Bridgerton fans: Season 3 is officially going to be “Polin’s” season! The popular Regency-era meets Gossip Girl Netflix series is going to follow the story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton for the next season.

Polin’s story is told in Julia Quinn’s third book, “Romancing Mr. Bridgerton”. This one is my favorite of the series so far. Penelope and Colin are the typical unrequited love turned lovers trope, but Quinn writes it in such a way that you’re on the edge of your seat until the end of the book.

Let’s start with the characters. Penelope Featherington is the awkward, undesirable girl of the ton in her opinion. She knows that no one wants to court her, but this book takes place when she is 28. She has grown into a person with more self-confidence. She uses her voice.

Colin Bridgerton, everyone’s favorite traveler. This book goes into more detail about his wants and dreams, and how that intertwines with Penelope, who is finally starting to get over her long-standing love for him. He finally starts to see Penelope in a different light, and the writing highlights this.

Colin Bridgerton gets more depth in this story, and the audience gets to learn more about his character in a charming way that Julia Quinn knows how to capture all too well. He’s not just a love interest, but he has a personality that makes him interesting.

Watching the pair grow from friends to romantic interests was such a beautiful roller coaster of emotions. The banter between them (as well as the rest of the characters) was such a delight to read. I wonder how they’ll incorporate the dialogue from book to screen.

The most intriguing part of this book was the plot surrounding Lady Whistledown. The feared gossip-monger has been a force to be reckoned with the entire series, leading to the most interesting plots in the books.

Lady Danbury (my personal favorite character of the entire series) proposes a challenge: unmasking Lady Whistledown! The pages that follow are the reason I finished this book in one day. I couldn’t put it down until the writer’s identity was revealed. The chaos that ensued? Perfection. I was laughing, swooning (and sobbing) throughout the entire read.

My favorite part about “Romancing Mr. Bridgerton” was the dynamic between the characters. Not just Penelope and Colin, but all of them. We see the sibling relationships between the Bridgertons, as well as Penelope and Eloise’s friendship continue to flourish.

I loved seeing Lady Danbury take on an almost motherly role over Penelope, which really highlighted the relationship between her and Lady Featherington.

Penelope is such a relatable character. She’s the girl who never feels attractive enough. In a society where getting married was the prime purpose of a young lady’s life, it’s easy to see how Penelope has been affected, and how the time jump showed growth.

This book made me all the more excited for Season 3. I’m glad that I got to pick this up as they’re filming it. I need to see the carriage scene and Colin’s epically romantic line (yes, that one).

Rating: 5/5