Bridgerton books

[teddybearsbear]

Are they worth reading?
I usually read fluffy chick lit and wonder if these are worth a read?
Thanks !

They’re fluffy chick lit with a fair amount of sex set in regency times. I enjoyed them for what they were. The odd Americanism pissed me off though. Seriously, no British person would talk about someone’s fanny for fucks sake. Apart from that enjoy

I quite enjoyed them, in a Jilly Cooper sort of way. I read them before watching the tv series, and the stories do differ. Good escapism.

As PP have said, I like them for what they are and I read lots of different things, some high brow some not so much according to mood and these suit my mood sometimes. I think if you like fluffy chick lit as you said then yes worth a go. I've only read the first two.

I’m listening to the first one on Audible at the moment and fairly enjoying it although the dialogue does go on a bit, and there are lots of Americanisms in it (they are constantly meeting with, or going toward each other) but that’s a minor quibble. My main issue is that the voice the narrator puts on for the duke sounds exactly like Jacob Rees Mogg . I’m trying hard to focus on the Rege-Jean Page image but it’s a challenge…
I think I’ll go back to Georgette Heyer afterwards - they are much better written, and without the disturbing JRM element!

They’re regency bodice rippers that a fluffy chick lit really. I enjoyed them for escapism!

They're an easy read, I read them all last year. I did enjoy them
They're a bit fluffy as they're regency romances but it's interesting to see the differences from the tv series.

I liked the first 3 or 4 on the back of Bridgerton series 1 but after that they felt pretty samey.

However, it did launch me into full steamy Georgian/Regency/Victorian Romance addiction and I've now practically read the full works of Lisa Kleypas, Eloisa James, Mary Balogh, Tessa Dare, Loretta Chase, Sarah MacLean, back around to Julia Quinn...and many, many more 😶

There's a ton of dross out there and I try to avoid the Highland ones as the och aye the noos make my teeth itch, but as they're almost all written by Americans there are usually a few anachronisms (which is fair enough really as UK must be a tiny part of the audience and the rest of the world likely doesn't notice. I do wish they'd learn the difference between asses and arses to your average English rake though).

I’m just finishing the last few books, having binge read them all over the past few weeks. I’m usually a bit of a book snob, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed escaping into this fantasy land. It’s far from great literature, but the books are pure escapist romance with some raunch thrown in. My favourite one was book 2 -The Viscount who Loved me - and I much preferred it to the Netflix series. I did end up wanting a few of the heroes as my book boyfriends. @ditalini which of those authors/books would you recommend? I’m about to finish Bridgerton and I’d like to find something similar to help me escape in the evenings.

I just bought the first four after watching the second series when I had Covid. The first book irritated the life out of me - the anachronisms, Americanisms, unrealisticness, general crapness. But then I somehow got past that and was gripped by the second and third. Now I’ve misplaced the fourth and it’s driving me mad as I NEED to read it! But after that I think I might reread Jane Austen to cleanse my mind.

@allyouneediscash try the Lisa Kleypas Wallflowers series (and if you like that one then the Hathaways and Ravenels series are in the same "world" of characters).

I also binged Eloisa James' Essex Sisters and Wildes of Lindow Castle series.

They are very trashy, but sometimes you want that in a holiday read.

Book 1 had a very wrong rapey thing happen, which rather spoiled the book for me. Book 2 is better. Book 3 is literally Cinderella for the first section of the book, and was completely ridiculous.

Thank you, for the recommendations. I will look into them and then cleanse myself with some George Eliot afterwards! 😆

They're trash, but I liked them. They're quick to read.

The sex scenes are really repetitious between the books. I don't quite understand why an editor didn't remove the glaring Americanisms like "eating crow". And the writer could do with a thesaurus - the number of men described as having a "lopsided smile" as a term of endearment made me wonder if there was some sort of infectious palsy doing the rounds.

Whoever adapted them for TV had their work cut out to produce a decent result.

They are very easy reads - my DM said they were based on Goergette Heyer books, but I tried one of them and it was far more complex to follow the characters.

None of this put me off finishing the lot.

I've been reading, studying and enjoying "good", respectable literature my whole adult life but I'm feel absolutely no shame for my reading choices in my currrent perimenopausal state.

For everything there is a season. A time for Booker prize nominees, a time for bodice rippers with excrable covers (thank god for kindle)

I like fluffy chick lit and I have read the first 2 books but honestly they were not great and there wasn't even that much bodice ripping! I'll probably read another after the next bridgerton season though 😁

So true! The ever present boyish lopsided smile is so cringeworthy and those Bridgerton brothers all seem to have the same moves in the bedroom - far too much nipple tweaking and knee tickling going on. The Americanisms put my teeth on edge, especially when describing how someone’s house was only a few blocks from someone else’s.

I have tried Georgette Heyer a few times, but usually straight after a Jane Austen bingefest, and could never get into them. My mum is a huge fan though, so I’m going to try again once I’ve finished with Bridgerton.

@ditalini I so agree, life is hard for me at the moment and these trashy books are very much what I need just now.