Outside of a Dog: Kate Nepveu's Book Log

When I picked up the third of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton books, An Offer From a Gentleman, I said, "oh yes, this is the one where he is really annoying about wanting her to be his mistress," and so put it right back down. This allowed me to skip to the fourth and my favorite, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which is just a nice story about friendship, people growing into themselves, and being a writer.

Colin Bridgerton is the third son of the Bridgerton clan. Anthony has the title and the responsibility; Benedict is an artist; but Colin doesn't seem to have anything to do with his life (yes, they're named in alphabetical order). Penelope Featherington is a spinster with a long-standing hopeless crush on Colin; they've been casual friends for years, but that's all. Now Colin's back in England after an extended trip abroad (and some travel journals), and both are finding that perhaps they're more than they thought they were.

Penelope gets some unexpected help in this regard from Lady Danbury, an old dragon who sets the ton on its ear by offering a thousand pounds for the unmaking of Lady Whistledown, a pseudonymous columnist whose gossip sheet has provided quotes to open the chapters of all the books. Their relationship, and Colin and Penelope's relationships with their families, gives the story a texture that I appreciate.

This by far the best of the Bridgerton books, and probably the only one I would actively recommend to romance readers.