An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

Benedict is not my favorite of the Bridgerton clan, but I enjoyed this well enough. While he grated on my nerves a bit, his actions at the end of the book saved him in my view.

The Dowager Viscountess Bridgeton is holding a masquerade. Benedict Bridgerton, otherwise known as 'number 2' to the ton, is one of the most sought after bachelors, but as is most heroes in these kinds of stories, he's not interested. However, he comes across a mystery woman in silver at the masquerade, and his world is turned upside down.

Sophie Beckett is illegitimate, and no one in her life has ever let her forget. The Earl of Penwood, her father, takes her in as his ward, but never claims her. Eventually he marries, to a woman with two daughters. Sophie hopes that the new Countess will accept her, but Sophie's life soon become reminiscent of Cinderella. Not only is Sophie not accepted, but when the Earl dies, she is reduced to nothing but a ladies maid. However, one night, she escapes the cruelty of her life to live a fairy tale for a few hours at a masquerade.

I got a kick out of Sophie at some points. She's the second heroine in three books to deck the hero. She sticks to her guns, even after a moment of weakness. Benedict, however, in the middle of the story, irked me. There's nothing more romantic than asking a woman to be your mistress, right? Not. And sometimes he came off a bit stalkerish. However, like I said, he redeemed himself in the end, realizing that his earlier actions were wrong.

I basically zipped through this book to get to the next book - Colin's story - but I did end up enjoying it.

This was book #3 in the Bridgerton series.