Si bien fue un libro que postergué por muchísimo tiempo, debo reconocer que valió la pena esperar tanto para leerlo ya que me permitió analizarlo con calma y sacar algunos elementos que en otra época, no habría visto.

Lo primero es la trama de la obra: me gustó bastante, pero sentí que las cosas fueron demasiado rápidas, incluso más que en otros libros. No objeto nada en cuanto a la velocidad con la que la autora trabajó, pero sí me parecieron forzadas algunas cosas.
Por ejemplo, en menos de una semana Eloise se había ido a casa de Philip, conocía a los hijos de este y ya había metido la pata incontables veces. Pienso que pudieron espaciar un poco los sucesos.

Los personajes estuvieron bien, pero solo eso. Sir Philip fue todo un caballero y, de los libros de la saga Bridgerton que he leído, ella ha sido la primera chica que ha llegado al altar de casi propia voluntad. Algo que no me gustó para nada fue el hecho de que el libro comienza girando en torno a que Sir Philip necesita una esposa que lo ayude a controlar a sus revoltosos hijos, pero luego hay (casi al final) un grupo de páginas en las que no sabemos nada de los niños. Supuestamente eran demonios capaces de pegar el pelo de una institutriz a la almohada, pero después de una o dos tratadas a Eloise ya se vuelven personajes y niños modelicos. No sé, no me convenció del todo.

Algo que sí adoré fue el respeto que Philip le tenía a la memoria de su difunta esposa y cómo supo guardar luto. Fue algo que la verdad sí se supo trabajar excelente. ( )

Overview: It was alright. It wasn't as swoon worthy as the others in the Bridgerton series that I've already read

The Plot: Eloise makes a new pen pal out of Sir Philip. Once he mentions marriage, she decides to show up to his house unannounced to talk. There she figures out he has two mischievous children in need of some guidance.

The Characters:
Eloise - I have troubles splitting up book Eloise and TV show Eloise. In my brain, she takes on the more independent "I don't need a man" type, so it was bizarre to see her drop everything at a chance for marriage. I wish they built up her character more to fit into this plot.

Phillip - Phillip didn't really stand out to me. he was very bland, very scholarly. I liked that he wanted to be a great dad and he was trying his best.

The Romance:
This felt more like a friends book than a romance book. The only thing that made it romance were a few spicy scenes, but the build up in the first few felt off. I really think this could have been better as a cute cozy read with found family and left the romance aspect out of it.

Overall:
I did like it. It was an easy read and my only critique was to leave the romance out or build it up a bit more. I would pick up book 1, 2 or, 4 first before I read this one again. Hence the 3 stars. ( )

The TV dramatisation wasn't for me, but I've been loving the books.

This is the fifth Bridgerton novel. Eloise's story follows directly on from book four. We learn that Eloise has been exchanging correspondence with Sir Phillip Crane since his wife Marina, a distant cousin to the Bridgertons, passed away a year earlier. In his most recent letter, Sir Phillip has asked if he might meet with Eloise to discover if they might be suited for marriage. And so Eloise sneaks away to Gloucestershire...

This was a great read. However historically accurate it may or may not be, I love the ritual and the awkwardness of the young people of the ton. Eloise is a confident, outspoken woman who has lived a very sheltered life. Phillip was his father's second son, set for life as a scholar before the death of his older brother left him heir to his father's title. Events in his past have left him emotionally guarded and unsure of how to relate to Eloise.

Of course, they are made for each other. It takes them a couple of family crises to see this, but they eventually do.

This is the first Bridgerton book to not feature Lady Whistledown's gossip sheet. In its place are extracts from various letters Eloise - an avid correspondent - has written in her past. It works, but I enjoyed the Whistledown column, and I'm hopeful for its return before the series is done. ( )

Eloise strikes up a correspondence with Sir Phillip after the death of his wife, her cousin Marina. Marina had depression and died by suicide, leaving her eight-year-old twins - but Sir Phillip doesn't mention either fact when he invites Eloise to come visit to see if they will "suit." Eloise, who has turned down a number of marriage proposals from London gentlemen, leaves under cover of her sister Daphne's ball and arrives in Gloucester without enough warning for Sir Phillip to arrange for a chaperone, as he had offered; they don't get off to a brilliant start, and Eloise is shocked he never mentioned his children in any of his letters. However, as one of eight siblings herself, she knows how to deal with children much better than Sir Phillip, who avoids them because he's afraid of repeating his abusive father's mistakes.

As Eloise and Sir Phillip have a "one step forward, two steps back" type of courtship, Eloise's four brothers discover her whereabouts and descend. Sir Phillip survives the encounter, but now he and Eloise have no choice but to marry. Eloise isn't necessarily opposed, but she wished for a love match and isn't sure this is it. Does Phillip want a wife, or a mother for his children? Of course, despite hiccups, the two do "suit," and after pranking her with a bucket of flour, Amanda and Oliver welcome Eloise.

Quotes

She was the sort of woman whose expressions made her beautiful. (ch. 3)

She hated that her family was trying to run her life, no matter how well intentioned they were, and it had left her feeling sullen and uncooperative. (ch. 11)

She had spent her adult life making her own choices....Maybe that was why it now felt so unbearable to be forced onto a path before she was ready. (ch. 11)

"My children never disappoint me," [Violet] said softly. "They merely...astonish me. I believe I like it that way." (ch. 14)

All her life, she'd known what to do. She hadn't always turned out to be right, but at least she'd felt sure of herself when she had made her decisions....,for her, at least, it was a great deal better to act and be wrong than it was to feel helpless and impotent. (ch. 16)

It had never occurred to me to wish for something I already had. (Amanda, 2nd epilogue) ( )

Only Eloise would do something so different! This has to be near the top for me! I loved that she fell for him and the kids. ( )