Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - On the Way to the Wedding

I wanted to read this book because of the Netflix series that hit on Christmas Day a few years ago and now Netflix have announced we are getting Polin’s story and I'm hoping we get the full eight seasons for each sibling. I wanted to get ahead and know what is going to happen, so of course I bought all nine books. I enjoyed the first two books in this series, I struggled with Benedict’s and Eloise’s story and didn’t mind Colin’s, but the last three books have been so cute and adorable.

This novel follows two main characters. The first character is Gregory Bridgerton. He is the youngest son and the seventh child in the Bridgerton household. Unlike most men of his acquaintance, Gregory believes in true love. And he is convinced that when he finds the woman of his dreams, he will know in an instant that she is the one. And that is exactly what happened. Except . . . she wasn’t the one. In fact, the ravishing Miss Hermione Watson is in love with another. But her friend, the ever-practical Lady Lucinda Abernathy, wants to save Hermione from a disastrous alliance, so she offers to help Gregory win her over. But in the process, Lucy falls in love. With Gregory. The second point of view is Lady Lucinda Abernathy, she is engaged, and her uncle is not inclined to let her back out of the betrothal, even once Gregory comes to his senses and realizes that it is Lucy, with her sharp wit and sunny smile, who makes his heart sing. And on the way to the wedding, Gregory must risk everything to ensure that when it comes time to kiss the bride, he is the only man standing at the altar. Lucy doesn’t know whether to follow her heart or to go with the deal her uncle made and to protect her family’s honour.

My favourite things about this book were Julia Quinn’s writing style. It didn’t feel like I was back in time. I mean, obviously they weren’t going on about Snapchat, but it just felt like a modern-day story with a bit of mystery. The only thing that kept me from remembering that it was set in the 1800s was the references of letters and carriages and that they couldn’t text each other to say what was going on without people finding out what is happening.

However, that’s not the reason I didn’t rate it five stars. The reason I didn’t rate it five stars was because I miss the Bridgerton gang – in the first four book, they were all together and causing mischief together. Besides Kate, Colin and Hyacinth having a small part in this book of Kate trying to get Gregory married off and Colin helping him ruining the wedding and Hyacinth threatening Lucy, all of them weren’t there. I wanted the girls to bring Lucy into the family and all the brothers to be proud of Gregory. I just miss the sibling banter and I get that in those days when they got married, they had their own household and children to deal with it, but I just missed them. Also, I think because I've read these books in such a short span of time rather than when they were debut over the years, it was weird to picture little Gregory like in the TV show being this sexy bachelor and talking dirty to Lucy and holding a gun. It was weird, really grossed me out – it was like when the baby of the family starts talking about sex.

I would have liked one chapter to be the whole family at like the Bridgerton household with all of their kids and partners and happy family.

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mrsmishler's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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cicireadsinthedark's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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bzliz's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I never could have predicted how absolutely batshit this book was going to be. It started out slow and stereotypically Bridgerton-y but about halfway through, things start to speed up. By the 2/3 mark, shit is absolutely popping off. We’re talking hands being thrown, blackmail, treason, gunshots, and of course a little interrupting weddings to top it off. They don’t even get peace in the epilogues!

Gregory is not even 40 and they have NINE KIDS, including two newborn twins, and Lucy damn near bleeds out after giving birth.

I kind of loved the drama of it all but I can’t forgive how completely boring Lucy and Gregory are as people. They don’t really have personalities and I wasn’t able to invest in their love like I could for most of the other Bridgerton siblings. He only gets a tiny pass for busting into a church to stop a wedding and propose to the bride himself. And I guess Lucy has some OCD tendencies too.

Unfortunately, I don’t know who I’d recommend this final book in the series to. Spice lovers will not be satisfied at all. I think maybe self deprecating messy gays could enjoy, since they finally have a little representation. That said: I had a good time and I’m ready to say goodbye to the series.

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readyforit's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

4.75⭐️0.5🌶️(one non-descriptive scene)
I can’t believe I’m saying this but this book was the best in the whole series! I do wish we had gotten to know Gregory prior to his book so we had some backstory, other than his bickering with hyacinth. With the other brothers’ books (and most of the sisters as well) none of the men desired marriage, and pushed it off for as long as possible. Gregory on the other hand is a man who knows what he wants and is VERY good at expressing himself. There is no miscommunication trope here! Gregory is a hopeless romantic who has been searching for that lightning has struck me kind of love, when he meets hermione Watson (shoutout to hermione granger/emma Watson?). She’s gorgeous but has like no personality, and she’s in love with someone back home. Her best friend Lucy doesn’t approve of him so she teams up with Gregory to help him win hermione, only they start to realize they’re a much better match. EXCEPT Lucy is already engaged to another man and has been since childhood. She finds out later that he’s

gay, so he’ll be kind to her but she won’t have a love match or a large family like she wants.

Honestly, having a man express exactly what he wants is such a breath of fresh air. Gregory is only 26 also so he doesn’t have to marry now (all his brothers were over 30 when they finally settled down). But he’s a man learns if he wants something he needs to work for it. Lucy is a people pleaser and doesn’t even think to ask her cold uncle to be let out of her engagement until about halfway through the book when she discovers her voice. She doesn’t have a huge personality but I could relate to her people pleasing tendencies. This book was definitely the most dramatic in the series, with a few twists. I would recommend this book even if you haven’t read the others. I would consider rereading, especially bc I don’t think Netflix will ever get to Gregory’s season, although I hope they do!

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abby_can_read's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

November 2023-⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧
I re-read the entire series. On the second read, I can say that I liked this book more then before -- though my rating stayed the same. The characters were cute and the relationships were decent. The plot was cute and the writing fine.

March 2022-⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱
This book wasn't horrible, but it was my least favorite in the series. Though I could be suffering from fatigue/burnout with the series.

The main characters, Gregory and Lucy, were alright. The plot was cute but very predictable with Gregory wanting Lucy's best friend Hermione before realizing he was in love with Lucy. The writing was fine, and the relationships were decent.

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allison87's review against another edition

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medium-paced

2.5

Errors/lack of communication lead to unhinged amounts of drama. It's very entertaining.

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rachaelbunny's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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