The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - A Team Review
Back in May, Robyn and Jayde were both in a bit of a reading slump. It happened to coincide with the release of the new Bridgerton series and having never read the original books, they decided to give them a try. We know, we know, this is the “wrong” way to do things. Read on for their views on the first book, The Duke and I, and how it compares to the show.
Robyn’s views:
Like many people, I was obsessed with Bridgerton when it first aired. I loved that it was regency with a modern twist. Many of my issues with historical dramas is that they try to represent the period as it was, and it was not a great time for many, with very little creative interpretation from the creators. Bridgerton was a breath of fresh air. After the first series aired, I heard a lot about the books - mostly that they were poorly written- which is why it took me so long to pick them up. I was pleased to find that it was a fun and enjoyable read.
They changed the sequence of events in the show, and I liked this, it made the book less predictable whilst still staying true to who the characters were. Daphne was much funnier in the book, with a dry sense of humour and the banter between her and Simon was there in the book. Julia Quinn’s writing style isn’t overly descriptive, allowing the reader to imagine events for themselves. Although if you’re reading the book after watching the show, that may impact on how you see things.
Another aspect I enjoyed was seeing a deeper side to some of the other characters. Story telling is very different in a novel to a TV series, and things will inevitably be missed, so it was nice to see more of some of the side characters. In that respect, there were characters that I wanted to see from the TV series that were not in the book in the same way, or at all, which I thought was a shame. I also loved the diversity element brought to the TV series. I don’t think the book specifically says whether the characters are people of colour, but the descriptions indicate that they’re white, and there was no mention of any LGBTQ+ characters. I respect that those weren’t the stories that Julia Quinn wanted to tell, but I loved that Shona Rhimes did.
Overall, the book was a fun and enjoyable read and it definitely broke me out of my reading slump. I wouldn’t say that they are “amazing”, but if you’re looking for a light read and a bit of fun, these series could be it. I’ll definitely read the rest of the series over the next few months.
Jayde’s views:
After bingeing the show recently and then desperately waiting for the second part of season 3, I was left with a Bridgerton shaped hole that no books I owned could fill. So instead, I decided to copy Robyn and pick up the first book in the Bridgerton series even though I was on a book buying ban, I needed something to pull me out of my slump and this was definitely the book.
I was pleasantly surprised as this was a super easy and enjoyable read. There were a lot of differences between the show and the book, with characters and plot which I expected but it made me feel like the show was definitely fleshed out a lot more and in my opinion gives us so much more than the book itself and the book, while I enjoyed it, definitely felt a bit bland in comparison to the tv show though the witty banter between Simon and Daphne was still there.
As you can see, Jayde and Robyn had very similar views on the book, both enjoyed it, but felt that the show brought another dimension to the story. Have you read them? How does the show and the book compare to each other in your opinion?