Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgerton Series, Book 4)

I am a late comer to romance books. Two years ago desperate for something to read, I reached into my wife's book stash and plucked a romance out. Much to my surprise, I not only enjoyed it but I found that nightmares that had been plaguing me for years stopped. Now I'm addicted to the lady's and lads of the Regency era and their romantic triumphs and failures.

Happily, I stumbled upon the Bridgerton series quite by accident and after enjoying the first several came upon the story of Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherigton and found my favorite romance genre heroine and my favorite Bridgerton offspring brilliantly matched. Most regency era heroines strive to be like Penelope: witty, intelligent, and funny, but usually come across as strident and unlikeable or so unrealistically independent and demanding that they sound like a 21st century woman pasted into the early 19th century. Penelope, however, manages to be many wonderful things but never unrealistic to the time period or full of herself.

Colin is the devil-may-care rake that actually comes across as having a heart of gold. The book is so marvelously well-written that you not only believe these two people could have actually existed in regency-era London, you find yourself rooting for them both...hard! If you want to read an enjoyable series discover the Bridgertons, but if you want true magic: read this one!

Absolutely my favorite in the Bridgerton series. I always wanted Penelope to meet her match, and Colin is the perfect man for her. Their story is sweet, and the couple is easy to relate to and cheer for (who doesn't want wallflower to finally find love, and to the object of her secret affection to boot). In addition, the Lady Whistledown mystery is solved in a fun and compelling way. What more can you ask for?

Besides Colin being my favorite Bridgerton sibling (Anthony is a very close second), this book is one of my favorite romance novels. It's light, funny and you can't wait for Colin to come to his senses and finally fall in love with Penelope.

A lot of people are bothered by Penelope's lack of self-esteem. I personally enjoyed watching her grow a pair throughout the story. I think her self-esteem, or lack thereof, adds to her charm. Who wants a perfect heroine anyway?

Colin is absolutely enchanting....and watching him and Penelope interact throughout the book is delightful. Sometimes you want to smack him upside the head for being so obtuse, but even then you can't help but love him.

I can't even put into words how much I enjoyed this book. It's not the steamiest one in the Bridgerton series (see: When He Was Wicked), but the story is very well written and the love scenes will not let you down. This book is the epitome of a Julia Quinn novel: fun, witty and charming.

Ever since I read "The Viscount Who Loved Me" I have been trying to enjoy Julia Quinn's other books. Try being the operative word. I agree with all the other readers that gave this book two stars, I could not continue reading and had to put the book down. I skimmed as much as I could and could not get myself to continue. How could this be the same writer as TVWLM? The book was completely insipid. It is evident why Penelope is a spinster, who could be attracted to her? She has such poor self-esteem issues. And Colin, he seems underdeveloped and sounds like a younger brother to me. This book reminds me so much of "On the way to the Wedding", it seems Julia likes to repeat the characters. She is falling into Stephanie Lauren's trap. Really, been there done that and really didn't like it. This book is so boring- or rather the characters were so well common. So this leads me thinking, Lady Whistledown is Julia - she likes to observe people and she does a good job as she writes with a discerning ability only people who are very detailed oriented and observant can do so I understand why she is compare to Jane Austen. And there are some very few parts of the book she shows cleverness and witticism. However, she is not constant in her ability to deliver the "seduction" aspect of romance book. She writes about puppy love more times than I can remember. Her heroines have self-esteem issues which is very unattractive - ask any guy. She is so belittling at times, Penelope seems pathetic and self-effacing, which makes her a bit sour and ungenerous. In a word, a involuntary spinster no matter how much she convinces herself. And she loves Colin for no other reason than his mere existence compells her to love him?? For an seemingly educated person she seems a bit dumb in her head and misguided. Grow up Penelope! What do you know of love? You hide yourself and enjoy blending into the background. You have no life and live vicariously through others, how pathetic? You admire Colin because he has more guts than you, he travels and tries to find himself. You well you wait for something to happen to you. I would not waste my money on buying this book I wish I had not.

The other Bridgerton books were awesome. Julia Quinn is my favorite romance author and head & shoulders above the usual garbage out there. I was SO disappointed by this book. Sorry, but listening to Colin whine about the fact that it's not fair that he doesn't have a purpose in life is just stupid. Wah, wah. He comes off as a big whiny bug. The discovery of who is Lady Whistledown is anti-climactic and then to listen to Colin whinge about the fact that Lady Whistledown is a published author and he isn't is, once again, just tiresome. The romance side of things is pretty bland. I guess if you want to read the entire series, you have to get through this one, but don't read this one first! I can highly recommend the rest of the books, however!