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Book Review Georgian Romance historical romance Julia Quinn pirates romance novel The Bridgerton Series The Other Miss Bridgerton

Review of “The Other Miss Bridgerton” by Julia Quinn

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The Other Miss Bridgerton: A Bridgertons Prequel by [Quinn, Julia]Title: The Other Miss Bridgerton
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: Rokesby #3
Publisher: Avon
Price: $6.99 (e-book) $5.77 (mass market paperback) $21.55 (Audible)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I love Julia Quinn.  A few years ago, I stumbled upon Just Like Heaven in the Howard Beach library; I’d heard of Ms. Quinn before, but hadn’t actually read one of her books.  Immediately after finishing the book, Marcus and Honoria became one of my favorite hero/heroine pairings ever.  I’m probably going to be diving back into the Smythe-Smith books again soon because despite reading all of the Bridgerton books, the Smythe-Smith series is still my absolute favorite Quinn series.  The Rokesby series is giving it a run for its money, though (I’ve read Because of Miss Bridgerton at least four times since it was published in 2016).  Is it wrong that I want another book already?  Sure, The Other Miss Bridgerton came out just last week, but one is never enough, right?

From the Publisher:


She was in the wrong place…
Fiercely independent and adventurous, Poppy Bridgerton will only wed a suitor whose keen intellect and interests match her own. Sadly, none of the fools from her London season qualify. While visiting a friend on the Dorset coast, Poppy is pleasantly surprised to discover a smugglers’ hideaway tucked inside a cave. But her delight turns to dismay when two pirates kidnap her and take her aboard a ship, leaving her bound and gagged on the captain’s bed…
He found her at the wrong time…
Known to society as a rascal and reckless privateer, Captain Andrew James Rokesby actually transports essential goods and documents for the British government. Setting sail on a time-sensitive voyage to Portugal, he’s stunned to find a woman waiting for him in his cabin. Surely, his imagination is getting the better of him. But no, she is very real—and his duty to the Crown means he’s stuck with her. 
Can two wrongs make the most perfect right?
 When Andrew learns that she is a Bridgerton, he knows he will likely have to wed her to avert a scandal—though Poppy has no idea that he is the son of an earl and neighbor to her aristocratic cousins in Kent. On the high seas, their war of words soon gives way to an intoxicating passion. But when Andrew’s secret is revealed, will his declaration of love be enough to capture her heart…?

The Review:


You have no idea how happy I am that I liked this book as much as I did.  When I heard Andrew’s book was going to have elements of a pirate story with a kidnapped heroine, I was really worried that I would not only not like it, I would as my favorite Judy Garland character was fond of saying, “hate, loathe, and abominate” it.  Pirates are not my thing.  At all.  (Well, I may have really enjoyed Hook on Once Upon a Time, but that’s it when it comes to pirates.)  Thankfully, Andrew is not your typical pirate.  One of the things that endeared him to me–as well as to our heroine, Poppy–was the way he protected the youngest member of his crew, a 13 year old boy named Billy.  I loved that despite Billy being old enough to work on a pirate’s ship that Andrew was mindful of the fact that he was still a little boy.
I also loved the chemistry between Andrew and Poppy.  In true Julia Quinn fashion they constantly banter with one another and it is through this banter that they get to know each other, although Andrew kept having to stop himself from revealing too much of himself to her because the more she knew about the real Andrew, the more danger they would both be in.  He constantly worried that she would find out that he was an aristocrat and figure out that he was more than just the privateer/pirate he claimed to be.  My favorite part of the book was when he let some of his walls down to show Poppy his passion–no, not that passion; get your head out of the gutter!  If you read Because of Miss Bridgerton, you’ll probably remember Andrew’s love of building houses out of cards.  This part of him has not gone away, but was buried under his duty to King and Country.  It was this passion that showed:

As she watched him…she realized he had become a different person, right in front of her eyes…[H]is arms moved through the air as if drawing pictures and plans, and he practically hopped in place as he illustrated his invisible canvas and drew equations in the air…He wasn’t the captain and he wasn’t the rogue.  He was just Andrew. (The Other Miss Bridgerton, Quinn, Kindle edition, location 3232)


Honestly, I think this is the moment Poppy fell in love with him.  I loved how much he wanted her to have an adventure and their trip through Portugal was the most fun part of the book.  

Not long after this section, came a portion of the story that had me cringing–Danger Boner.  You have no idea how much I hate this trope.  No one of any period of time would be willing to get down and dirty in the situation Andrew and Poppy found themselves in, and I find it hard to believe that an aristocratic woman in the Georgian period would want to risk not just her reputation but pregnancy when their very future was up in the air.  Having sex, even if only one character reaches climax, is never a good idea when death is on the line.  (I’m sure that would be one of Vizzini’s rules had he thought of it.)

I did enjoy the way the book was wrapped up, although I wish we could have gotten to see a little bit of how Andrew and Poppy explained knowing each other to their families as I imagine it would have been hilarious.  I would definitely been happier with that scene rather than the baby-logue at the end.

Elizabeth

Romance novels have been a part of my life since I was 14 years old and one of my neighbors dropped off a laundry basket full of Harlequins. From that day on, my nose was always in a book. I started my first review site in 2013, but took some time off for personal issues in 2018.

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