To Sir Phillip With Love by Julia Quinn

Sir Phillip knew that Eloise Bridgerton was a spinster, and so he'd proposed, figuring that she'd be homely and unassuming, and more than a little desperate for an offer of marriage. Except she wasn't. The beautiful woman on his doorstep was anything but quiet, and when she stopped talking long enough to close her mouth, all he wanted to do was kiss her and more.

Did he think she was mad? Eloise Bridgerton couldn't marry a man she had never met! But then she started thinking and wondering and before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match. Except he wasn't. Her perfect husband wouldn't be so moody and ill-mannered, and while Phillip was certainly handsome, he was a large brute of a man, rough and rugged, and totally unlike the London gentlemen vying for her hand. But when he smiled and when he kissed her the rest of the world simply fell away, and she couldn't help but wonder could this imperfect man be perfect for her?


Isabel Says

If you remember from reading Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Colin suspected Eloise of being Lady Whistledown because her fingers always had ink stains. When Colin asked her about it, she got all defensive. You may also remember, the night of Violet's party, Eloise disappeared.

Turns out she has been corresponding with Sir Phillip Crane, the widower of her distant cousin. Because she knew her family would probably think she was nuts, she ran off during the party. They have been writing each other for a year and Phillip asks Eloise to visit him. He basically proposes to her in the letter. Eloise at first thinking um... no. But then Colin and Penelope get married and she realizes why not?

Sir Phillip Crane is a botanist. He likes working in green house. He'll spend hours in there working on experiments and what not. But turns out he's using his green house to escape his children. He has twins, Amanda and Oliver from his first wife. They are quite the handful. When Eloise arrives, a battle of pranks occur. Eloise can hold her own having grown upsiblingsibilings. But it all comes to a halt, when Eloise falls on a trip wire and bruises her cheek and eye.

To make matters worse, Anthony, Benedict, Colin and Gregory (who is 21 or 23) arrive at the house. They of course think Phillip beat Eloise, jump to conclusions. They back Phillip into a corner and are ready to just thrash him. Anthony pulls Eloise aside to have a talk with her. When they come back from their talk, they are drunk. Yup, drunk as skunks and talking about a tavern wench with big boobs. I thought this scene was humorous.

The only problem I have with this book is that Eloise never found out who Lady Whistledown was. She was one of the people trying to figure out. For those of you who have read the book, didn't think Eloise should've been told. Or there should've been something worked in with her finding out who she was? That's my major problem. I'm hoping with JQ writing the second epilouges, she'll write that scene.

This book is all right. I like when Phillip finally realizes he needs to be a father to the children and see's Eloise as something more than just a wife. Cause really, he wanted someone to raise the kids and just be there.

Grade: B-

Dylan's Review:

Hero: Sir Phillip Crane
Heroine: Eloise Bridgerton
Dylan's Grade: C+

Alright, so this story did end up being a good book. But for me, it was really slow to begin and it took me a lot to get through the first like, third of the book. I guess it was because I couldn't relate to Phillip all that much, I guess it's because I basically judged him too harshly in the beginning, when he didn't take an active part in his children's life, I hated how he just threw them on their nurses plate and had them take care of them, so that he didn't have to. I hated how he didn't take the time out of his botany duties to check on his kids. And another thing I hated most about him is that one of the main reasons he married Eloise, goofy and fun loving Eloise from the other books, is so that she can be a mother to his kids, first and foremost.

That really irked me, I know it shouldn't have bothered me so much because in that time period, love matches weren't really popular, since everyone married to get rich or merge two great families together. I guess, because Eloise was a Bridgerton and everyone else in her family, I didn't want anything less for Eloise.

The children, Oh MYLANTA! I would have paddled their behinds if I was their mother, glueing their governesses hair to the pillow? planting a trip wire so that Eloise falls and gets a black eye? What the bloody hell was Phillip thinking, NOT to discipline his children?

Of course, everything makes sense in the end, but by all that's Holy I wanted to pummel him for not taking them aside and showing them that they can't go on as they have been.

The book, did however pick up as soon as The Bridgertons came into the picture. Oh how I loved how the Bridgerton boys came in and rained on Eloises' parade. It was comical, really. I loved when the boys initiated Phillip into the ranks. I love how they all hate his guts one minute and then Anthony and Eloise come back and they've gotten him drunk and talking about Big Boobs Lucy! Too frickin' funny. I also love how real their family behaves.

I can totally see my brothers reacting the same way that Eloises brothers acted in this book, there have been times when my brothers didn't want me to play the same games they were playing, especially word games since I always best them at it, I swear adding The Bridgertons into any story makes the story all the more enjoyable.

And I, for one was so glad to see more of Benedict. I love this man, maybe it's because of how big he is, I don't know, but for some reason, for me, it's always been about Benedict Bridgerton, no matter how much I love Colin and Anthony, for me, it's always been Benedict who had my Bridgerton heart! I heart Benedict. LOL.

I loved seeing Anthony again, to see him is to love. He's done well by his brothers and sisters and you can totally tell that he has nothing but love for all of them, my heart went out to him when he freaked out about the bee comment, Eloise threw at him while on her walk with Phillip. I loved seeing his distress over his little sister, I loved seeing him yell and scold Eloise and I loved how he made her feel special after their talk. He may have come down on her hard, but there was no mistaking the love he had for his sister.

Whoa, Gregory is a grown man now, woo hoo...watch out now!

Colin, oh my hell, this man can eat like there's no tomorrow, I loved him in his story and I loved him in Eloises as well.

For me, the ending made the book so much better. The way JQ brought all of the problems to the front and solved them all, made me love the book. I loved how Phillip handled the evil Nurse Edwards (that was her name, right? I forget that biznatches name!), I loved how he came around and wanted to be a better father to Amanda and Oliver. I also loved how he loved Eloise and the grand gesture at the end? What a way to use his botanist skills, LOVED IT! And I also loved the way he brought it all back to the way they met...through letters! That was so cute!

When they're all in the dress shop and out on that family outing at the end had me totally sighing and oohing and ahhing, it was just the perfect way to end the book.

Now, my gripes? What happened to Marina? Why on earth was she the way she was? Was she born melancholy? Did something happen to her that made her the way she was? We never found out, hello? I need to know this...and then also, like Izzy, I hated how Eloise never found out who Lady Whistledown was, she should have found out dangit!

But this book was good, not as good as the other Bridgertons but I'm not mad that I read it. I'd recommend this book, because it's part of the series, and because the end is worth the rest of the book.

The Duke and I
The Viscount Who Loved Me
An Offer From A Gentleman
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
To Sir Phillip, With Love
When He Was Wicked
It's In His Kiss
On the Way to the Wedding