Book Post: Quinn, Hoffman and Mason
Oct. 18th, 2024 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bearshortyCatching up on books for July and August. It was mainly Bridgerton books and two books I got from my Dad on my birthday. I really needed some light summer reading and silly romance books was really perfect entertainment.
To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn, 350pp [Bridgerton 5].
This was the first Bridgerton book I read that hasn't yet been adapted to the TV show.
Whenever I clink on any list picking between the best Bridgerton books, this one seems to be on the bottom. But I actually enjoyed it a lot. Many people have an issue with Phillip but he seemed fine for an introvert who ended up with a terrible first marriage out of obligation, had to walk on eggshells with regards to his depressed wife and tried to stop her suicide, and didn't know how to relate to his children at all. He only felt comfortable with his plants. So when Eloise shows up, who at age 28 decided that maybe she should marry, it really threw him off. All he wanted was a mother for his children but they ended up challenging each other and making each other better. And even when they had to marry in haste for reputation sake (as pretty much most of Bridgerton children end up doing - like seriously, that trope is silly after so many of the books using it), it was more of a plot device by that point.
I'm not a giant fan of Eloise in the TV show - she is very twitchy - but I liked her in the book. And I liked how she was with the children and how she won them over. And how she made Phillip be a better father.
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn, 379pp [Bridgerton 6].
I think the TV show made a mistake by making Francesca's first marriage seem only made for companionship when she couldn't remember her name upon meeting John's cousin, clearly indicating big love/infatuation for the cousin and not for John. But John and Francesca were lovely in the show and I agreed with her point that not all love has to be grand and dramatic; sometimes sitting together quietly is lovely. And then the show undermined it with "love at first sight" thing and I'm not a fan. I always preferred "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale as a kid because in that story the characters get to know each other and there isn't love at first sight. Anyway, in the books, it was very clear that she truly loves John and then she truly grew to love Michael and that makes a much better story. This is a story of moving on and letting yourself love again when your first marriage was wonderful and full of passion too. And it wasn't like she was in love with Michael while John was alive; Michael was a close friend. Not sure how the TV show will also address Francesca's wanting children so desperately and dealing with infertility. The book managed that well. Anyway, the book was good overall and we will see what the TV show will do.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, 279pp
One of the two books my Dad got me for my birthday. I heard about this book before. I have never seen the movie but I know it exists. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I think my expectations for the book were too high. It certainly kept my interest as I was reading it but I'm not sure if I liked the characters. My Dad, who read all of the books in the series, said that he liked another one more but thought I should start with this one. Not sure if I will read more but I'm not ruling it out. It was just strange.
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn, 317pp [Bridgerton 1].
I am not a big fan of Daphne or Simon but I think I liked them more in the book than in the TV version. TV version stayed with the plot a lot but just the way the characters come across, they are more likable in the book. Not much to say about this one.
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, 313pp [Bridgerton 2].
I think the TV version of this was better and it also influenced my reading on that book since the casting of the show lent itself to this one. The book was a bit less dramatic in Anthony's courting of the younger sister but more dramatic in the bee scene and actual marriage part. But the book and the TV show sort of go together for me. I don't take any of it seriously. Entertaining book.
An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn, 321pp [Bridgerton 3].
This book is the next season of the show, being a Benedict book, so now that I've read it, I can follow the casting news and know who the characters are. The actress who played Cho Chang is playing the stepmother, which is making me feel old. This story is a Cinderella story, and I quite like Sophie, the main character. The book is mostly from her perspective and there isn't much characterization for Benedict. But Sophie definably gets a lot and I look forward to seeing this play out on screen.
North Woods by Daniel Mason, 369pp
The second of the books that my Dad gave me for my birthday. It is a story of one place, a place in the woods in Massachusetts, that we follow through the years from early settlers running away from home, to an apple orchard, to a runaway slave, to a painter who is in love with his best friend, to a family of business person. We see this one place change from year to year. The story is told in variety of mediums from regular narration to letters, from those who lived there and visitors. And at first it was just a book that was realistic fiction but then the fantastical elements start to creep in. And in the end there were ghosts and it just became a bit weird. That switch from realism to fantasy really threw me. I think the book was just ok overall. I did like various elements coming together in different eras like the escaped slave story with the old family bible that an amateur historian traces that had the info we read earlier as a letter. There are various pieces tying it together. But it felt like the book couldn't figure out what it wanted to be. I like an idea of one place and seeing it thought time but I'm not sure this book quite pulled it off.
I did enjoy all the biology of the woods that was woven throughout and the descriptions of nature - that was the strongest point of the book for me. Since nature also changes over time and trees and plants are not static.
To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn, 350pp [Bridgerton 5].
This was the first Bridgerton book I read that hasn't yet been adapted to the TV show.
Whenever I clink on any list picking between the best Bridgerton books, this one seems to be on the bottom. But I actually enjoyed it a lot. Many people have an issue with Phillip but he seemed fine for an introvert who ended up with a terrible first marriage out of obligation, had to walk on eggshells with regards to his depressed wife and tried to stop her suicide, and didn't know how to relate to his children at all. He only felt comfortable with his plants. So when Eloise shows up, who at age 28 decided that maybe she should marry, it really threw him off. All he wanted was a mother for his children but they ended up challenging each other and making each other better. And even when they had to marry in haste for reputation sake (as pretty much most of Bridgerton children end up doing - like seriously, that trope is silly after so many of the books using it), it was more of a plot device by that point.
I'm not a giant fan of Eloise in the TV show - she is very twitchy - but I liked her in the book. And I liked how she was with the children and how she won them over. And how she made Phillip be a better father.
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn, 379pp [Bridgerton 6].
I think the TV show made a mistake by making Francesca's first marriage seem only made for companionship when she couldn't remember her name upon meeting John's cousin, clearly indicating big love/infatuation for the cousin and not for John. But John and Francesca were lovely in the show and I agreed with her point that not all love has to be grand and dramatic; sometimes sitting together quietly is lovely. And then the show undermined it with "love at first sight" thing and I'm not a fan. I always preferred "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale as a kid because in that story the characters get to know each other and there isn't love at first sight. Anyway, in the books, it was very clear that she truly loves John and then she truly grew to love Michael and that makes a much better story. This is a story of moving on and letting yourself love again when your first marriage was wonderful and full of passion too. And it wasn't like she was in love with Michael while John was alive; Michael was a close friend. Not sure how the TV show will also address Francesca's wanting children so desperately and dealing with infertility. The book managed that well. Anyway, the book was good overall and we will see what the TV show will do.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, 279pp
One of the two books my Dad got me for my birthday. I heard about this book before. I have never seen the movie but I know it exists. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I think my expectations for the book were too high. It certainly kept my interest as I was reading it but I'm not sure if I liked the characters. My Dad, who read all of the books in the series, said that he liked another one more but thought I should start with this one. Not sure if I will read more but I'm not ruling it out. It was just strange.
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn, 317pp [Bridgerton 1].
I am not a big fan of Daphne or Simon but I think I liked them more in the book than in the TV version. TV version stayed with the plot a lot but just the way the characters come across, they are more likable in the book. Not much to say about this one.
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, 313pp [Bridgerton 2].
I think the TV version of this was better and it also influenced my reading on that book since the casting of the show lent itself to this one. The book was a bit less dramatic in Anthony's courting of the younger sister but more dramatic in the bee scene and actual marriage part. But the book and the TV show sort of go together for me. I don't take any of it seriously. Entertaining book.
An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn, 321pp [Bridgerton 3].
This book is the next season of the show, being a Benedict book, so now that I've read it, I can follow the casting news and know who the characters are. The actress who played Cho Chang is playing the stepmother, which is making me feel old. This story is a Cinderella story, and I quite like Sophie, the main character. The book is mostly from her perspective and there isn't much characterization for Benedict. But Sophie definably gets a lot and I look forward to seeing this play out on screen.
North Woods by Daniel Mason, 369pp
The second of the books that my Dad gave me for my birthday. It is a story of one place, a place in the woods in Massachusetts, that we follow through the years from early settlers running away from home, to an apple orchard, to a runaway slave, to a painter who is in love with his best friend, to a family of business person. We see this one place change from year to year. The story is told in variety of mediums from regular narration to letters, from those who lived there and visitors. And at first it was just a book that was realistic fiction but then the fantastical elements start to creep in. And in the end there were ghosts and it just became a bit weird. That switch from realism to fantasy really threw me. I think the book was just ok overall. I did like various elements coming together in different eras like the escaped slave story with the old family bible that an amateur historian traces that had the info we read earlier as a letter. There are various pieces tying it together. But it felt like the book couldn't figure out what it wanted to be. I like an idea of one place and seeing it thought time but I'm not sure this book quite pulled it off.
I did enjoy all the biology of the woods that was woven throughout and the descriptions of nature - that was the strongest point of the book for me. Since nature also changes over time and trees and plants are not static.
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Date: 2024-10-18 08:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-10-23 06:33 pm (UTC)