Oh, the Feels! An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn [Audiobook Review]

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Don’t want to read the whole review? Click to jump to the Skinny Review.

I normally don’t like Cinderella retellings (except for Cinder by Marissa Meyer) but An Offer from a Gentleman snuck into my heart early in the book.

In fact, I was brought to tears! This is usually my measure for loving a book. I mean, if a book makes me cry, it is up there on my favorite list! Initially, I had reservations about it since we don’t really know a lot about Benedict Bridgerton other than him being the second son. We also don’t see much of him in the first 2 books in the series so I was really surprised that this book is the third in the series.

Well, An Offer from a Gentleman really surprised me A LOT! It is full of feels and I could not help but root for Sophie Becket and have her find her Prince Charming. As of writing this review, I have already read 4 books in the Bridgerton series and so far, this is the best!

An Offer from a Gentleman reminded me a lot of Ever After with Drew Barrymore. To date, this is my favorite Cinderella movie retelling, so I was totally in the zone while reading this book.

A typical Cinderella story

Sophie Becket is an Earl’s bastard and was raised as his ward. That is until he marries a widow with 2 daughters just about Sophie’s age. This is the usual evil stepmother and I never really understood her reasons for hating Sophie so much, and two stepsisters, of course. One is evil and the other one, not so. Upon the Earl’s death, Sophie is left with a dowry and a stipulation that her stepmother had to take care of her until her 21^st birthday, after which she would receive an additional 2 thousand pounds a year. Of course, she doesn’t tell Sophie this and works her to the bone without pay.

There is a ball

There is no fairy godmother but loyal servants who help Sophie experience THE ball of the season – the Bridgerton masquerade. This is where she meets Benedict, who is attracted to her on sight! They share a waltz and talk till midnight until she is forced to leave. They share kisses, too!

Prince Charming

The story picks up 2 years after the ball. Sophie has left her stepmother’s home and is now working as an upstairs maid in the country. There she is rescued by Benedict, who does not recognize her!

This is the part where I fell in love with the story. I love the twist that Julia Quinn added to the typical Cinderella story. In fact, I loved the slow romance between Sophie and Benedict and they definitely had chemistry together.

This book really shows how Benedict ultimately became Sophie’s true Prince Charming by saving her twice!

The Dilemma

To complicate things, Benedict does not know who Sophie truly is and is falling in love with her. But he has also been looking for the masked maid that he met at the ball!

I normally don’t like romances where there is deception, but in this, I agreed with Sophie’s decision not to reveal herself.

All the feels

An Offer from a Gentleman tugged at my heartstrings. There were tender moments and moments that brought me to tears! I recommend this book for those who love a good cry.

The Audiobook

This book is still narrated by Rosalyn Landor and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although her male voices are not my favorite, she is starting to grow on me.

The Second Epilogue sucked!

There is no better way to say this but The Second Epilogue sucked! I did not want to know what happens to Poppy! I did NOT want to see her HEA because while she was not mean, she still didn’t treat Sophie right while she was their unpaid servant! Sure, she was ultimately responsible for saving Sophie in the end but…. Let’s just say that she did not endear herself to me.

I wanted more Benedict and Sophie!