Romancing Mr Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

The fourth book in the Bridgerton series, following on from An Offer from a Gentleman.

Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for...well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret...and fears she doesn't know him at all.

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of everyone's preoccupation with the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him in the first paragraph. But when Colin returns to London from a trop aboard he discovers
notyhing in his life is quite the same — especially Penelope Featherington! The girl haunting his dreams. But when he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide...is she his biggest threat — or his promise of a happy ending?

Penelope Featherington has been in love with Colin Bridgerton since she was 15 years old. And he knows that she exists at least..after all, he always used to dance with her at balls, oh, and there was that unfortunate incident where he declared quite loudly that he wasn't going to marry her (how mortifyingly embarrassing!). When Colin finally returns home after one of his many trips abroad, Penelope is thrilled, especially when it seems that after all these years, Penelope and Colin are actually going to really become friends...perhaps even more than friends. But before things can progress too much further, they both have secrets that need to be revealed, and dealt with, all the while hoping that the magnitude of the secrets are not going to destroy their fragile new relationship.

I really, really enjoyed this book, athough I did scratch my head a couple of of times trying to think if maybe I was reading the story out of order. I was somewhat intrigued at the secrets, particularly Penelope's. I can't say anything more because it would be a major spoiler for the whole series, but it did seem strange for this particular secret to be revealed at this point in the series. I would have thought that it would be somethign that needed to be kept a while longer.

Penelope was at times a fraction annoying, but Colin was charming and funny and sweet and handsome. I wouldn't have minded accepting a glass of lemonade from Colin at a ball...anything more than that would probably be bad ton!

There was plenty of clues as to what is going to happen in the next book in the series, without there being an overload of foreshadowing. Overall, very entertaining!

Rating 4.5/5