Welcome to Reading With Libraries!
We are taking a small detour from our usual book group structure to look at some of the pop culture going on around us. And of course: we share related books!
As we always do: grab your book, grab a beverage, and maybe get your streaming subscription warmed up because you are going to want to see this!
Today we are chatting about the mega-hit Bridgerton! This is streaming on Netflix right now, with all of Season One available.
The story is pretty simple – at first: The eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family look for love and happiness in London high society. But of course, this is a regency romance, so you can count on assorted challenges cropping up for everyone.
One great thing about this series is that it is based on a book series! (Those are the best shows!) There are nine books so far by Julia Quinn, the first one is The Duke and I.
“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 curtsy 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…”
If you like that, you may like these:
- A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem, by Manda Collins
- Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, by Loretta Chase
- Castaway in Cornwall, by Julie Klassen
- A Duchess a Day, by Charis Michaels