doesn't have much chance to contemplate this, however, because a bee has decided to make Kate its target, and Anthony loses all sense of reason. All he can see is Kate dying the same horrible death that his father did, and he tries rather urgently to get her away from the bee but she is totally bewildered by his reaction. They tussle, and make the bee mad, and it does sting her, rather badly in fact. Anthony makes it his personal mission in life to express the venom from the wound, even goes so far as to suck it out - when, of course, a trio of mamas stumble upon them:

Mary (Kate's stepmother), Violet (Anthony's mother), and Mrs. Featherington, the ton's reigning gossip queen.

They pretty much have to bow to societal pressure and marry now, and while neither one of them wanted it to happen this way, they are starting to want each other - they're just convinced their feelings are unrequited. Anthony feels free, because his hand was forced for a woman he could never offer for but so desperately wants to have his way with. Kate also feels that same intensely passionate attraction to him, but fears that he is merely settling for her because he's been forced to. She fears the repercussions of being a "fallen woman," and has a hard time adjusting to being the target of the ton's nasty gossip.

Mercifully, she is not as ignorant about sex as Daphne was; she is very pragmatic about it all, but is disheartened when Mary tells her that a man can find his pleasure in any woman, whereas the reverse is not necessarily true. So now Kate begins to feel insecure about Anthony's desire for her, convinced that he's picturing someone else every time he kisses her so passionately (and later, when he has sex with her). She even tries to delay the consummation of their marriage, though she can't put into words what, exactly, her objections are.

The sex scenes in these books are very intense and passionate because of the heady emotions of the characters. I really enjoy them because they are that wonderful mix of physical, sexual, and cerebral chemistry. These two have very intimate conversations - funny and serious - and it's just really lovely to read about. They are already in love but neither wants to admit it.

As the book winds down, it's time for the characters to face their demons: Kate and her terrifying fear of thunderstorms; Anthony and his growing dread at his inevitable death. They help each other through these situations in beautiful, thoughtful, subtle ways, ways in which their bond only strengthens. It isn't easy for either of them to face the things that hold them captive by their own irrational fears, but together, they manage to get through them. It felt very authentic and realistic and it hit so many of my squee buttons that I just kept re-reading certain passages and sighing.

One of the things I love about Quinn is that she does not take the easy way out - if she employs a cliche, it is only so that she might turn it on its head. Anthony falls in love in spite of himself, and that brings his greatest fear straight to the fore: how can he die and leave a wife that he loves so dearly and desperately? How is that fair to her - or to him?

Even when they reach their breaking point, it never truly feels like a break. There is no screaming hysterics, no weepy longing, no over-the-top grand romantic gestures. There are only two adults struggling against their own demons, each trying to hold the other close, with equal measures of failure and success.

I really enjoyed this book and the progression of their relationship. These two are really well suited, and had a love story worthy of their characters ♥

The 2nd Epilogues
Quinn's Bridgerton tales were *such* a sensation that fans clamored for more, so she wrote "second epilogues" for all of the books, which were collected and released in 2013. I believe with the latest round of reissues that the 2nd Epilogues are now with their respective novels. This is my first time reading these sequel novellas.

Here is Quinn's introduction to The Viscount Who Loved Me's 2nd Epilogue:
Without a doubt, readers' favorite scene in The Viscount Who Loved Me (and perhaps all of my books) is when the Bridgertons get together to play Pall Mall, the nineteenth-century version of croquet. They are viciously competitive and completely dismissive of the rules, having long since decided that the only thing better than winning is making sure your siblings lose. When it came time to revisit the characters from this book, I knew it had to be at a Pall Mall rematch.

Well, another Pall Mall match was certainly warranted, I think, and this one did not disappoint :) From the scheming over who would win the coveted Mallet of Death to each player's hilarious running commentary on the game, this was a pure delight to read. I love the idea of the Pall Mall game becoming a tradition for the first erstwhile group of players, one that is fiercely guarded and gamely played year after year. The object is not always to win (at least, not in the traditional manner), but somehow, Anthony and Kate always manage to come out on top, LOL!!

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