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|| 2.0 stars ||

Oh, what a shame. This was nothing at all like the Kate and Anthony from the TV show.
Whereas TV Kate always seemed confident, in control, smart and genuinely unimpressed with Anthony’s rakish ways, we now got a meek, virginal, demure doormat that swooned over the handsome viscount (even when he was being a creepy arse) and who was impossibly jealous of her beautiful sister. Like, seriously, what on earth was this!?
And don’t even get me started on Anthony, because his character could have made me cry with disappointment. He was, quite frankly, repulsive. He was unbelievably arrogant, painfully sexist, uncomfortably similar to a rapist, annoyingly emotionally stunted, infuriatingly rude, and just, overall, an awful person.

I like my romance heroes to kiss the ground their love interest walks on, and definitely not spit on it like our dear Anthony did. He treated Kate with the utmost disrespect and non-stop hostility. And I do mean literal hostility since he stepped on her hand on purpose and followed that up by kicking her in the stomach. I don’t know what kind of surreal scene that was, but it was straight-up abuse, yet it was immediately ignored afterwards.

Also, the amount of times this guy pointed out that she was “not beautiful�� got on my damn nerves, and the way he just kept on kissing her and devilling her honour, without any intention of marrying her and without her true consent, made me want to strangle him. He played with Kate’s feelings without any qualms, and would have kept on pursuing her sister in marriage until the end if it wasn't for society forcing him to marry Kate due to them being caught in an “uncompromising position.��

And, of course, after they do get married (which we don’t even get to see and just completely skip in the book?), we are immediately graced with this horrendous scene: Kate asks if they can wait a week to have sex, because the marriage was very sudden and she’s nervous about losing her virginity. Anthony’s response was literally just “No.�� He then goes on about how she would be taking away his rights by not giving him sex, and Kate is like “Oh, right, OK.�� And then they have sex, no problem. I was baffled, because what the hell was that??!?

All in all, I’m very disappointed. I really had higher hopes for this, and neither character was anything like I expected. I wasn’t even the biggest fan of them in the TV show (I actually preferred season 1 over season 2), but gosh, the TV version was the best romance in the world compared to this monstrosity!

I can’t summarize their relationship as anything other than a rude, abusive romance starring a sexist man-whore and an insecure doormat. Bah. Even when they were married, he still refused to fall in love with her and she was just like "oh he treats me so well, I'm so lucky". Girl, grow a spine please, because what in the actual hell is wrong with you. Their entire dynamic was just skewered because Anthony always felt superior and Kate always felt inferior. He would always have the upper hand.

It’s all such a waste of potential as well, because I do feel like this author has a very pleasant and charming writing style with just the right amount of humour and wit. If only she had been able to write better characters and a less sickening romance��


'Bridgertons' series:
1. The Duke and I - 3.5 stars
2. The Viscount Who Loved Me - 2.0 stars
3. An Offer From a Gentleman - 3.5 stars
4. Romancing Mister Bridgerton - 3.5 stars
5. To Sir Phillip, With Love - 3.0 stars
6. When He Was Wicked - 3.5 stars
7. It’s in His Kiss - 2.0 stars
8. On the Way to the Wedding - 2.5 stars