Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, has hatched a plan to keep himself free from the town's marriage-minded society mothers. He pretends to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton. After all, it isn't as if the brooding rogue has any real plans to marry - though there is something about the alluring Miss Bridgerton that sets Simon's heart beating a bit faster.
And as for Daphne, surely the clever debutante will attract some very worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, she soon forgets that their courtship is a complete sham. And now she has to do the impossible and keep herself from losing her heart and soul completely to the handsome hell-raiser who has sworn off marriage forever!
My Review:
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
I saw that most of this series is on the App, Libby, in audiobook and love the TV series and of course as readers we know the book is usually better! Which it was. I loved it. The grumpy sunshine trope was top notch in this book, between Daphne and Simon. And it's a faking dating story - one of my favourite tropes! I enjoyed that we got to see more of the Bridgeton family in the book (the siblings we don't get to see as much).
I must acknowledge the scene that everyone always talks about when reading this book. When I first watched it happen I was shocked. I don't think the author is condoning what Daphne did. I also think Simon not discussing everything with Daphne is just as bad. I don't see why authors can't use their writings to discuss things like this. I always hear similar things about Colleen Hoover's books.
I enjoyed listening to the first book in the series and look forward to listening to the next one.