Audiobook Review: The Duke and I (Bridgerton #1) by Julia Quinn

Title: The Duke and I (Bridgerton #1)
Author: Julia Quinn
Genre: Adult Historical Fiction / Regency Romance
Publication Sate: January 5th, 2000
Publisher: Avon Books
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable… but not too amiable. Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar. The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule…” (Goodreads)

Ever since finishing up the first two seasons of Bridgerton it made me want to try reading regency romance. I know. Who am I? A subgenre I had sworn off, lol. I’ll be honest, it was hard to not compare it to the show. There were some things the show did better and others the book did. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it though.

The book is told from a third-person narrative which I think fits the book just fine. I liked being in Simon and Daphne’s head to understand how they were feeling towards one another from beginning to end. Sure, their romance is very fast paced and maybe I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if I hadn’t watched the show but I still binged through the audiobook.

There isn’t a lot of drama in the book like there is in the show. I can understand why they added it, as well as more character development from the minor characters, because they definitely needed more in the book. Personally, I liked Anthony more in the book. He was very comical when it came to his sister and Simon. The start of their “romantic” intensions was much different and I think I liked how it played out in the book more. Colin was also another favorite. I do wish there was more from Eloise though.

Even though this was very simplistic, I still enjoyed what it had to offer. The narration was very nice and like I said above, I binged it in less than a days time. It was just what I needed after reading a lot of fantasy.