Marsha's Reviews > On the Way to the Wedding: Bridgerton: Gregory's Story

I’m of two minds about this novel. On the one hand, it’s full of the jovial humor that Ms. Quinn is known for in her romances. (The name Hermione Watson is obviously a combination of the names of Hermione Granger and the actress who played her in the Harry Potter films, Emma Watson, e.g.) Gregory Bridgerton spars playfully with Lady Lucinda Abernathy—that is, when he’s not mooning over her radiant friend Hermione.

However, I was horrified by a passage in which Lucinda is manhandled by her future father-in-law while her intended (not Gregory) stands by and does nothing. Lord Haselby isn’t a bad man by any means. He’s quiet, well mannered and amiable; Lucinda would be perfectly content with him. However, this indifference on the part of a future husband makes him look rather shabby.

That’s nothing compared to Gregory’s behavior when he decides he’s in love with Lucinda and pursues her without regard to her own stated feelings or obvious behavior. He sneaks into her bedroom (not just once but twice) and then decides to leave her tied up in a water closet, in spite of her protests about the latter situation. Of course, the latter situation turns out badly but all’s well that ends well. I suppose that’s to be expected when you read an earlier passage in which he yanks her bodily into a room, locks them inside it and pockets the key. He couldn’t have asked her for a walk and talked to her outdoors like the gentlemen he purports to be?

About the ending...I have a few choice words about that. Once Lucinda is married, she proceeds to shoot out one baby after another. We’re informed that childbirth gets easier after the first child but I still don’t see why any woman would decide to birth a litter. She even beats Violet Bridgerton’s record and that’s saying something!

Lucinda is one of those romantic heroines who occasionally cherishes the thought of travelling. Alas, like the rest of the Bridgerton ladies, whether by blood or marriage, she really doesn’t go anywhere. The ton drift between town and country but only the men ever leave England.

So we have a HEA with the usual business of husband, wife and children. Oh boy, are there children. When all the kids are awake, the noise must be deafening.

I returned to m/f romances set in the Regency period because at least I could get conversation before settling down to the passionate sex. Now, I’m thinking about turning back to modern romances. At least with those, there is a chance of reading about female characters who think about something other than becoming breeding cows.