When Anthony Bridgerton's father was 38, he was stung by a bee and died. Anthony idolized his father, and his death affected him deeply. When Anthony decides, at age 29, that it's time for him to settle down and produce an heir, his father's fate is constantly on his mind. He is convinced he won't live to see 39, and so he's determined to marry someone he is unlikely to fall in love with.

Edwina Sheffield seems like the perfect candidate - stunningly beautiful and reasonably intelligent, but with nothing about her that affects Anthony on a deeper level. Unfortunately, Edwina has publicly stated that she won't marry anyone her older sister, Kate, doesn't approve of, and Kate loathes Anthony for his reputation as a rake. As they get to know each other, Kate realizes that Anthony is a better man than she first thought, and Anthony realizes that Kate is very much a woman he could fall in love with. But there's still the issue of Edwina, and Anthony's bone-deep belief that he will die young.

Looking over my records, this appears to be the third Bridgerton book I've read, although I only recall one of those other two books having a Bridgerton as one of the main characters. At any rate, looking over my reviews, I appear to have a somewhat rocky relationship with Quinn's books - they tend to generally be enjoyable and/or emotional reads for me, but they usually have at least one or two aspects that stick in my craw. Sometimes the emotional punch can override those problems and sometimes it can't. The Viscount Who Loved Me tried really hard but ended up falling more in the latter category.

In the first half of this book, Anthony was pretty awful. He behaved horribly towards Kate, despite needing her good opinion in order to stand a better chance of marrying Edwina. There was a scene with Kate's dog (a Welsh corgi!) that I think was supposed to be funny but instead just made Anthony look worryingly prone to excessive anger. I was reminded of Justin, my least favorite character in L. Rowyn's A Rational Arrangement.

The scene that really stuck with me, however, was the one where Kate accidentally overheard Anthony talking to a former mistress of his, as he attempted to rekindle their relationship in an effort to push Kate out of his mind. Anthony told her that the only reason for a husband to be faithful to his wife was if he loved her, and since he had no intention of loving whichever woman he married, he saw no reason he couldn't have a mistress. The scene ended with a clash between Anthony and Kate in which he humiliated her and behaved more like a villain than a romance hero.

Cheating is one of those things I have absolutely no tolerance for in a romance novel. Although Anthony didn't cheat, this scene did establish that he believed there were circumstances under which it would be perfectly acceptable for him to cheat. (And no, I don't accept "historical accuracy" as an excuse. There are lots of enjoyable historical romances where the heroes never once talk about the possibility of having a mistress.)

The way Anthony humiliated Kate at the end of that scene was a big issue for me as well. As much as I cheered at the way Kate's game of Bridgerton Pall Mall turned out, it was a small moment of victory compared to how terribly Anthony had behaved. But that eventually paled in comparison to the "if I don't love my wife, it's okay for me to cheat on her" bit.

It was like Quinn expected readers to forget Anthony had ever said that, as though reading his thoughts and knowing he wasn't even thinking about taking a mistress was good enough. Unfortunately, all I could think was that Kate couldn't read Anthony's thoughts, and so her behavior later on didn't make any sense. Yes, Anthony was a good brother and son. Yes, he was very kind as he comforted Kate during a thunderstorm (she was afraid of thunder and lightning), and it was a great moment for the two of them. But was it reason enough for Kate to back off and give Anthony permission to court her sister? I didn't think so. He'd made it clear that there was at least a possibility he'd cheat on Edwina, and it was odd that Kate seemed to have forgotten that.

It became even odder later on when

The book had some powerful scenes relating to the way a parent's death can affect a person, sometimes in ways they can't articulate or fully understand. And there were some lovely scenes with Anthony and his family, and Kate and hers. Kate and Mary, her stepmother, had a wonderfully loving relationship, and although Anthony automatically assumed that Kate must secretly be jealous of her lovelier younger sister (half sister? step sister? I don't recall), in reality Kate loved Edwina and genuinely wanted her to be happy. Unfortunately, I could never quite get past that scene with Anthony and his former mistress, and the fact that Kate seemed to have magically forgotten about it.

Rating Note:

This was a difficult book to rate. The parts I had problems with were bad enough that I nodded in agreement with reviewers who DNFed the book. Later scenes grabbed my heart and squeezed it, and there were parts that had me in tears - had it not been for the earlier stuff, 4 stars might have been appropriate. I settled on 2.5 because, as much as I liked some of those later scenes, I deeply disliked Anthony in the first part of the book and would gladly have paired Kate up with Colin instead.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

The actual end of this book. Ugh, apartment management arrived for an inspection near the end of it and caught me crying.

So yes, it did emotionally affect me. There were some very good bits in the second half, and MR was right, Anthony does improve on acquaintance. Quinn did not convince me on one thing, however: that the scene with Anthony and his former mistress not only didn't matter anymore, but also that Kate would completely forget about it.

As Kate told herself and Anthony that she couldn't think of a reason to object to his courtship of Edwina anymore, now that she'd learned he was actually a pretty decent guy, I just about screamed in frustration. Did it not bother her that there was a possibility he wouldn't be a faithful husband to her sister? And, when he ended up marrying her instead (for reasons), why wasn't she reminded of that scene when he told her that, although he was marrying her, he wasn't going to fall in love with her? Because I was certainly reminded of it. One of those instances of an author relying a little too much on readers knowing what's in both the characters' heads and allowing it to overwrite what the characters themselves are supposed to know about each other.

But yay, now it's time for me to go up the ladder.

"The only reason to give up one's mistress is if one happens to love one's wife. And as I do not intend to choose a wife with whom I might fall in love, I see no reason to deny myself the pleasures of a lovely woman like you."

This is Anthony, the book's supposed hero, talking to a former mistress of his about the prospect of renewing their relationship. He thinks it's a private conversation, but he doesn't realize that Kate is listening in. The future wife he doesn't intend to fall in love with is Edwina, Kate's younger sister.

Like most of Quinn's books, this is making for smooth reading, and there's occasional fun banter. Unfortunately, I'm not happy with Anthony as a romantic hero. He may be an excellent brother and son, but as a potential husband, he seems like garbage. Earlier, Edwina and Kate had a conversation in which Edwina said she thought he'd make a good husband because everyone always says he's so kind to his family members. Kate responded that men don't always view their wives as being in the same category as blood relatives. Anthony appears to be one of those men, and it really doesn't speak well of him.

Kate's corgi just got everyone wet. I'm sure that's annoying, but Anthony's anger seems extreme. And I agree with Kate, it was out of line for him to assume that she somehow directed her dog to push Edwina into the water.

My "more than 50% blue" book selection. I can't find a Booklikes entry with the right cover. Mine looks more like this:

I've read this series all out of order. The last Bridgerton book I read revealed the identity of Lady Whistledown, so it's a bit odd reading this and realizing that the banter at the beginning is a giant clue.

Crossing my fingers that this doesn't turn out to have Kate and her beloved younger sister, Edwina, both in love with Anthony Bridgerton. Please let Edwina fall for someone else. I'd even take "Kate thinks Edwina is in love with Anthony, but she really isn't."