The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After By: Julia Quinn

The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After

By: Julia Quinn

Synopsis from Goodreads

For the first time in print, New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn presents a collection of "second epilogues" to her Bridgerton series, previously published as e-originals, plus a new bonus Bridgerton novella: Violet in Bloom," a short story in which we finally meet Edmund Bridgerton.

My Thoughts

    Quite simply put, The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After is a love letter to Julia Quinn fans. A collection of short epilogues that go along superbly with the Bridgerton series, this collection of novellas made me so very very happy. Its hard to say that each one was my favorite, but as I continued to read I couldn't seem to decide as they each got better and better.

     I have read the Bridgerton series many years ago, so to be honest, I don’t know if this book would appeal to those who haven’t. That said, I absolutely loved this collection and immediately fell head over heels into the world of the Bridgerton’s once again. The novel follows the progression of the books and bounces to different eras and characters of the series.

     Each short story is fun and can range from hilarious to heartbreaking to just plain lovely. My favorite Bridgerton books are the first few and I enjoyed seeing Anthony, Benedict, Colin, and Daphne since we don’t see them too terribly much in the later books. Anthony and Kate are entrenched in another game with the mallet of death that was pretty hilarious and coincidentally, I immediately went to buy The Viscount Who Loved Me for my Nook. I loved the epilogue where Eloise and Penelope finally talk about the revealing of Lady Whistledown, I’ve been waiting for THAT for what seems like forever.

     Heartbreaking and bittersweet, we finally see into the world of Violet, the Bridgerton’s mother. The story starts out with Violet trying to get back at that terrible Bridgerton boy for pouring flour all over her. When next we see Violet, she is again meeting Edmund Bridgerton but in a ballroom. He is charming, adorable, and we the reader immediately fall in love ourselves. Even knowing Edmund is going to ultimately pass on, I still shed tears and my heart cracked as Violet lost her one true love.

      Easily my favorite book of the year to date, I loved being swept back into the family Bridgerton. I think I might just reread the series and I think I will enjoy it now just as much as I did back then. Thank you ever so much Ms. Quinn, and Brava!

Book Details

Publisher: HarperCollins

# of Pages: 384

Date of Publication: April 2, 2013

ISBN: 978-0061233005

Source: Edelweiss Advanced Reading Copy

Challenges

#18 for the 2013 E-Book Challenge

#20 for the 2013 Women's Reading Challenge

#22 for the 100 Books in a Year Challenge

#3 for the 2013 Historical Reading Challenge

#22 for the 150+ Books in a Year Challenge

#19 for the 2013 Where are You Reading Challenge {England}

The Bridgerton Series

1. The Duke & I (Daphne Bridgerton & Simon Bassett)

2. The Viscount Who Loved Me (Kate Sheffield & Anthony Bridgerton)

3. An Offer from a Gentleman (Sophie Beckett & Benedict Bridgerton)

4. Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Penelope Featherington & Colin Bridgerton)

5. To Sir Phillip, With Love (Eloise Bridgerton & Phillip Crane)

6. When He Was Wicked (Francesca Bridgerton & Michael Stirling)

7. It’s In His Kiss (Hyacinth Bridgerton & Gareth St. Clair)

8. On the Way to the Wedding (Gregory Bridgerton & Lucinda Abernathy)