The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has no indication that he plans to marry.

And in truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
--Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry--he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield--the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best of husbands--and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister--but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...


After reading Anthony's story I have become more in love with the Bridgertons And I loved his story so much that I had second thoughts about doing a review--I don't think I can do it justice. But I'll try.

This might be the second book in the series but it's my fourth Bridgerton book to read. So I have already come across Anthony Bridgerton, head of this illustrious family, a number of times. He came across as someone who was a tad overprotective of his family but also someone who deeply cared about them and seriously took his position as the head of the Bridgertons to heart.

And now I know why. And I like him even more.

And the fact that he remained strong when he had to face the demons in his life everyday made him all the sexier. And yet it was quite understandable that he would aspire to be as great as his father was and to live for as long as Edmund Bridgerton had. Facing one's mortality doesn't make for good company. It did dictate much of his decisions in life and took root deep in his soul to actually help mould his character--especially towards the subject of love.

But he didn't expect the effect Kate Sheffield would have on him. No, he didn't expect Kate Sheffield, period.

Mortality had dictated that it was high time for him to take a wife and he decided Edwina Sheffield would do nicely. But like him, Edwina had strong familial bonds and had announced that she would only consider someone to be a husband-to-be with the approval of her sister, Kate.

Kate didn't think Anthony was good enough for her sister and she didn't mince words to let Anthony of that. But as the days pass, she realized that he was a better person that he let on. And when she was ready to accept that he could make sister happy, that could only be met with remorse. For she had fallen in love with him and wanted him for herself. She, whose beauty didn't even come second to her sister's.

Anthony might have had the approval from Kate that he wanted but when Fate intervened, he gladly and willingly escaped to Kate's arms. It was always her in his mind and who stirred his blood from the start. And when the rules of society forced them to marry, he agreed.

But therein lies the problem because unlike Edwina, Kate was some he could love. And as someone who was aware of one's mortality, that didn't sit well with him. He couldn't bear the thought of just having her for less than a decade, if he was lucky. He wanted to be with her for much longer than that.

But Kate, who had demons of her own and which Anthony helped exorcise, helped him realize that even if he couldn't get over his fears, he could at least not let it be the center of his life. And that he had to live everyday to the fullest as if it was his last. Having a half-lived life is the biggest regret a person can have.

So that's the reason why Anthony and Kate are easily two of my most fave characters. They both were too human and too real not to fall in love with.

Final verdict: 9/10. Fantabulous read, must have.