Review: An Offer From a Gentleman (Bridgertons, #3) by Julia Quinn

                                                        

Print Length: 390 pages

Publisher: Avon (July 1, 2001)

From Goodreads.com: Will she accept his offer before the clock strikes midnight?

Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball—or that "Prince Charming" would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.

Who was that extraordinary woman? Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except, perhaps this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid's garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy tale love?

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My Rating: 1 star out of 5

Wow. I really wanted to like this story, and to be fair it did start off on kind of a cute note with the masquerade ball, and Sophie leaving her glove behind. I’m a little confused how if everyone knew who Sophie was even though she wasn’t openly acknowledged by the late Earl, the scandal and gossip of her being alive hadn’t reached Lady Whistledown, or maybe more accurately Lady Bridgerton’s ears. Especially when Benedict presented his mother with the glove and she not only recognized the crest on it, but also the fact that it was very much out of date.

Fast forward two years, and our star-crossed lovers, oops wrong story, are destined to meet again, only this time Benedict is on hand to rescue Sophie from a very dire threat at the hands of her current employer’s son. As luck would have it, the two get caught in a heavy downpour on the way back to a small cottage that Benedict luckily owns nearby, but the soaking lead to a flare up of an illness he had just recently overcome. Of course, Sophie nurses him back to health, and generally keeps him company while he is on the mend.

It is here that the story goes off the rails. You see, Benedict has decided that he wants Sophie. And he cannot stand the thought of her not being with him, so he offers to make her his mistress. She refuses, which angers Benedict because apparently he expected her to fall to her knees and weep with gratitude (seriously his words towards her were so demeaning I’m not surprising she was able to retain her common sense). I mean seriously, who would want to be with a man who instead of taking no for an answer proceeds to question her on just WHY she would rather earn a reputable living as a maid than be his mistress, even going so far as to say that he didn’t save her from Cavender just to have her “squander her life away” and assures her that he knows better than she does what is “best” for her.

But of course, good ole Ben has to have what he wants, so he changes tact and forces her to go with him to London with the promise of finding her work within his mother’s household. Sophie however doesn’t want to return to London (and with good reason as her wicked stepmother resides there), but of course Benedict is so used to getting his own way that he issues Sophie an ultimatum. Return to London with him willingly, or he will call the magistrate and have her arrested for a crime she didn’t commit. Huh? This is supposed to be romantic how exactly?  

So anyway, he gets to her London and does as he says and gets her a position as a lady’s maid in his mother’s house. Only, he then refuses to leave her alone. He’s constantly showing up at his mother’s home to harass her, or kiss her (as he’s still convinced that no woman can resist him and Sophie will be his mistress). Sadly, after she realizes that her wicked stepmother now resides only a few houses down from Bridgerton house, she goes into a bit of a panicked shock and dear Benedict uses that to his advantage to get her into his own home. Where he proceeds to touch her, and sadly, deflower her right there on his sitting room couch. But now that he’s had her surely she will consent to be his mistress right? And poor Sophie, now recovered from what was surely a momentary lapse in judgement once again denies him. Sophie explains her (very valid) reasoning and tells him that she herself is illegitimate and she would never force that stigma upon her own child. Therefore, she will not be his, nor any man’s mistress.

Of course, this absolutely horrifies Benedict to the point he actually says “you know I cannot marry you.” We are led to believe that this poor man is just so hurt by her refusal that he’s not acting like himself. Because (and yes, he does actually wonder this), how could she possibly not want to be his mistress and have his children, knowing what he does about society and how those children would be treated?

Eventually, he figures out that she is the mysterious “lady in silver” from the masquerade ball two years prior, aka the woman he had been “searching for” as he wanted to marry her and he is furious. Why, I haven’t a clue. And honestly, if he was so in love with this lady in silver, and then felt the same instant connection with Sophie, did he not put two and two together sooner, especially given that her voice would have been exactly the same. As was the color of her eyes, the sound of her laugh, and by god even the point on her chin. But dear Benedict doesn’t put it together until he comes upon her playing a game with his younger cousins where she is blindfolded and suddenly that’s all it takes.

Realizing that she can’t stay at Bridgerton house any longer, Sophie packs her one meager bag and heads off, only to be accosted by you guessed it, the evil stepmother who now has her arrested for theft. Thankfully, due to Lady Whistledown’s scandal sheet, they Bridgerton’s quickly find out this has happened and rush off to rescue Sophie so her and Benedict can have their happily-ever-after.

Can you tell dearest reader, that I absolutely hated Benedict? And what’s more to the point, I have no idea how Sophie could stand the sight of him either, much less have him touch her after the horrible things he said (and threatened her with). All because she wouldn’t fall into his bed and be his mistress? There was nothing here that made me buy into these two being in love other than the author declaring them to be. And while there were some moments of amusing banter, it was entirely overshadowed by Benedict treating her like she was less than nothing. And then to just jump from them becoming engaged to an epilogue happening years later, made this feel like a huge waste of my time. Where was the scandal of a Bridgerton marrying the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman (and one who was not only a maid, but also accused of theft to boot)? Where was the scorn and the cold shoulders from members of the ton? I would have thought they had just slipped off to the country if not for the fact that Sophie gleefully tells her husband she has been mentioned in Lady Whistledown’s column over two hundred times.

Honestly a let down, and as this serious continues to get worse with each new book, I think I will stop here and let Netflix tell me the stories about this family from here on out as at least they seem to be able to tone down the more abrasive sides of the characters.