An Offer from a Gentleman

Author: Julia Quinn
Published: July 2001 (Avon)
Category: Historical Romance
Series: Bridgerton Family #3
Rating: 5/10

I can definitely say this is my least favorite Julia Quinn, and rather oddly, most reviews rave about this installment in the Bridgerton series. My problem is not with the writing, but with the story.

Sophie Beckett is the illegitimate child of the Earl of Penwood. He takes her in out of guilt (not love) and raises her as his ward, despite all the servants knowing that she's his by-blow. When he marries, the story takes a turn towards the Cinderellan. His new countess is insulted by Sophie's presence and coldly tells the little girl that her two daughters (from her previous marriage) will be the daughters of the house and that Sophie is not to speak with any of them socially. Of course, the earl dies and his will forces the wicked stepmother to keep Sophie or her income will be made much smaller. She keeps Sophie in her house, but as a slave, performing the duties of three servants and not earning a wage, and also hides the fact that the earl left Sophie a dowry.

Benedict meets Sophie at the Bridgerton masquerade, which Sophie sneaks into with the help of her fellow servants. She and Benedict meet, but she never tells him her name and she leaves at midnight. It would've been better if she'd told him her name, but the book would've been too short that way. So we deal with the frustration of seeing Sophie kicked out of her house when her stepmother finds out what happened.

Several years later, Benedict happens to be attending a house party of one of his less-respectable friends, and saves Sophie, a servant in that household, from being gang raped. He takes her back to London and finds a place for her in his mother's household. All the time, Sophie is sad that Benedict didn't recognize her (she lost weight since hitting hard times and sold her long hair to a wigmaker) and Benedict realized he had feelings for Sophie, but was still hung up on that woman from the masquerade ball.

I was so fed up with Sophie's "woe is me, he doesn't remember me," when Benedict has never stopped thinking about her since that ball. And then Benedict is stupid enough to proposition Sophie, to set her up as his mistress. Ugh, there really was a severe lack of romance in this book. I kept waiting for Sophie to tell the truth about whose daughter she truly was, so Benedict could get over his "I can't marry a servant," even though his mother was so lovely, saying she would support his decision no matter what.

Definitely a dud. I'm glad I got this one from Paperbackswap rather than buying a new one like I've been doing for most of my Julia Quinns.