Book Review - Julia Quinn's On the Way to the Wedding
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 27th, 2006
Format: Paperback, 048 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
Anthony is the closest thing to a father that Gregory has ever had. So Anthony is giving him some flack. Not only has Gregory arrived late for his sister-in-law's house party but he has apparently made no decision on what he's going to do with his life, maybe he'll marry, or hem and haw about a career to get Anthony to leave him alone for awhile longer. Sure being a forth son has it's limitations, but Gregory has always assumed that whatever life had planned for him he'd know it when he saw it. Just like he knows that one day he'll see the love of his life and the rest will take care of itself. He just didn't expect it to happen right after talking to Anthony. He sees her back, the curve of her neck, the spun gold of her hair, and he is ruined for anyone else. The problem is the woman he has fallen in love with, Hermione Watson, also believes in love at first sight because she experienced it with her father's secretary whom she is hoping her parents will let her eventually marry if her heart remains true. Gregory and Hermione have eerily similar beliefs on love, which Hermione's best friend, Lady Lucinda Abernathy, is shocked to discover. She's not shocked that yet another man has instantly fallen for Hermione, she's seen it a hundred times. She's shocked that she wants to help Gregory. Gregory is the perfect man and Hermione's parents will never let her marry a secretary, so why shouldn't Lucy help Gregory? If he could just behave differently than any of Hermione's previous suitors, perhaps he'll have a chance. And, despite all of Hermione's objections to open up her mind to the possibility of an advantageous match she actually flutters a little for Gregory. The problem is she flutters for Lucy's brother more. So now Hermione is going to be Lucy's sister and Gregory is left brokenhearted. Or at least he should be but he finds that he isn't. He finds himself thinking of Lucy. Only Lucy is engaged to Lord Haselby. An engagement that went from "practically" to "now" faster than she could have wished. But she's always wished for the match with Lord Haselby, why should she be questioning it now? Could it be because of a Bridgerton?
Now that I have officially read all the Bridgerton books I can safely say there is a distinct pattern to how they are written. The first half of the book is the setup, the meet cute, the initial obstacles, and the second half of the book switches up the narrative to move away from the setup to how are these two crazy kids going to work it out and get into bed. Sometimes the bed comes before they work it out, because Bridgertons seem to be OK with being compromised because they know they'll get their happily ever after. Because they are, despite Lucy's observations, in a romance after all. And yes, I'm sure this division of the narrative is common in romances, but here it's very much a blueprint. The problem is sometimes the back end of the book fits perfectly with the front, but sometimes it just don't. Like here. The house party, Lucy and Gregory scheming, all that was wonderful, and then it went off the rails. I mean, in general, romance has a certain level of suspension of disbelief. Not everyone gets a duke and a happy ending, their just aren't enough dukes to go around. But when you compromise the heroine's best friend, find out her own fiance is secretly gay, that her wedding to him is because her future father-in-law is blackmailing the family, and that that ties into selling secrets to the French during the Napoleonic Wars, oh and then she goes through with the marriage only to have it annulled, but first there's kidnapping and drawn pistols, you're left wondering what the hell are you reading. This was all over the place. Seriously, I'm thinking Hyacinth's obsession with finding jewels and Eloise marrying a man she'd never met weren't that far-fetched anymore. I mean, now that I've read the book I can't see it having a different back half, I just wish I could go back to before, before I knew what happened when I was still totally in love with this book and try to think of what I wanted to happen. Yes, I knew there was going to be the wedding and the big Dustin Hoffman moment from The Graduate, but I just wish it had felt less far-fetched. I think maybe I'm taking this too hard because I just so strongly relate to Lucy. I'm always saying "I'm sorry" and doing what's better for others than myself and I have totally been the ignored best friend, so maybe I'm taking it too personally. Or maybe I just need some blackmail and drawn pistols in my life? Oh dear, I hope not.
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