Oświadczyny

2★ (and 2 is being nice)

I was so excited for Eloise's book.

Unfortunately, the Eloise I loved never really showed up.

Show Eloise is witty, independent, stubborn, and the kind of woman who would rather start a scandal than settle for a mediocre man. Book Eloise felt like an entirely different character. She spends most of the story playing house for a man who essentially wanted a wife so he wouldn't have to raise his own children.

And Sir Phillip?

I tried. I really did.

But this man spent the majority of the book proving that he was a better botanist than he was a father, husband, or functioning adult. His grand solution to parenting seemed to be: "find a woman and let her deal with it." Romantic.

The biggest issue is that I never truly bought the romance. They exchange letters, meet, get married, have sex, and suddenly we're supposed to believe they're deeply in love. Somewhere between Phillip avoiding his children and Eloise solving all of his problems, I missed the part where they actually fell for each other.

There were moments I enjoyed, especially whenever the Bridgertons showed up, because that chaotic family remains the best part of this series. But the romance itself felt flat, rushed, and strangely unconvincing.

Overall, this wasn't terrible, but it was easily one of the more disappointing Bridgerton books for me. Eloise deserved a love story that matched her personality. Instead, she got Sir Phillip.

Oh, heeeeell no.This book is 2⭐ simply because I love the TV series. I am very curious how they'll make Phillip in any way likeable to a modern audience for their season.Strike 1: Marina being continuously villainized for her mental illness. She is not given any redeeming quality. And Phillip's discourse when he's talking to Eloise about her? Ew. Disgusting. Marina was simply a disappointment to him because she didn't make his life easier. And her death was an inconvenience. Strike 2: We literally get 5 sentences in total about why Phillip likes Eloise as a wife. He's horny and she's a good mother. He needs a good mother for his children (because he picked such a terrible one the first time!!!). He literally goes into everything looking for a boss to his staff, so that he's not bothered by anything and he gets to make his own life easier.Strike 3: This is the most unromantic story I've ever read. And not only because the MMC is a jerk, but because there's nothing sweet, cute, interesting about the entire story. No yearning, very little romantic thoughts and a lot of pragmatism. Their relationship doesn't develop over letters, it doesn't develop when Eloise makes the trip to his home, it doesn't develop after they get married. It just shifts from them being convenient for one another to being passionate about each other when the author decided she'd written enough pages and it was time to move the story forward.Ew. Absolutely Ew. Sir Phillip, respectfully, you're not it.

Me gusta mucho el personaje de Eloise, pero siento que acá no le sacan mucho partido, se supone es la Bridgerton más empoderada y casi oveja negra, pero no se siente así. A Sir Phillip lo odie hasta el último, cuando ya explican más su historia pude tenerle un poquito de comprension. Esperaba más historias con los hijos terribles y que trataran de sabotear a Eloise, pero tampoco fue tanto. Como siempre, las partes spicy no faltan, es como que en todos los libros de la saga debemos ver el lado oscuro de los Bridgerton, la parte lujuriosa y tabú