Nice weather we're having, huh?

[sarea]

This is an election-coverage-free zone.

I listened to it all night and I'm still listening to it, but I don't want to discuss it on LJ at all. Perhaps some of you don't, either. I'm willing and able to talk about something else -- anything else, so lay a topic on me.

The one I'm choosing is ... the Bridgertons! lissinthecity didn't know I was a fan; maybe there are many more fans out there! So my questions to you...

1) Which is your favorite Bridgerton book?

2) Who is your favorite Bridgerton brother?

3) Who is your favorite Bridgerton sister?

4) Who is your favorite Bridgerton spouse? Who's your least favorite Bridgerton spouse?

As for my answers, they're a bit premature, because I haven't read To Sir Phillip, With Love or When He Was Wicked yet, and I'm only partially through The Viscount Who Loved Me. But so far...

1) The Duke and I -- it's the first book in the series, but I read it 3rd. I liked the couple a lot, but it was also the book that made me LOL the most, and that's probably why I like it best. <g>

2) Like Liss, I'd have to say that Colin is my favorite B. brother. I really loved Anthony in TD&I, though (he reminded me of Ron! LOL), and I loved Benedict in his own story. I don't know much about Gregory, but I can't wait for his book to be written -- it'll be interesting to see what he'll be like as an adult ... and so far apart in age from his older brothers.

3) I'd have to say Daphne. I like Hyacinth, too, but she's still like a kid to me ... maybe that'll change next year when her book comes out. Francesca is totally colorless (especially since I haven't yet read WHWW), and Eloise doesn't really do anything for me.

4) My fave Bridgerton spouse is either Simon or Penelope. If forced to choose, Simon. My least favorite (so far) is Kate ... she kind of bothers me. Hopefully that will change by the end of TVWLM.

Comments

[kirixchi.livejournal.com]

1. This Viscount Who Loved Me.

2. Anthony

3. Daphne

4. Favorite: Penelope
Least Favorite: Sophie

Will expand later :D Fun!

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

You are the second person to name TVWLM! This gives me high hopes for the rest of the book. Anthony's probably my 2nd fave B. brother, though really, they're all quite lovely. ; ) I really liked Sophie while I was reading An Offer From a Gentleman, but now that I've moved on to other books both she and Benedict are easily forgotten. I think my problem w/ Sophie stemmed from how she was a servant, but no one ever treated her like one, and she was a bit too uppity considering her station. She should have been more than happy to compromise herself by being Benedict's mistress. ; )

[kirixchi.livejournal.com]

Amen to that! Plus, I know a girl named Sophie who's obnoxious....also, perfect, beautiful, saintly heroines (in light of the rest of the Bridgertons) are on my nerves a bit...and Benedict is so damn SENSITIVE.

I do ADORE Colin...and I liked his book with Penelope second best. :D I ADORE Penelope. I ADORE JQ!

-K

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

You're right, Benedict was Mr. Wussy Sensitive Guy, wasn't he ... and Sophie was the most "perfect" heroine JQ's devised so far (except for, you know, thinking too highly of herself <g>). But maybe that's the magic of JQ; even though those things were true, I still enjoyed it while I was reading. But then I really like the rich secondary characters and the universe she's devised.

Colin is quite adoration worthy. <333

[akscully.livejournal.com]

Choose another topic! I know nothing of this Bridgerton.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

You choose one! Honestly, what is the matter w/ you, not being caught up in your romance literature. :))

Let's talk about your kid shipping! Seen D&G lately?

[akscully.livejournal.com]

OMG, fine, I will find some Bridgerton books and read them.

Haha, YES I HAVE. They are in the same class again and I had to go into their class while their teacher was out for a 20 minute meeting. They were sitting on opposite sides of the room though. Draco had a lot of girls around him again. :))

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

OMG he is 10!!! They are 10!!! That is so wrong. I thought that was still in the "boys/girls are icky" stage?? You should give them both detention, obviously. What kind of shipper are you?

[akscully.livejournal.com]

I think everyone is starting to figure out that boys/girls aren't quite as icky as they first thought. Besides, it's the girls that are around him and girls always mature faster than boys.

Oh, yeah, giving them detention will work. This isn't a fanfic, d00d. Their love must grow on its own.

[mynuet.livejournal.com]

1) The Duke and I. It's the first one I read and I still love it so.

2) Colin, although this may change when I read his book.

3) Hyacinth, I think.

4) Simon. Poor wooblet. *pats*

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Heehee, we have such similar tastes. I reserve judgment on Hyacinth until I can see her as a romantic lead, although I definitely find her most likable/interesting of the female Bridgerton brood. Simon IS a w00blet.

[mynuet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's the possibility of Hyacinth turning into an idiot when she stars in her own book, but I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt. And least favorite is Sophie. *^^* I wanted to come up with a different one for at least one answer, but... She was just so... Bland. Bland and stupid.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

You and Kiri see eye to eye on the Sophie issue. Right now I've named Kate, though that could change once I'm done w/ her book. Plus I really can't argue against the bland and stupid accusation re: Sophie. <g> As I was saying to Kiri, she just seemed far too prideful considering her station in life, and it was mighty irksome how EVERYONE treated her like some highborn lady, when she was a maid! Not even a lady's maid, but a housemaid!

[mynuet.livejournal.com]

Yes! No fuckin' way that a housemaid should've been sitting around with the family.

[sevenfourteen.livejournal.com]

1. The Viscount Who Loved Me
2. Colin...tho anthony is a close second
3. Out of what we know so far? Daphne, but I can totally see me diggin hyacinth :D
4. Spouse? Hmm...I like the spouses...Simon, Penelope, and Kate...i liked Kate, but to each his own :D...the other ones are ehh...

i really couldn't get into benedict and sophie's story...it just kinda bored me...

the ones that i really enjoyed and have read more than once would be Daphne, Anthony, and Colin's stories

She's a fun author, though i have to say, her other books are not as good as the Bridgerton series.

hope all is well, doll

*mwah*

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

I may yet like Kate; I'm only partially through the book as of now. Maybe I'm bothered by the idea of Anthony courting Edwina, and Kate hasn't yet given me a reason why he should choose her instead (other than that she's not perfect and we should always root for the underdog <g>).

I really liked Benedict and Sophie's story while I was reading it, although now it's probably the most forgettable one (though still good in comparison to the drivel that's out there).

Good to know about her other books; I've been debating getting them. At least the Lady Whistledown books. :D

[lielabell.livejournal.com]

The Viscount Who Loved Me. It is really the only one that I still remember. Although after reading this post I am tempted to go through my books and read them again just so that I can answer the rest of your questions. *grins*

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Wow. This so explains why I had such trouble locating that book. ; )

[lielabell.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sorry, was that copy yours? *grins*

[hannah-kim.livejournal.com]

Well I've yet to read a Bridgerton book so I shall venture one of my strange meme-style questions:

Think of one actor/tress and one musician that you admire/had a crush on/think would be interesting and imagine how a conversation between yourself and them would go (for each of them).

Then type them up for everyone else's amusement *g*.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

:O

Damn you for this. I must insist that you reciprocate.

CB = Christian Bale

CB: Hello.
Me: Guh ... Guh ...
CB: Are you all right? You don't look right in the head.
Me: I love you.
CB: What?
Me: I said, How are you?
CB: Very well, thanks.
Me: Could I trouble you to let me sit in your lap?
CB: What?
Me: Could I trouble you for your autograph?
CB: Of course.
Me: I like you better when you're not 120lbs.
CB: That's nice.

MH = Mark Hoppus

Me: Eeee! Mark!!
MH: Eeee! Me!!
Me: Hi, I'm--
MH: Watch my eyes. Watch when I do this. Isn't it crazy? Watch, let me do it again.
Me: Umm. Wow, that is crazy. Yeah, so I love your--
MH: Tom!! Check this out! Look what my eyes are doing! Excuse me.
Me: No problem.
MH: Yeah, okay, I'm too busy for you anyway, you bastard. What were you saying?
Me: Uh, that I really enjoy your music, and you guys are super hilarious.
MH: We are, aren't we.
Me: Could I get you to--
MH: You want me to sign your boobs, don't you. They always want me to sign their boobs. It's such a hard job, but someone's got to feel them.
Me: No, no, actually it would be fine if you could just sign my CD.
MH: A CD? That's it? Are you sure? What about your ass?
Me: No, I don't think that will be necessary.
MH: Okay, fine. There you go. 'Signing this CD and nothing else, love Mark.'
Me: Thank you.

[hannah-kim.livejournal.com]

CB at 120lbs *shudders*.
MH being MH *laughs 'till it hurts*.

And now I shall distract/annoy you with kitten cuteness spam while I figure out who I would converse with...

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Who is that in your icon? Is it Billie Joe?

OMG those are such cute kittens. Are those the ones you got? What are their names? Mark and Tom? Heeehehehehehehe.

The Bridgertons! One of my favourite subjects....

[lissannej.livejournal.com]

Oh goody! More Bridgertons. I had an idea about them, actually, that I want to discuss with you, so buzz me when you're free!

Your questions:

1. It's a toss up between The Duke and I and Romancing Mister Bridgerton

2. Colin, without a doubt

3. You know, I do adore Daphne, but I think Eloise is my favourite

4. Favourite is Simon, I think, although Michael (in Francesca's story) comes a very close second. Least favourite is Sophie. I really didn't like how the book started off with such a strong parallel to Cinderella (wicked stepmother, two stepsisters). It really put me off reading the rest of it, and something about Sophie in general just grates me.

Re: The Bridgertons! One of my favourite subjects....

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Everyone has been choosing Viscount. I wonder what the secret is? Anthony's such a cad!! Or maybe that's the secret. ;) I do adore Colin. And I really like Penelope. But for some reason their story wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, which is why I end up choosing Duke as my favorite.

Verrrry interesting re: Eloise. My opinions could totally change once I've read the two latest books.

Re: the parallel to Cinderella ... that didn't bother me, and in fact, I actually thought it was a bit clever. Of course, I've just finished reading a Teresa Medeiros book that parallels Beauty & the Beast, so maybe I was just more open to the idea. But yeah, Sophie seems fairly unpopular amongst everyone else, too.

Bridgerton

[yapiyupi.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so happy there are more people liking JQ. The Bridgertons rock my boat.

1)Toss up between "Romancing Mr. B" and "TVWLM"

2)Definately Colin, though Anthony threads very closely.

3)So far, none. I have a feeling I might end up liking Haycinth or even Francesca.

4)I like Simon. But I have to admit that Sophie got on my nerves when I read B's book. Too...boring.

BTW, do you like Lisa Kleypas? She is so good too. But if you like family series, definately check out Mary Balogh's Bedwyn series. I have a feeling most will fall in love with the enimatic and totally cool Wulfric.

Re: Bridgerton

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to check out some Lisa Kleypas, but don't really know where to begin. I'm not a particular fan of family series; I generally just like well-written novels, and it doesn't much matter if they're all in the same universe or not (Laura Kinsale and Judith McNaught's older stuff comes to mind). And with romances, I have found those are few and far between, sadly. Still, any recs on LK would be appreciated!

Re: Bridgerton

[yapiyupi.livejournal.com]

My top three reqs are:

Then Came You

Dreaming of You

Suddenly You

Even if they all end with You, they are not related, except for the first two. But you will love that she actually wrote a sort of sequel. Read "Then Came You" before you read "Dreaming of You" though. Trust me, it will be all worth it.

Have fun,

Linda

[fatima.livejournal.com]

Wow. I thought I was one of the few that love that family. Specially the A,B,C's of it all!

[jade-okelani.livejournal.com]

And now, for you dear Sarea, I step into the Way Back Machine, and answer:

1) Which is your favorite Bridgerton book?

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.

2) Who is your favorite Bridgerton brother?

Colin, who would sooner die than return the envelope to Penelope un-opened.

3) Who is your favorite Bridgerton sister?

Daphne. Or should I say, my dear Laffy.

4) Who is your favorite Bridgerton spouse?

Michael, though before I read WHWW, Penelope totally won. But I am now quite in love with Michael and only like Penelope as a friend.

Who's your least favorite Bridgerton spouse?

Kate, though I don't dislike any of them. I find her the least interesting, the least relatable, and the least deserving of membership with the Bridgertons. I actually don't mind Sophie (and I seem to be the only one. *g*) -- romance novels are full of contrivances in order to get the hero and heroine together, and the fact that the family let her sit with them didn't really bug me, particularly in light of the way she was brought into the family. Benedict made it clear that she had "saved his life" and I think Violet suspected he was in love with her the whole time, and was sort of hedging her bets in case things progressed, because servant or not, she just wanted him to be happy.

Bonus answer: this is the ranking for my enjoyment of the books, though I didn't not enjoy any of them, with the possible expection of Sir Philip, which bugged me quite a bit due to issues we've already discussed:

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
An Offer From a Gentleman
When He Was Wicked
The Duke and I
The Viscount Who Loved Me
To Sir Philip, With Love

I will say that all the books post-Romancing suffer from not having Lady Whistledown leading the chapters in. The letters are a nice try, but aren't nearly as entertaining. RMB really should have been the last book, but I understand why it couldn't have been.

WHWW would actually rank 2nd on my list, if I a) liked Francesca a little more, b) had a more satisfying conclusion. The smut was def. the hottest, partially because Michael is so yummy, and partially because, as a widow, it had an interesting perspective, given that Fransesca was the only woman in any of the books who had any idea what she was doing. It's amazing I enjoyed it as much as I did, given how completely I loathed the premise (but loved how the timeline was played with, and continue to adore Colin.)

That all said, I would argue that Duke and I is really the only "perfect" romance novel of the bunch -- it never falters, there's no part you wish JQ hadn't put in, and, because it's the first in the series, there's no timeline fuzzing, and because it's the first, the universe is laid out in an ideal way, exposition wise.

There. Done. Merry Christmas. *g*